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Namibia: Lion Soldiers Complete Full 500 Kilometres
By Staff Reporter, 23 May 2013




THE “Walking for Lions” activists completed a journey of more than 500 kilometres from Namibia to Botswana on Monday.

Led by South African Marnus Roodbol, the group set off on their journey in Windhoek on 4 May. The foot journey was undertaken in order to spread and create increased awareness of the threat faced by lions in Africa.

Variously, lions are classified as endangered of vulnerable in Africa.

According to the group, the highlights of the trip from Windhoek to Gobabis and onwards to their final destination of Ghanzi in Botswana, were numerous. Intermittently they were joined by volunteers and on the last day they were accompanied by a group of 30 people until the finish line in Ghanzi.

“The highlights of this trip has been everything, from friendly people, camp fire stories and stories from the rangers and anti- poaching teams in Botswana.”

At the start of the trip, the reality of walking for hours each day, had not yet sunk in.

“As we departed on 4th May, our spirits were high, our feet strong and our muscles in peak condition, or so we thought,” the group said.

Nevertheless, the strenuous walk soon began to tax the group physically and mentally. A lesson was learnt.

“The truth is that determination is what made us walk further and further,” Charmaine Joubert, one of the participants, wrote on the Walking for Lions Facebook page. “I never knew how painful it would be to walk on raw blisters, with new ones appearing every day”.

But with their goal in mind, the team soldiered on despite the physical and mental hardships.

“This walk is far tougher than I thought … but that hasn't stopped anyone. No one has given up … the journey has made me a better, stronger person.”

According to Roodbol, the Walking for Lions initiative was created after the realization that the survival of the African lion is in jeopardy.

Their message is simple: with less than 30 000 lions left in the wild in Africa, action has to be taken now. In Namibia, the biggest threat to lions comes from illegal hunting and poisoning, mostly due to predator/human conflict.