Cecil, the lion whose slaughter created a furore across the globe

Freeman Razemba Crime Reporter

A 40-year-old tour guide was on Monday morning attacked and killed by a lioness while leading tourists in Victoria Falls.

Qin Terrence Swales, who was employed by Zambezi Heritage, was attacked by a lioness named Nxaha, which is being used by Oxford University for research purposes.

Chief police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed the incident.

“The incident occurred at around 0645 hours when Qin Terrence Swales, who was leading six tourists, was attacked and killed by a lioness called Nxaha,” she said.

She said during the tour, the tourists spotted six lions under a tree and they went nearby.

In the process, two cubs came near the tourists in a friendly manner but this was taken differently by their mother, Nxaha who attempted to attack them.

Swales shouted its name and it retreated.

“Later on, the lioness came back and it attacked and struck Swales on the neck. He screamed and fell down and the lioness went away,” Snr Asst Comm Charamba said.

He sustained deep cuts on the neck and chest and a helicopter was summoned to ferry him to hospital but he died on the way.

This is not the first time that lions have attacked and killed people in the country this year.

In April, a 14-year-old boy was killed and devoured by a lion while guarding a family maize in Mariga Village in Chapoto near Kanyemba Border Post in Mashonaland Central.

The boy, who was in the company of his uncle, was killed and eaten while sleeping at around 3am and only the head was recovered.

The incident also follows after another lion, Cecil, which was being used for research purposes by Oxford University was killed by an American dentist in Hwange recently.