“Please Inform SPCA”: SA Concerned After Lion Is Spotted Casually Strolling Down Limpopo Road

A lion was filmed walking unbothered along the R40 between Phalaborwa and Hoedspruit in Limpopo on 25 May 2026. A TikTok video posted by NewsNexusOfficial captured the big cat treating the public road like its personal walkway. South Africans watching online were not impressed with the safety situation.

The sighting did not come as a shock to locals familiar with the area. Phalaborwa sits right on the unfenced western boundary of the Kruger National Park. That open boundary means lions move freely between the park and surrounding communities.

When lions roam the neighbourhood

Roaming prides and young males are a known reality for Phalaborwa residents. The big cats have been spotted on mining properties, golf courses, and in surrounding villages before. For many people in the area, a lion on the road is not their first rodeo.

But for South Africans watching online, the footage was a different kind of wake-up call. Many raised serious concerns about the safety of drivers and pedestrians on that stretch of road. The idea of rounding a bend and finding a lion in your path hit differently for those far from Limpopo.

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Wildlife experts have long called for better awareness campaigns along routes bordering the Kruger. The Phalaborwa area remains one of the most active corridors for lion movement outside the park.

Watch the video below:

More about SA lions

• A Gauteng man got the ultimate African wake-up call when he pulled back his curtains and found lions staring right back at him.
• A woman, Dominique Haim, who visited a lion park, showed how a lioness stole her baby stroller from the back of a bakkie.
• A brave man escaped a dangerous encounter with two lions by remaining calm and walking backwards without breaking eye contact.

Source: Briefly News