Two men survive lion attack

Two men, a farmer the Omangetti farming area in the Oshikoto Region and a Ministry of Environment and Tourism employee, survived an attack by a wounded lioness.
They suffered several bites before shooting the lioness, which had two cubs.
The two men, aged 59 and 60, were rushed to the Oshivelo clinic and then transferred to the Tsumeb Hospital where they underwent surgery. One of them was transferred to the Oshakati State Hospital.
The deputy minister of environment and tourism, Tommy Nambahu, who visited the two men in hospital yesterday, said they were in a stable condition.
According to the ministry’s control warden for the north-central regions, Rehabeam Erckie, staff from the ministry’s Ondangwa office went to the area where lions had been reported to be killing livestock.
Erckie said on Saturday a male lion, a lioness and her two cubs killed a cow and a donkey, which prompted the team to shoot the male, thinking that the lioness and cubs would return to the Etosha National Park.
This did not happen. He said the lioness continued hunting livestock.
The ministry staff remained in the area to see if they could spot the lioness and the cubs. The local farmer who was attacked joined the team.
Erckie said on Sunday morning the three men spotted the lioness and cubs and shot at the lioness, which hid behind a tree while the cubs took off.
While one of the two ministry employees went to get their car, the other two men searched for the wounded lioness, which came out of hiding and approached them.
Erckie said the ministry employee shot the lioness again but she attacked him, biting his foot.
The farmer then shot the lion, which jumped on him and bit his left arm. The ministry employee then gave the lioness a fatal shot while it was mauling the farmer.
As the farmer was the only one who could walk, he walked to the road and asked for assistance from the other ministry employee who had gone to get the car.


KENYA KAMBOWE