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Outrage over another Hwange male lion shot by a bow hunter

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BY DON PINNOCK

A magnificent male lion known as Mopane has been killed in a hunting area on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park.

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Reliable sources say he was targeted by a bow hunter in the same area in which renowned lion Cecil was killed in 2015.

Guides at the park said Mopane was as big and impressive as Cecil.

On  August 5, Mopane was baited out of the park and into the Gwaai Conservancy where, six years ago, Cecil was killed by United States based dentist Walter Palmer, causing a worldwide outcry.

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Mopane was shot by a client thought to be South African, though this has not been confirmed.

The operator of the hunt is said to be Chattaronga Bow Hunting Safaris, based in Limpopo. 

Our Burning Planet  sought comment from the operator, but had not received one at the time of publication.

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The 12-year-old male leaves behind the Somadada pride, which now consists of two adult females and six sub-adults of about 16 to 18 months old. 

Without his protection, the survival chance of his cubs has been significantly reduced as the pride is open for a takeover by other male lions.

Once this happens, the cubs of the predecessor are likely to be killed by the new males to force the females back into oestrus. 

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Mopane was in a coalition with another male lion, Sidhule, with both lions frequently seen by photographic safari lodges in and around Hwange National Park.

The coalition had been successful, the two having sired offspring with the Nyamandhlovu pride, the Nora pride and the Guvulala pride.

One of the best-looking lions of the park, Netsayi, who is in charge of Cecil’s pride, was sired by Sidhule. 

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Then in August 2019 Sidhule was lured from Hwange and is alleged to have been killed with a bow by Colton Payne from Houston, Texas, in a hunt organised by Chattaronga. 

According to Drew Abrahamson of Captured in Africa Foundation, in December 2020 an outfit called Big Game Safaris International was advertising and targeting Mopane, who was described as one of the “oldest and most aggressive lions in their hunting block.

Do you want the chance to take a big free roaming lion?” said the advert. “Book a hunt with us!” The advert has since been removed.

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According to Mark and Pamela Robinson of the Cecil the Lion group, the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wild Management Authority has confirmed the hunt for Mopane was authorised and that the mandatory permits were in place. 

“We are devastated by the loss of another apex alpha male with a pride,” they posted on Facebook.

“Mopane marks the  fourth black-maned lion with a pride that has been killed in that area outside the park in the past several years.

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“The biggest breeding males are being snuffed for rug material.”

Locals had been concerned that hunters were targeting Mopane.

In 2019 Lions of Hwange National Park asked that people keep a watch on him and Sidhule, as they were worried about the oncoming hunting season.

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Mopane, they said, had become more docile since teaming up with Sidhule. 

A petition was also launched to try to keep the two lions from hunters, who were allegedly setting up bait sites to try to lure them out of the park, where photographic concessions kept them protected.

Tragically, a few months later, Sidhule was killed on World Lion Day, August 10, 2019.

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Now Mopane is also dead, no doubt to be skinned and mounted on a wall.

Supporters of hunting claim the sport’s focus is on sustainability and that the areas in which hunting takes place are not suitable for photographic safaris. T

hey believe that using them for hunting generates revenue to maintain these wild habitats.

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“But how are you protecting the wildlife if you’re taking out males from prides who frequent the national park?” Abrahamson asked.

“These lions traverse the park, contradicting the hunters’ philosophies.”

The death of Mopane won’t be the last.

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 Of the 62 lions (18 adult males, 10 sub-adult males, 34 adult females) tagged during a Hwange study over seven years by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at the University of Oxford beginning in 1999, 24 died through trophy hunting.

 Of these, 13 were adult males and six were sub-adult males.

According to Abrahamson, conservationists are compiling a document to be sent to the Zimbabwean government to stop all big-cat hunting on the Hwange border.

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But the Zimbabwean government does not have a good track record in response to pleas to protect wildlife.

Two years after the death of Cecil, his son, Xanda, a collared pride leader, was shot by a professional hunter named Richard Cooke just outside the borders of Hwange near where Cecil died.

Cooke, it turned out, had also killed Xanda’s four-year-old brother in 2015. 

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Xanda was six years old and a father with several young cubs, most of whom would probably have been killed without him to defend them. There was understandable media outrage following the hunt. 

An international lobby coalition, Tourists Against Trophy Hunting, called for an immediate end to trophy killing in Zimbabwe. It didn’t happen. – DM/OBP

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National

Government unveils plan to curb road accidents

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, has outlined a series of measures to combat the rising tide of road traffic accidents in the country.

Zimbabwe has been witnessing a worrying surge in road traffic accidents, with the latest incident claiming 17 lives last week, along Seke road.

Yesterday, Muswere addressed the cabinet, outlining measures to curb road traffic accidents. Below is his statement, word for word:

“So capacitation of the vehicle inspection is ongoing and the sourcing of the vehicle inspection department. Compliance to legislation is also one of the parameters that we are utilising.Standardisation in terms of driving schools, the training of drivers, speed limits as a governance to traffic monitoring, the utilisation of traffic management, the utilisation of cameras for number plate recognition and facial recognition in order to curb over speeding and traffic offences. The capacitation of the Zimbabwe Republic Police in order to apprehend and also deal with traffic offences. Legislation amendments that are taking place in order to ensure that our roads are safe. As the minister (Felix Mhona) has also highlighted that the Civil Protection Unit is being capacitated in order to deal with the challenges that we might not have been able to deal with as part of an architecture under the hall of government approach.”

Background statistics from the Zimbabwe Republic Police reveal a concerning trend. During the first six months of 2025, the country recorded 28 159 road traffic accidents, up from 25 968 in the same period last year. Fatal crashes also increased by 11% from 784 to 870, while road deaths rose by 4.9% from 1 037 to 1 088. The majority of accidents occur in known danger zones, often due to commuter congestion and erratic driving by public transport operators.

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Two Zimparks rangers injured in elephant attack

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BY WANDILE TSHUMA

Two Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) rangers were injured by elephants in the Sengwa, Chirisa Safari area yesterday, while investigating a reported case of a snared buffalo.

According to a Zimparks press statement released yesterday by their spokesperson, Tinashe Farawo, the incident occurred when the duo encountered a herd of elephants with calves, which charged at them.

A helicopter was reportedly dispatched  to airlift both rangers to Harare for urgent medical attention as of yesterday afternoon.

During the chaotic scene, one ranger suffered a broken arm while fleeing, while the other was gored, sustaining severe abdominal wounds and fractures to his arm and leg.

Farawo concluded by saying that the authority’s thoughts are with the injured rangers and their families during this challenging time.

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In the community

Relatives convicted of brutal assault of son-in-law over property dispute

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Bulawayo court has concluded the case of a 65-year-old man, Abednico Maposa, who was brutally attacked by his relatives, including his wife and three brothers-in-law, over a property dispute in Swart Village, Inyathi.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority, four accused individuals – Sikhanyiso Zulu, Isaac Sibanda, Cabangani Zulu, and Lucky Zulu – were on trial for assaulting Maposa.

The State alleged that on February 9, the accused persons attacked Maposa with stones, demanding a fridge and other belongings, and left him unconscious with head and body injuries.

In conclusion, the Tredgold Regional Court Magistrate in Bulawayo acquitted Sikhanyiso Zulu and Isaac Sibanda due to insufficient evidence.

Cabangani Zulu and Lucky Zulu were convicted and sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, with 6 months suspended and an additional 18 months suspended on condition that they complete 630 hours of community service.

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