The Chronicle

BULAWAYO, Saturday, March 16, 1993 — A maneating lion, which killed an African youth and mauled his father in the Pelendaba district of Tjolotjo Tribal Trust area on Wednesday, was shot and killed by a European camper in the district on the same night.

The lion believed to have turned man-eater through extreme hunger and broken teeth, attacked Mbeju Ndhlovu (16) while he and two younger boys were herding cattle.

The lion sprang out of a thick bush and is said to have killed the boy almost immediately with blows from its forepaws.

While it stood over the boy, the younger boys ran to their kraal for help.

Two large groups of men, including the boy’s father, Mr Babani Ndhlovu, returned to the scene of the killing, beating their way there.

They found the lion standing over the body. It ignored attempts to drive it off.

The men set fire to the bush and Ndhlovu attempted to move from one group to the other while shouting in anguish: “This is my son!”

The lion attacked him, mauling him around the head and shoulders.

Mr Ndhlovu caught it by the tongue and twisted. The lion rolled over and left him. Mr Ndhlovu was in a critical condition.

The villagers retired and called on Mr TJ Steyn and Mr WJ Landsberg (19), two campers in the district carrying out Veterinary Department duties. The two set off in a closed land rover with some of the members of the kraal.

They found the boy’s body had been dragged away, but were able to follow the spoor by the headlights of the vehicle.

Mr Landsberg was climbing out of the village to stand guard while the body was loaded on when the lion charged out of the darkness. The lion stopped at the back of the vehicle and Mr Landsberg shot it from a rear window.

It was found to be in poor condition. It was thin and carried many scars of encounters with other lions.