logo
'I saw a lioness trying to EAT my husband, with his head in its jaws': Heroic wife relives moment she HIT lion in the face in doomed bid to save partner - and says she does not want the animal killed, despite his death

'I saw a lioness trying to EAT my husband, with his head in its jaws': Heroic wife relives moment she HIT lion in the face in doomed bid to save partner - and says she does not want the animal killed, despite his death

Daily Mail​2 days ago

A 'heroic' wife who tried to save her husband after he was attacked and dragged off by a lion has spoken out about the terrifying ordeal for the first time.
Conny Kebbel, 57, was on a wildlife expedition camp in northern Namibia with her businessman husband Bernd, 59, last month when a starved lion pounced on him and killed him.
The father-of-two, who had climbed down a ladder from his rooftop tent mounted on the top of a 4 x 4 to use the bathroom in the early hours of the morning, was suddenly grabbed by the predator - a lioness called Charlie.
The ferocious roar of the animal and the cries of her desperate husband as the lioness grabbed him by the neck and dragged him into the bushes alerted Mrs Kebbel, who was still sleeping in the rooftop tent.
Speaking about her husband's tragic death, Mrs Kebbel described how he had left his tent at around 1.30 am, when she suddenly heard a sound.
'It was as if he was surprised and then a lion [began] growling.
'I looked out of the tent and saw a lioness had grabbed Bernd by his head,' she said as she relived the horror of the attack.
Mrs Kebbel bravely rushed out of the tent and began hitting the lioness in the face with a satellite pole she had ripped off from a vehicle in an attempt to get the wild cat away from her husband.
The 12-year-old lioness is said to have been on her last legs, skeletal and starving
A man who was on the expedition with the couple also rushed to Mr Kebbel's rescue and managed to hit the predator in the head with a small torch, scaring the animal away before it could devour her victim.
But nothing could be done to save the keen outdoorsman who was killed almost instantly in the savage attack.
Charlie disappeared behind the bushes, but she then returned and 'continued to mock charge the group coming in from different directions'.
'Everybody fled into the cars because Charlie was posing a threat to us all', Mrs Kebbel continued.
The tragedy happened during a desert trip in the Kunene Region where a group of six adults and six children travelling in three 4 x 4's had stopped to make camp.
The night after Mr Kebbel's violent death, Charlie attacked another group nearby.
A video was posted on social media of the damage she had caused to their tents as she tried to slash and bite its way inside.
Following the horrific ordeal, officials of the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism shot Charlie dead as she took a break under a bush.
A spokesman said: 'The animal had become habituated and used to humans and was posing an ongoing threat to community members and tourists so a difficult decision was made'.
Conny Kebbel, who shares two children with her late husband, said: 'We are not angry. We have found peace. We did not want Charlie to die. It happened at a place we and Bernd loved.'
A lion expert who has known Bernd and Conny Kebbel for over 10 years hailed her amazing bravery in taking on a lion killing her husband alone and unarmed.
The tour guide who leads expeditions in the NW Namibiian deserts said: 'Conny has become part of folklore as who in their right takes on a lioness and lives.
'It is all anyone is talking about around the bush fires at night.
'She was said to have been screaming at it like a dervish and grabbed its leather collar and was physically hauling this thing more than twice her weight off Bernd.
'Her screams carried to the two other tents and another man bravely joined her in taking on the lioness armed only with a torch and battered it over the head.
'The lioness was shocked at being attacked and retreated but not far and tried to get back to her 'kill' a number of times but was driven back each time it came.
'The only thing they could do was get Bernd aboard a vehicle and away from there.'
The lion expert added that the 'bravery of Conny is all that anyone is talking about right now'.
The 12-year-old lioness is said to have been on her last legs, skeletal and starving.
Photos of the animal taken just weeks before showed her bony body, suggesting she had not killed to feed for a long time.
It is believed that her natural fear of human beings was overcome by hunger and she crept into the camp in which Mr Kebbel and his wife and their friends were camping out in.
Mr Kebbel, who was originally from Germany, was a wealthy philanthropist who had spent large sums of money supporting Namibian desert lions.
He also worked closely supporting the Desert Lion Project with donations and fitting out their research vehicles.
Charlie was part of the three 'famous' orphan cub sisters of the Skeleton Coast who starred in an award-winning documentary on their incredible survival broadcast worldwide.
Namibia has about 800 desert lions left with half in the National Park at Etosha and the rest scattered in the boiling heat and drought of one of the world's most inhospitable areas.
There are about 38,000 free roaming lions left in Africa mostly in conservation areas and the Namibian Ministry of the Environment & Tourist estimates they have just 800 left.
Every year in Africa lions are estimated to kill about 250 people.
Conservation groups are warning tourists only to camp in designated sites managed by the local communities for safety but to also help protect lions like Charlie.
One conservationist said: 'The loss of a human life, an irreplaceable lioness and part of Namibia's tourism and nature legacy, is mourned and may Charlie's story serve as a lasting reminder that true admiration of nature begins with respect and distance'.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

TikTok star Emilie Kiser wasn't home when toddler son drowned
TikTok star Emilie Kiser wasn't home when toddler son drowned

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

TikTok star Emilie Kiser wasn't home when toddler son drowned

TikTok star Emilie Kiser wasn't home when her three-year-old son fatally drowned in the family's backyard pool, a source told Kiser, a popular mommy blogger, lost her son Trigg on May 18 - six days after he was found unresponsive in a backyard pool in Chandler, Arizona. Before it was confirmed that Trigg, who was often featured in his mother's viral videos, was the child who died, many speculated online about him being the victim. Once news broke that he was the boy who drowned, a 'media frenzy' unleashed as internet sleuths and fans of Kiser took it upon themselves to request records - including videos - in relation to his death, the source said. She then filed a lawsuit a week after his passing against several agencies in Maricopa County to block private information from getting out to the public. On June 4, the Arizona Superior Court for Maricopa County ruled in her favor, granting her temporary confidentiality, meaning evidence will not be released while the court makes its final ruling on the tragedy. The 26-year-old mother's declaration 'reflects an intensely personal account of her grief and trauma' that was 'submitted to help the court understand her perspective - not for public consumption,' per the source. In her motion, Kiser specifically urged the court to keep not just detailed records of Trigg's death private, but also footage as '100+ public records requests' for the video have come in, according to the source. The intense amount of records requests 'only serves to satisfy morbid curiosity more than any type of justice,' they added. Kiser 'should not be forced to relive the aftermath through viral footage,' the source stated. 'The motions behind the push for release are concerning. In many cases, requests appear to be driven by monetization and notoriety, not accountability,' they continued. 'That is not a valid justification for invading a family's grief.' Since news of her legal filing came out, many online have speculated that Kiser chose to do so as a way to cover up information, but according to the source, that is completely false. 'Emilie has fully cooperated with investigators. The focus here is not on withholding information, but on safeguarding the dignity of a child and allowing a grieving family the space and privacy to heal.' The source also revealed chilling details on what Kiser and her family are going through as 'rabid fans' have swarmed her home and tried to reach out to them. 'Rabid fans and media have surrounded Emilie's home, filmed through her windows, and sent unsolicited packages' they said. Kiser has four million followers on TikTok and 1.7 million on Instagram, but according to the source, her 'public profile does not negate her right to privacy, nor does it make her son's death a matter for public consumption. 'Being online should not strip someone of basic human decency.' Following the tragic ordeal, a neighbor told that the influencer's house was swarmed with five police cars. Emergency responders arrived and performed life-saving efforts until Trigg was airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital for specialized care. Kiser hasn't posted since the tragedy, but her followers have continued to flood her accounts with messages of support and condolences before she turned off her comment sections. Meanwhile, her husband Brady Kiser, Trigg's father, made his accounts private following his death. Kiser or her legal representation haven't reviewed the police report, security camera footage, scene photos, 911 recording, or autopsy photos, per the lawsuit. Kiser and Brady first became parents in July 2021 when they welcomed their son Trigg. Just over two years later, in September 2024, the couple revealed they were expecting their second child. In March, the Kiser family officially grew by one with the arrival of their second son, Theodore. 'Emilie is trying her best to be there for her surviving son, two-month-old Theodore. But every day is a battle,' the suit said. The Chandler Police Department told the case is still under investigation.

Families of those killed in collapse of Georgia ferry dock sue companies that built it
Families of those killed in collapse of Georgia ferry dock sue companies that built it

The Independent

time2 hours ago

  • The Independent

Families of those killed in collapse of Georgia ferry dock sue companies that built it

Relatives of seven people who drowned in waters off a Georgia island after a ferry dock walkway collapsed announced Wednesday they filed a lawsuit against the companies that designed and built it. Dozens of people were standing on the metal walkway over the water between a ferry boat and a dock on Sapelo Island when it snapped in the middle. Many plunged into the water and got swept away by tidal currents, while others clung desperately to the hanging, fractured structure. The tragedy Oct. 19 struck as about 700 people visited Sapelo Island for a celebration of the tiny Hogg Hummock community founded by enslaved people who were emancipated after the Civil War. Reachable only by boat, it's one of the few Gullah-Geechee communities remaining in the South, where slaves worked on isolated island plantations retained much of their African heritage. 'It was supposed to be a celebration of Black pride, but it became a day of great, great, great Black loss of humanity and life,' civil rights attorney Ben Crump, one of several lawyers behind the lawsuit, told an Atlanta news conference. 'We're filing this lawsuit to speak to that tragedy.' Attorneys for the families of those killed and more than three dozen survivors say the 80-foot (24-meter) walkway was weak because of a lack of structural reinforcement, poor welding and failure by the Georgia firm that built it to follow design plans. The walkway was 'so poorly designed and constructed that any competent construction professional should have recognized the flimsy and unstable nature of the gangway,' the lawsuit says. Regina Brinson, one of the suing survivors, said she was on the crowded walkway when she heard a loud crack and saw family friend Carlotta McIntosh plunge into the water holding her walker. Brinson and her uncle, Isaiah Thomas, also fell. Brinson recalled prying her uncle's fingers from her shirt to avoid being dragged underwater. Both Thomas and McIntosh died. 'The pain doesn't get any easier whatsoever,' Brinson told the Atlanta news conference. Kimberly Wood said she tumbled from the collapsed walkway clutching her 2-year-old daughter. Her older girl, 8, clung to the dangling walkway's railing. Wood said she managed to tread water until she reached a life preserver tossed from the ferry boat. Her older daughter was rescued and treated for wounds to her hand, said Wood, who had an injured shoulder. 'I'm shaking now just taking about it,' said Wood, another plaintiff. The lawsuit targets four private contractors hired to design and rebuild the ferry dock and walkway for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The project was finished in 2021. The walkway was fabricated by McIntosh County business Crescent Equipment Co. Its attorney, Clinton Fletcher, declined to comment. The project's general contractor, Virginia-based Centennial Contractors Enterprises, said by email that it doesn't comment on pending litigation. Architecture and engineering firms also named as defendants did not immediately comment. The lawsuit doesn't target the Department of Natural Resources or any other Georgia state agency. It says the department relied on its private contractors to ensure the walkway was safely built, which was "beyond the scope of the DNR's internal expertise and qualifications.' The agency told The Associated Press last year that the walkway should have been able to support the weight of 320 people. About 40 people were standing on it when it snapped. 'There was supposed to be a certified professional engineer that signed off on that part of the project and that was neglected," said Chadrick Mance, a Savannah attorney representing nine of the injured. Filed in Gwinnett County State Court in metro Atlanta, the lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for negligence, wrongful deaths and personal injuries. The cause of the collapse remains under investigation by the state officials, said Haley Chafin, a spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources. State Attorney General Chris Carr also tapped a private engineering firm to perform an independent investigation. ___ Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. ___

BREAKING NEWS Murder probe launched after boy, four, found dead at home: Police arrest 37-year-old woman
BREAKING NEWS Murder probe launched after boy, four, found dead at home: Police arrest 37-year-old woman

Daily Mail​

time4 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

BREAKING NEWS Murder probe launched after boy, four, found dead at home: Police arrest 37-year-old woman

A murder probe has been launched after a four-year-old boy was found dead at his home, as police arrest a 37-year-old woman. Police were called to the address in Maidenhead, Berks, at 6.30pm yesterday afternoon where the child was declared deceased. The woman, who is from Maidenhead, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody. Officers for Thames Valley Police are continuing their investigations and have informed the boy's next of kin. They say there is no risk to the wider community but say the scene-watch is likely to remain in place for 'some time'. Detective Inspector Rob Underhill, of the force's Major Crime Unit, said: 'This is an exceptionally tragic incident, in which a young boy has tragically passed away. 'Although formal identification has not yet taken place, the boy's next of kin are aware and my thoughts, and the thoughts of all of us at Thames Valley Police, are with them at this extremely difficult time. 'There is a scene-watch in place at the address while the investigation continues. 'We are still in the very early stages of this investigation and have made an arrest in connection with this incident. 'I recognise the concern this will cause in the local community. However, we are confident that there is no wider risk to the community and thank you for your patience as our officers continue their work. 'The scene-watch is likely to remain in place for some time, and I would urge anybody who has any concerns to please speak to any of our officers at the scene.' Thames Valley Police have asked anyone who believes they have any information to contact the force on 101, online or through Crimestoppers.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store