Ethiopian lions eat 20 people, injure 10 others

A pride of hungry lions has killed and devoured 20 villagers, injured 10 others and eaten at least 70 cattle in southern Ethiopia in the past week, police said today.

The attacks forced at least 1,000 people to flee their homes in Hadia Zone, in the Southern Nation and Nationalities People State, 250 miles north of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

“The lions are coming from the bush in seeking food,” in groups of two to four animals, according to the statement.

It was not immediately clear why the lions sought food in human settlements. Lions attack and eat humans in areas where their wild prey has been cut down by over-hunting, deforestation and population growth.

Older lions also become man-eaters because humans are a far more easier prey than wildlife.