Namibia: Lion Attack Victim's Family Found


The sister of a man who was killed by a lion at the Harnas Wildlife Foundation two months ago has been traced.

Teresa Kurpas, sister of the deceased Markus Mydlarz, was located in Poland and was told by the German embassy of her brother's death.

In an email Kurpas wrote that "Africa and wild animals" were Mydlarz's passion.

Mydlarz (53) was killed by a lion at the Harnas guest farm in the Omaheke Region in May, after he climbed into a lion enclosure.

According to a statement from the Harnas Wildlife Foundation yesterday, "At this stage how he died and the intentions he had climbing over the fence" could not be confirmed, as the Police investigation is still ongoing.

In the meantime it has emerged that Mydlarz was located after an intensive search by staff on May 13, after he did not appear for his scheduled check-out.

At around lunchtime, a Harnas employee found Mydlarz in the lion enclosure. He was found with a torch, a backpack and a diary on him.

Harnas management yesterday said that Mydlarz had ignored several warning signs on his way to the lion enclosure. Furthermore, he managed to climb over several electric fences in order to reach the enclosure.

"All enclosures have a 2,4-metre-high fence with between six and eight electric wires on the inside to keep the animals in the enclosures," the Harnas statement said.

Mydlarz climbed over the electric fence after having walked 1,5 kilometres on a service road to gain entry to the "last and furthest" lion enclosure.

According to the statement, Mydlarz went without any staff member's knowledge "possibly during the early hours of the morning through two 'no entry' signboards".

A spokesperson at the German embassy in Windhoek yesterday confirmed that the relatives of Mydlarz were traced "more than a month ago" in Poland.

The embassy spokesperson said Mydlarz's body had been cremated and the embassy was still waiting for instructions on what to do with the ashes.

Gobabis Police yesterday said the fate of the lion involved in the attack would be determined by the courts once the investigation into Mydlarz's death had been completed.

The Harnas statement yesterday said that apart from existing security measures and regulations, the Foundation has taken further security measures and can ensure the public that this situation was definitely unintentional on their side.