Safari Guide Killed by Lion in Cecil's Park

A lion charged and killed a safari guide who was leading a group of tourists in the same national park in Zimbabwe that was the home of Cecil the lion, who was killed by a bowhunter in July. Police rep Charity Charamba said today that Quinn Swales was in Hwange National Park when he spotted six lions yesterday. "One of the lions had cubs and they became hostile. Mr. Swales at first (managed) to scare the lions away, but then the male lion later made a U-turn and attacked him," Charamba said. No tourists were harmed, she added. Swales was leading six tourists on a walking photo safari when he spotted fresh lion spoor and decided to track a pride of lions consisting of two females, two cubs, and two males, according to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

The lion Nxaha, collared as part of an Oxford University study, attacked Swales, the parks authority says. Camp Hwange, the safari company that employed Swales, said the 40-year-old guide succumbed to injuries on the same day he was attacked. "He was tracking lions when a male lion unexpectedly charged," the company said in a statement. Camp Hwange's Facebook page says it offers game drives and game walks where "game likely to be encountered include all of the cat family, wild dog, elephants, and buffalo in huge numbers." The parks authority says a man who sells curios to tourists was killed by an elephant in the resort town of Victoria Falls, about 60 miles from Hwange, also yesterday. Meanwhile, the dental office of Cecil-killer Walter Palmer has been back in business for about a week. (More lion stories.)