Poachers poison five lions, chop off face and paws of one

Image: Facebook/Akwaaba Predator Park

Poachers poisoned five lions in Limpopo, South Africa on Oct. 1, going as far as to mutilate the face and the two front paws of one of the big cats.

“Tragedy struck last night at our park,” wrote the official Facebook page of Akwaaba Predator Park on Tuesday, Oct. 2, uploading photos of the dead lions. “We lost five lions to murderers. That is what they are, they killed our babies. Our hearts are broken.”

The park’s security guards called the farm manager after making their rounds at around 11:30 p.m., Akwaaba Predator Park’s manager, Bronwyn Moss, told Kormant last Wednesday, Oct. 3. The security personnels noticed that there was something wrong with the big cats in the enclosure.

When the farm manager arrived, he discovered the lions were already dead.

“He saw a lot of blood in the one cage and found that the one lion’s two front feet and face were chopped off,” Moss stated. “We suspect that the lions were all poisoned at the same time, but the poachers were disturbed by the security guards before they could get to the other lions.”

An investigation of the incident has been launched. The park is offering 100,000 South African Rands (around P367,000) to anyone who can give information on the suspects. Kate Matriano/JB

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