Four lions were still on the loose in the Bushbuckridge area of Limpopo, the provincial department of environmental affairs said on Sunday.

The department had already shot dead five of them after they apparently escaped from a private game reserve last week.

"I can confirm that we have put down five lions, they were threatening people's lives in that area," said spokesperson Moses Tseli.

"We can't equate human lives with that of animals. We call on the communities in that area, when confronted by those lions, not to chase or provoke them," he added.

Kruger Park spokesperson Raymond Travers said the lions could have come from one of any number of small private game reserves between the park and Bushbuckridge.

It would not be possible to say where they came from as no reserve branded or marked its lions.

Calson Magopane, a spokesperson for the Dumphries community, told the SABC on Friday that the lions had already devoured cattle belonging to residents.

"The situation is very terrible. The community members are living with fear as these lions are still around."