Lion attack victims flee hospital at night

Arusha. The four people who were mauled when villagers attacked and killed six lions in Babati District last week have disappeared from hospital.

Officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism went to visit the victims at Monduli District Hospital on Saturday, only to be told that the patients, fearing arrest, sneaked out the previous night and vanished into the darkness.

The physician in charge at the hospital, Dr Edward Lengai, confirmed yesterday that the four had run away after fellow villagers told them that they would be arrested and jailed for killing the lions.

“As you can see for yourself, the entrance for out-patients and those admitted is the same...it’s hard for security personnel to tell them.

“Sometimes patients flee without settling their bills, but there’s little we can do, bearing in mind that we have no uniform for admitted patients,” he said. Dr Lengai added that the four patients still needed to continue with treatment, saying they had sustained serious wounds during their confrontation with the lions.

He named the escaped patients as Mr Jackson Melari, 30; Mr Obeid Mollel, 23; Mr Jackson Tevel, 34, and Karan Dilala, 30, all residents of Olasiti Village.

They were taken to hospital after they were mauled by lions that had been cornered by over 100 villagers.

The villagers hunted down and killed six lions, that had strayed into the village from the neighbouring Tarangire National Park and killed three donkeys.

On Thursday, Natural Resources and Tourism minister Lazaro Nyalandu said those who killed the lions would be prosecuted.

“The killing of the lions is a big blow to our efforts to conserve wildlife. It’s a blow to Tanzania’s reputation as one of the last remaining places where there are still stable lion populations,” he said.  Police in Manyara Region have detained two people in connection with the killing of the lions, according to acting regional police commander Christopher Fuime.

He was quick to add, however, that a village executive officer and a businessman were not suspects.

“They are not suspected of killing the lions. We only wanted information on firearms found in their possession after the incident, and whether they were the ones used to shoot dead two of the six lions that were slaughtered,” he said.

Mr Nyalandu said last week that an investigation was underway to identify the ringleaders of the slaughter and bring them to justice.

Local leader Simon Abel told The Citizen that four villagers were mauled by lions during the “operation” and admitted to Monduli District Hospital. Two of the victims suffered serious wounds.

Mr Nyalandu urged people to report to the relevant authorities whenever wild animals strayed into human settlements instead of killing them.

Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (Tato) chairman Willy Chambullo condemned the killing of the lions, saying wildlife conservation was everybody’s responsibility.

“I wish the villagers would have asked us to compensate them for the donkeys killed by the lions. It is very hard to replace a dead lion, unlike a donkey,” he said.

Conservationists say there has been a sharp decline in the number of lions in Tanzania in the last decade, mostly due to their being killed by humans in areas bordering national parks and game reserves.

A recent survey indicates that the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem, a key lion sanctuary, has been losing an average of 25 lions annually. Findings by the Tarangire Lion Project show 226 lions were killed between 2004-2013 in retaliation for killing livestock.