An escaped lion has met a bloody end after a park ranger shot it dead.

The beast was gunned down at a safari park in Kenya after it got loose and mauled a man.

The mighty feline was killed near Nairobi after it was spotted roaming wild.

Pictures show a trained ranger taking the animal out with a rifle.

Kenya Wildlife Service spokesman Paul Udoto said the lion had become wild and mauled a local man who is now in hospital.

He added: “The stray lion that was roaming in Isinya has been shot dead after injuring a person.”

Onlookers reportedly gathered to stare as the king of the jungle slumped dead to the ground.

The Nairobi National Park is under fire as it is the fourth big cat to escape and the second time someone had been injured by a lion in Kenya in under two weeks.

Critics have questioned why the animal needed to be killed.

In previous incidents the lions have either been herded back to the 29,000-acre park or have returned of their own accord.

In mid-February, two lions spent a day wandering through Kibera, a densely-packed city slum, before returning to the park, and days later more lions were spotted in town.

•Sourced from The Sun of London.