When I was in Namibia, our PH told us that several years back the employees at Etosha National Park went on strike. The strikers set up a picket line at the park's entrance and actually took over the area just inside the gate to set up a squatters camp. Dozens were camped there when, sometime in the night, a local pride of lions found out that sleeping strikers are a lot easier to catch than blackface impala and springbok. According to my PH, many of the "campers" were taken.

Can anybody confirm this story, or is it just another urban legend put forth by the young PH to entertain the dumb yanks in his control.

When I was at Etosha, out PH touring us told us a drunen German tourist went to sleep late at nithg on one of the park benches at one of the waterholes just across the fence from the main visitors center. A lion came across the fence and et him. Bob

Bobc, I have heard the same story as well.

Knowing this particular PH (rather assistant PH) I'm betting the story about the strikers getting eaten is a lie. More likely just what he WISHES had happened!

Why do lions lick each others arses ........ ?

To get the taste of squatters out of their mouths.


(I made that joke a little more PC )

I decided to see what a Google search would dredge up. This is from a 1994 Jeff Cooper Commentary:

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We read that an unfortunate young German tourist who had elected to "sleep out" near the Etosha Pan was recently scarfed up by a couple of lions who slipped him out of his sleeping bag in the middle of the night.
It is certainly not a regular thing for lions to eat tourists, but tourists should remember that it does happen, and there is not much that can be done about it.

Bob