Man killed by lions in Zimbabwe reserve
Source: Agencies |
November 5, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
LIONS attacked and killed a tourist while he was showering at an unfenced campsite in a nature reserve, and such fatal encounters are on the rise because of poaching, a conservationist said yesterday.
Peter Evershed, a 59-year-old Zimbabwean businessman, was mauled by five lions while showering under a tree at the Chitake Springs bush camp in the Mana Pools nature reserve, said Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force head Johnny Rodrigues.
Evershed was the last of his group of family and friends to take a shower as darkness fell on Saturday. They heard Evershed scream and raced to the showers, but he was already dead from a gash to the throat, Rodrigues said.
The lions retreated only after a safari operator pulled up in a vehicle with its headlights on and fired shots into the air, Rodrigues told Zimbabwe Herald Online.
"We appeal to everyone to exercise extreme caution. Animals have become extremely unpredictable," Rodrigues said, adding that a surge in poaching has made animals more dangerous to humans.
Last month, South African business executive Don Hornsby was killed by an elephant in the nearby Matusadona preserve. Hornsby had helped fund feeding programs for orphaned animals.
"Due to the poaching and number of elephants being shot, they have become even more dangerous," Rodrigues explained.
Soon after Hornsby's death, veteran conservationist Steve Kok died when a wounded buffalo charged him as he was destroying traps and wire snares laid by poachers.
In September, businessman Geoff Blythe was attacked by a female elephant as he rode a bicycle ride near his home in the lakeside town of Kariba, 370 kilometers northwest of the capital Harare. He barely survived the encounter.
Peter Evershed, a 59-year-old Zimbabwean businessman, was mauled by five lions while showering under a tree at the Chitake Springs bush camp in the Mana Pools nature reserve, said Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force head Johnny Rodrigues.
Evershed was the last of his group of family and friends to take a shower as darkness fell on Saturday. They heard Evershed scream and raced to the showers, but he was already dead from a gash to the throat, Rodrigues said.
The lions retreated only after a safari operator pulled up in a vehicle with its headlights on and fired shots into the air, Rodrigues told Zimbabwe Herald Online.
"We appeal to everyone to exercise extreme caution. Animals have become extremely unpredictable," Rodrigues said, adding that a surge in poaching has made animals more dangerous to humans.
Last month, South African business executive Don Hornsby was killed by an elephant in the nearby Matusadona preserve. Hornsby had helped fund feeding programs for orphaned animals.
"Due to the poaching and number of elephants being shot, they have become even more dangerous," Rodrigues explained.
Soon after Hornsby's death, veteran conservationist Steve Kok died when a wounded buffalo charged him as he was destroying traps and wire snares laid by poachers.
In September, businessman Geoff Blythe was attacked by a female elephant as he rode a bicycle ride near his home in the lakeside town of Kariba, 370 kilometers northwest of the capital Harare. He barely survived the encounter.
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