Leo’s revenge: Zimbabwe male lion kills safari tour guide

Are the collared lions at Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park avenging the death of Cecil, the lion? That question possibly cropped up on Monday when Nxaha, a collared male lion, attacked Quinn Swales, a safari guide.

It was the same park where American dentist James Walter Palmer killed Cecil in July. The death sparked an outrage globally and resulted to the ban on shipment of hunting trophies by Air Canada. Twenty-one other air carriers later joined the ban.

Swales, who died the same day due to injuries, was leading a group of tourists when the 40-year-old guide spotted six lions, according to police spokeswoman Charity Charamba. The pack was made up of two female lions, two males and two cubs. A lioness with a cub turned hostile, but Swales managed to scare the animals away, reports Associated Press.

But Nxaha, one of the collared lions being monitored for an Oxford University research, made a U-turn and attacked the safari guide. Swales led a photographic walking safari, which according to Camp Hwange’s Facebook page, offers game drives and game walks where “game likely to be encountered include all of the cat family, wild dog, elephants and buffalo in huge numbers.”

Like Nxaha, Cecil, which was 13 years old, had a GPS collar. The famous lion’s death led to calls for the dentist’s extraditions, although experts said it is a remote possibility. After the global outrage, Palmer temporarily closed his dental clinic.

According to NBC, Palmer reopened his clinic on Aug 17. However, the tweet announcing the reopening of River Bluff Dental said Dr Palmer is not on site. It requested media to stay off the property to give patients and clients peace of mind. The clinic posted a security guard to ensure reporters do not bother the employees and patients.

Also on Monday, an elephant killed a male vendor of curios at the resort town of Victoria Falls, located 60 miles from Hwange.

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