Another tragic incident involving protected lions in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe has hit headlines, CNN reports. This time, however, the victim was one of the very people who protects these endangered animals.
Quinn Swales was taking a group of six foreign tourists out and showing them the sites in the park. Out of nowhere, however, a lion charged and mauled him to death. He was 40 years old and died in the morning of the attack.
Quinn Swales before his death
"Quinn did everything he could to successfully protect his guests and ensure their safety," said Camp Hwange, the company the ill-fated guide worked for before Monday's incident.
Hwange National Park is the exact same park where Cecil the Lion used to roam freely before being poached by American hunter Walter Palmer. Cecil was lured out of the park, shot with an arrow, and tracked until he died.
The hunter paid $50,000 to kill the lion. The malice even goes as far as Palmer attempting to remove the GPS tracker embedded within Cecil to conceal evidence.
Camp Hwange is a small company that specializes in walking tours of the park which covers wide swathes of land in northwestern Zimbabwe. They said that Swales was a "fully qualified and experienced" tour guide.
So far, details shared by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority indicate that that Swales spotted fresh lion spoor while touring the group. He decided to track the pride which consisted of two males, two females, and two cubs.
It is clear as of this writing that the lion which attacked Swales was Nxaha, a male lion part of the pride that was tracked, wore a tracking collar similar to the one Cecil used to wear. NBC reports that, "It is further revealed that Nxaha jumped out at Quinn. All efforts to save Quinn were in vain."
