10 January 2016, 18:12
KathiLion shot after killing and eating a woman near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
https://www.the-newshub.com/in...toria-falls-zimbabweLion shot after killing and eating a woman near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Villagers could only watch helplessly as lion ate 52-year-old grandmother
NEWS INTERNATIONAL 10 JAN 2016, 09:58 GMT
In a village near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, people are angry and grieving the death of one of their community. Sarah Tshuma was killed after trying to protect her livestock from a hungry lion pride. Her actions cost her a terrible death.
Lions have been harassing the village livestock for the past weeks. This has meant that the whole community has been kept awake at night in a futile fight to keep the lions away from their cattle and goats.
The Standard Newspaper spoke to Violet Ngwenya, who is related to the deceased. “The lions tried to get into the cattle kraal (livestock pen) at around seven in the evening,” she told the Newspaper. The whole village turned out to chase the lions away, but it seems that at least one lion returned later that night. Sarah, who had stayed up to keep a lookout for the lions, was heard screaming for help at around 1.00am.
The villagers immediately made contact with Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, but nothing could be done for Sarah. Helplessly, the villagers watched as she was eaten. When Parks officials arrived, they shot the lion on the spot.
The Victoria Falls area is most famous for the glorious falls where the mighty Zambezi River cascades into a deep gorge. Visitors to the area enjoy the stunning scenery and the many wild animals in the surrounding bush. The town itself often experiences elephants that wander through the streets.
For those people who live on the outskirts of the town, far away from the main tourist venues, wildlife is often seen as a problem. Villagers who try to farm or keep livestock in wilderness areas often engage in conflict with the animals. This sadly often results in the deaths of people or animals or even both.
The elephant that was shot and served up at President Mugabe’s Birthday bash came from the same area. The villagers of Woodlands were not sorry to see the animal killed, as it had been aggressive and robbed the villagers of their crops. On another instance, a buffalo gored one of the village residents.
Prior to Independence in Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls was a sleepy village with a few hotels, a police station and a border post. Following the boom in tourism in the 1980's and 1990’s the residents in the area grew at an astonishing rate. It is inevitable that humans will clash with animals when people move into wildlife areas.
It is not usual for lions to attack humans but in some situations easy meat can be had from killing domestic animals. Humans sometimes get in the way. It is standard policy in most of Africa, that lions that kill people are destroyed.
11 January 2016, 08:13
dande_jackso what will the antis name this one? Maybe Cecelia!!!!!
11 January 2016, 11:50
Barry GroulxSo now the locals will set snares and poison for lions. This is a good illustration of the life and death coexistence of wildlife and villagers in Africa that the antis will never get their first world heads around.