Desert Lions

[Ngala]

From Namibian Nature Conservation:

Tullamore was poisoned
06 July 2017 | Crime

Several months after the last of the famous lion brothers dubbed the 'Five Musketeers' was killed, it has officially been confirmed that he was poisoned.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism yesterday confirmed that Tullamore (XPL-93) was poisoned alongside a lioness and three cubs in April in northern Namibia

Tullamore was the last surviving member of the group of five desert lions made famous by the movie 'The Vanishing Kings'. He was moved to the Okongue area after three of his brothers were poisoned by farmers and the other shot in August last year.

Until now it has been unclear how Tullamore, the lioness and her cubs were killed.

Currie Cup

The ministry has been mum on the killings and has therefore been heavily criticised both locally and internationally for not pronouncing itself on the matter.

Spokesperson of the ministry, Romeo Muyunda, yesterday confirmed that Tullamore, together with the lioness and three cubs, was poisoned.

He told Namibian Sun that tests results have been received confirming this.

“The tests indicate that the lions were poisoned,” said Muyunda.

According to him the reason why the ministry has taken so long to officially announce the results of the tests is because in these incidences due processes must be followed and investigations have to take place to determine the cause of death before announcing anything.

He also said that the death was highly publicised on social media and therefore the ministry did not deem it necessary to further release any results. “It is not to say that we are not concerned about what happened to Tullamore and the other musketeers, we are just as concerned about the killing of other lions that are dying due to human-wildlife conflict. It is however not possible to pronounce ourselves on each and every death.”

He stressed that when a lion is killed that a case is opened and investigations follow and in this case investigations are on-going and no arrests have been made.

“If anybody has information they are urged to come forward.”

Muyunda further added that although these lions are well-known internationally, there is a misconception that the five musketeers are the only desert-adapted lions left in Namibia. “We have more than five desert adapted lions and Namibia has a growing population in the Skelton Coast where these lions are from, as well as in the rest of the country.”

He could not confirm how many lions have been killed this year and if there is an increase in the number compared to last year.

Since the 'The Vanishing Kings' movie was made Tullamore as well as his four brothers were all killed by farmers – three were poisoned and one was shot in 2016. The deaths of Ben (Xpl-91), Adolf (Xpl-92) and Polla (Xpl-90), shortly after that of their brother Harry (Xpl-89) left thousands of local and international admirers in mourning.

Tullamore was then moved to the Okongue area for his own safety. He became the dominant male of a new pride, some of whom were killed with him in this latest incident. Both Tullamore and the lioness were wearing collars, which were allegedly burned after the killings.

ELLANIE SMIT Reply