dark-maned lion was gunned down by the Kenya Wildlife Service after it escaped from a national park in Kenya and was spotted roaming near a community outside Amboseli National Park in Kaijado.

Pictures show the trained ranger taking aim at the animal which crumples to the ground as shots are fired.

It was reported that this is the fourth big cat to escape Nairobi National Park this year. It was the second time someone had been injured by a lion in Kenya in under two weeks.

'The stray lion that was roaming in Isinya has been shot dead after injuring a person,' said KWS spokesman Paul Udoto, adding that the injured man had been taken to hospital and the animal shot 'after it (had) become wild'.

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

The reserve is almost surrounded by a fast-growing city of over three million people.