Tour guide mauled to death by lion in same park where Cecil was killed

A SAFARI guide has been mauled to death by a lion in a pride he was tracking in the Zimbabwean park where Cecil was killed.

Quinn Swales mauled by lion where Cecil was killed. Pic: Facebook/Quinn Swales

A TOUR guide has been mauled to death by a lion during a walking safari in the Zimbabwean national park where Cecil the lion lived before he was shot, police said.

Quinn Terence Swales, 40, was attacked on Monday after the group left their vehicle to inspect a pride of lions with cubs under a tree in the Hwange National Park, the country’s largest natural reserve. He was leading six tourists when he was killed.

“Some cubs came near the tourists and one adult lion identified as Nxaha charged at them,” police spokeswoman Charity Charamba told AFP.

“The adult lion retreated for a while and then came charging at the guide. It knocked him down and mauled him on the neck and shoulder.”

Quinn Swales was tracking a pride of lions when he was mauled. Picture: Facebook/Quinn Swales

Quinn Swales was attacked as he led a group of six. Picture: Facebook/Quinn Swales

The guide was flown from the scene but pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital in the resort town of Victoria Falls.

Owners of the safari camp confirmed the incident in a statement.

“It is with deep regret and great sadness that we are able to confirm the death of Quinn Swales, a Camp Hwange professional guide, who was fatally mauled by a male lion while out on a walking safari,” Camp Hwange said.

“We can confirm that Quinn did everything he could to successfully protect his guests and ensure their safety, and that no guests were injured.”

It is with deep regret and great sadness that we are able to confirm the death of Quinn Swales, a Camp Hwange...

Posted by Camp Hwange on Monday, August 24, 2015

Charamba urged visitors to game parks to “remain wary even when the animals appear friendly because with an animal you can never predict its next move”.

The killing of Cecil the lion in July provoked worldwide outrage when it emerged he was a favourite attraction among visitors to Hwange and was wearing a tracking collar as part of an Oxford University research project.

Accused ... Walter Palmer, accused of killing prized lion Cecil, with a Nevada Bighorn sheep. Photo: Facebook/Trophy Hunt America

Cecil was reportedly lured with bait from the safety of the park before being killed by Walter Palmer, an American dentist armed with a bow and arrow who paid $US55,000 ($76,000) to shoot a lion.

Palmer’s guide on the expedition, Zimbabwean Theo Bronkhorst, appeared in court last month and was granted $US1,000 bail pending his trial on September 28 on charges of organising an illegal hunt.

Authorities lifted hunting restrictions just a week after they were imposed following the killing of Cecil the lion. President Mugabe says the Zimbabwe people “failed to protect him”.