Park owner says she knows who killed her rare lions

Indications are mounting that a worker was involved in the mutilation of six lions in a wildlife park north of Pretoria, reports Pretoria North Rekord.

“We found a worker’s clothes with blood,” said Christa Saayman, owner of the Mystic Monkeys and Feathers Wildlife Park.

READ MORE: GRAPHIC IMAGES: Police condemn the killing of Limpopo park’s lions and tiger

The worker has since disappeared.

“We can’t find him, but I have the contact details of his wife and girlfriend,” Saayman said.

Some of the six lions were decapitated and their paws were removed.

Another attempt at the lives of the other lions at the wildlife park was made on Sunday, but it was unsuccessful as they “were ready for them”.

Owner Christa Saayman. Photo: Facebook

A crime and information analysis company, TopicWorx, said the poached body parts were most likely traded unlawfully in Asia and the Far East, namely in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, with the intent of them being sold for ‘medicinal cures or ornamental value’.

“Lion body parts are also illegally trafficked to other African countries (such as Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique), for muti purposes,” said TopicWorx spokesperson Joey Mostert.

Body parts were also used for muti-related purposes in South Africa.

Buyers believe they would attain “supremacy over individuals and have greater influence and success pertaining to business ventures”.

Mostert said sometimes the lions’ teeth would also be removed by poachers.

“The hearts or adrenal glands are frequently used by traditional healers to protect an individual from harm or perceived enemies,” she said.

“Lion fat, which is hard to attain, is typically kept in a jar by muti users to safeguard their properties from criminals and other dangers.”

A local traditional healer, who asked not to be named, said lion bones were believed to make people brave and feared.

But killing lions and other animals for such purposes was witchcraft – and not part of the practice of being a traditional healer.

Limpopo police confirmed they were yet to make arrests.

“We’re still investigating,” police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said

A R250 000 reward has been offered as a reward for any information which could lead to the arrest of the suspects.

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