A lion that escaped from a private South African game reserve has been terrorising residents of the small northern town of Makhado for a week, police said on Thursday.

Police have been hunting for the beast, but so far have been chasing their tails.

"We have been informed that a male lion escaped from Safari Lodge outside Makhado last week," said police spokesman Nechindamatsi Marubeni.

"It was last sighted yesterday (Wednesday) and our search party has so far not managed to capture it," he said.

Marubini described the lion as a "grown male with a big head".

"Obviously the townspeople are scared, because they do not know when it might pounce," Marubeni said.

He appealed to members of the public to immediately report any sighting of this king of the jungle.

The northern province of Limpopo is home to a number of private game reserves but dangerous animals rarely break out.

A large part of Kruger National Park, the country's biggest wildlife park, also straddles the province.