Guide killed by lion in same Zimbabwe park where Cecil the Lion died

A safari guide has been killed by a lion at the same national park in Zimbabwe where Cecil the lion died last month.

Quinn Swales was in Hwange National Park on Monday when he spotted six lions.

A police spokeswoman said: “One of the lions had cubs and they became hostile. Mr Swales at first manage to scare the lions away but then the male lion later made a u-turn and attacked him.”

None of the tourists were harmed.

Mr Swales was leading six tourists on a walking safari when he spotted fresh lion spoor and decided to track a pride of lions consisting of two females, two cubs and two males, according to the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

The collared lion, named Nxaha, attacked Mr Swales, the parks authority said.

Cecil’s killing in July by American dentist James Walter Palmer just outside the park sparked outrage in the United States. The collared lions are being monitored for a University of Oxford study.

Camp Hwange, the safari company that employed Mr Swales, said the 40-year-old guide died from his injuries on the same day he was attacked.

“He was tracking lions when a male lion unexpectedly charged,” said Camp Hwange in a statement.

Camp Hwange’s Facebook page says it offers game drives and game walks where “game likely to be encountered include all of the cat family, wild dog, elephants and buffalo in huge numbers”.