Poachers KILL and MUTILATE lion named after Disney’s Mufasa for ‘black magic’
GRAPHIC CONTENT: A LION named after Mufasa in the Lion King was poisoned in South Africa before having its face and paws hacked off, with "heartbroken" staff fearing the lion could have been sold on to be used for black magic.
The lion was killed along with four others on Monday, October 1 at Akwaaba Predator Park, which is 80 miles west of Johannesburg.
The poachers broke into the park and poisoned the lions before hacking off the front paws of one and part of the face of another.
Upsetting images show Mufasa’s mutilated body with other dead animals close by.
Park manager, Bronwyn Moss, said: “It’s heartbreaking.
All the lions were land reared from when they were cubs so it’s like losing five children
“All the lions were land reared from when they were cubs so it’s like losing five children.
“They were close to our hearts. My only hope is that the lions were already dead by the time the poachers started chopping off parts.”
A security guard made the discovery when he found a lot of blood in one enclosure and a lion’s two feet and face had been chopped off.
The Akwaaba Predator Park is offering a reward of 100,000 rand, which is £5,550, to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the poachers.
The poachers fled the scene after staff disturbed them.
Ms Moss said: “We suspect that the lions were all poisoned at the same time and that the poachers were disturbed by the security guards before they could hack parts off the other lions.
“We are devastated that this could happen on our doorstep and that our babies were killed for nothing. The poachers murdered five and only got parts from one. What an absolute waste of life.
“The poachers could have been after the parts to make traditional medicine or they could have been harvesting them for a trophy collector. We hope to get to the bottom of it soon.
The Lion King film follows Simba, a lion cub who is the son and heir of Mufasa.
In a post on Facebook, staff at the park said: “Tragedy struck last night at our park. We lost five lions to murderers.
"That is what they are, they killed our babies. Our hearts are broken.
"We are down but not out.
"As you may have seen, we are offering a cash reward for any information that leads to the successful capture and conviction of these murderers.
“Please help us, let's stand together and find these monsters.”