Ministry opens case against lion killers

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has opened a case against the killers of three desert-adapted lions that were poisoned near Tomakas village in the Kunene Region last week.A ministry spokesperson said no arrests had been made yet but investigations into the death of the three world-famous lions continued.“This kind of behaviour will … not be tolerated,” Minister Pohamba Shifeta said in a statement released on Thursday.He said the ministry condemned the illegal poisoning of the lions and those involved will face the full wrath of the law.Shifeta warned that setting out poison for wild animals without the approval of the minister was illegal. “It must further be noted that the use of poison on one animal has further negative effects to our biodiversity, as many animals like scavengers and vultures may feed at such a carcass and die as well.”The deaths of the three lion brothers came mere months after the first of the ‘Five Musketeers’ was shot in June due to conflict arising from their proximity to human settlements in the sparsely populated Kunene Region. The deaths of Ben (Xpl-91), Adolf (Xpl-92) and Polla (Xpl-90), shortly after that of their brother Harry (Xpl-89) left thousands of local and international admirers in mourning. They garnered international fame in the acclaimed ‘Vanishing Kings’ documentary. In a statement released last week by the Desert Lion Conservation Foundation, headed by renowned lion researcher Dr Philip Stander, the group noted that “it is far from easy for these farmers to live side by side with lions. They form a threat to their livelihood on a daily basis.”Nevertheless, the killings came after plans to relocate the lions to the Skeleton Coast had been finalised.“Many people have worked so hard over the last four months to get systems in place to address the conflict between the Musketeers and the rural villages,” the organisation said.The foundation confirmed that the aircraft had been secured to transport the lions from Purros to Terrace Bay, and vehicles were in place to take them the rest of the way. Their deaths came “just as the complex decision had been made by the MET to relocate the four male lions to the world-renowned Skeleton Coast Park where they would have had a future.” Tragically however, “the three males encountered a new and previously unknown cattle post of semi-nomadic pastoralists. The lions killed a donkey and the people retaliated by poisoning the lions.”The burnt remains of the lions and their radio collars were discovered shortly afterwards. Despite the devastating setback, the Desert Lion Conservation Foundation praised the cooperation of community members in the run-up to the planned relocations, “especially those of Tomakas village that were most affected by the Musketeers” who showed “tremendous patience and worked alongside Stander to try and mitigate this conflict with the Musketeers”.“We hope this tragic event will not overshadow what all the people on the ground, on government level included, have achieved so far.”The translocation had been put on hold in order to allow the fourth brother, XPL-93, also known as ‘Tullamore’, to rejoin his brothers after he had taken a detour away into nearby mountains. Now, he is the lone surviving member of the Five Musketeers. Last week, following his successful relocation, the Desert Lion Foundation wrote that he had been given another chance to “live a safe and formidable life”.In his statement, Pohamba listed various mechanisms that have shown to work well as deterrents to lions near human settlements, including the use of bright lights and ultrasound playbacks which had been used in the area over the past weeks to successfully chase the lions away each time they approached livestock kraals.He admitted that despite these methods, “the numbers of free-roaming livestock are too big and attract the lions”.According to the Desert Lion Conservation Foundation, it is their hope that the tragic deaths of the four Musketeers is a “wake-up call for all people, that us humans need to stand together to help not only the lions, but those living with lions.”“We encroach this planet, we are all responsible. We all have a right to live, whether it’s in Amsterdam, New York, Windhoek or in a small village deep in the Namib Desert,” the foundation wrote.JANA-MARI SMITH

Ministry opens case against lion killers

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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Ministry opens case against lion killers

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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