Namibia: Public Keeps Hoaruseb Lion Issue Hot

The Facebook group "Who killed our Lions?" which was created in the aftermath of the Hoaruseb lioness killings, has collected close to N$20 000 in aid of lion conservation in Namibia during the past month.

The group's numbers continue to hover at around 5 000 people who are adamant about keeping the issue of the lion killings alive and kicking, and have demanded in various forums that the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) "needs to act" to bring the culprits to justice.

In an open letter to the Ministry the group stated that the funds collected by the group will be "channelled into nature conservation, education about nature as well as research in order to give nature a genuine chance of survival".

One of the primary short term goals of the group, according to the open letter, is a request to MET to "make an open and transparent statement on the matter" in which the issue of poisoning is discussed in regard to existing national policies on human wildlife conflict management.

"Knowing what exactly occurred, what the motives of the people involved were, could well lead to understanding and steps taken that will turn this negative into a positive", the group's statement reads.

In the letter, the "Who killed our Lions" members point out that MET's handling of the incident could place Namibia "at the forefront of conservation by demonstrating how problems are turned into solutions that aid conservation".

According to the group's members, various attempts to contact the MET have failed to date.

The next step is the official launch of a website, through which the group hopes to continue to grow desert lion conservation efforts.

Namibia: No Leads in Hoaruseb Lion Investigation

Nearly a month after the killing of three lions in the Hoaruseb river bed in the Kunene region, the cause of death remains unknown and no persons are linked to the poisonings.

On July 10, Dr Philip Stander, who had been tracking the Hoaruseb pride for close to a decade, broke the news on his website. "The Desert lions suffered a big blow when the entire Hoaruseb Pride was poisoned the three lionesses (Xpl-37 "Morada", Xpl-38 "Tawny" and Xpl-61 "Maya") died a few metres from each other in the Hoaruseb River". Stander's wrote that the event marked "end of the famous Hoaruseb lions, which led to a widespread outcry condemning the poisonings.

Dr Kalumbi Shangula, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) confirmed yesterday that the investigation is ongoing. He said that to date it is unknown who spearheaded the killing.

Leon Kasupi, a project manager in the Purros conservancy, said yesterday that it has been confirmed three lionesses were involved in the killing of a head of cattle shortly before their deaths. He could not confirm whether the killing of the livestock was linked to the killing of the lions.

Kasupi said the community condemns the way in which the lions were killed - if poison was indeed the cause of their deaths. He said that after many years living in close proximity to the lions, the community knew that there are "channels of command" that have to be followed, if a lion did cause damage to the people or their livestock.

He said the good news is that lions and lion spoor have been found in the areas close to Purros and "in the weeks to come, we might have other lions". He said the community, especially the younger generation who are used to living with lions, would "welcome the lions" back into the community.

I hate it when they give names to wild animals. It just doesn't sit right with me.