Lion kills businessman at luxury safari lodge in Namibia after he stepped out of tent to use toilet
A lion killed a man at a luxury lodge in the remote northwest of Namibia, authorities said. The victim — identified by local media as well-known businessman Bernd Kebbel — was camping with other tourists at the tented resort when the early morning tragedy unfolded, police said.
Kebbel, 59, was camping with his wife and friends near Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp in the Sesfontein area when he was attacked by the animal, the Namibian newspaper reported.
He was attacked when he stepped out of his tent to use the toilet, environment ministry spokesperson Ndeshipanda Hamunyela told local news outlet Informante.
Other campers managed to scare off the lion but Kebbel was already dead by then, he said.
Police were "attending the scene and a full report will be submitted in due course," spokesperson Elifas Kuwinga said.
A lion is pictured at the Hoanib River drainage in northern Namibia, Feb. 8, 2023.
Chen Cheng/Xinhua via Getty Images
According to the Daily Mail, Kebbel was a philanthropist who supported wildlife conservation in Namibia and once owned Off-Road-Centre, which sold accessories for safari vehicles.
Desert-adapted lions roam the remote northwest of the country where mountains and sand dunes meet.
In 2023, they were estimated to be around 60 adults and more than dozen cubs.
But their numbers have dipped in recent months following a drought-induced drop in prey and conflict with humans.
Last August, Namibia authorized the culling of hundreds of animals, including elephants, as part of a plan to feed people in the drought-stricken country.
The mauling marks at least the second deadly lion attack in Africa in less than six weeks. In April, a lion killed a 14-year-old girl outside Kenya's capital in a ranch to the south of Nairobi National Park.
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