Man in Zimbabwe devoured by lions while showering

Nov 2, 2010, 17:15 GMT

Harare - A Zimbabwean man was devoured by a pride of lions while taking a shower in a camp in the north of the country, a conservation body said Tuesday.

The man was attacked by the lions while using an outside shower at a fishing camp near Mana Pools National Park in the north of the country, Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwean Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) told the German Press Agency dpa.

Mana Pools is on the Zambezi river. The area is popular with hunting and fishing enthusiasts, most of whom stay in basic camps, with little protection against attack by wild animals.

The attack is the latest in a string of lion attacks in the area, according to Rodrigues.

Eight villagers were killed in a spate of lion attacks over a period of about two months earlier this year, he said. Those attacks only stopped when a pride of lions was killed.

Conservationists say the high level of wildlife poaching in Zimbabwe is robbing predators, like lions, of food and making animals more aggressive towards humans.

Antelope, which lions feed on, are regularly poached by local communities for bushmeat.

'If they've (lions) got no food, they're going to look for other ways of feeding the pride,' Rodrigues said.

Rodrigues also blamed the proliferation of fishing camps along the Zambezi for adding to human-animal conflict.

The camps encroach on the animals' environment, making them more hostile, he argued.

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