A Lion Called ‘Blondie.’

Hannes Wessels,

It was with dismay I read a recent report in ‘The Times of London’ about the recent killing in western Zimbabwe of a lion named ‘Blondie.’ Reading about a lion being killed does not fill me with joy but that was not the reason for my disappointment. That came as a result of being reminded that there is probably no journalist in the employ of the MSM (mainstream-media) who could be bothered to probe beyond the narrative that is being so well received by the public, and if there was, there probably is not an editor with the gumption to break from the jaundiced story the world wants to hear.

In this instance, in a repeat of the ‘Cecil’ the lion furore ten years ago, readers, listeners and viewers around the world are enraged to learn that a loveable lion with an endearing name (I gather there are other lions in the area also called ‘Blondie’), and a collar, has been killed thanks to the efforts of a corpulent white professional hunter with a beer-belly, pictured with a big beaming smile holding a recently hooked tiger-fish. This provides excellent copy to feed the frenzy permeating the public arena filled with people too thoughtless to bother about the context or the facts before forming an infuriated lynch-mob.

Contrary to the received wisdom this lion was not baited on the edge of the national park but had wandered off of its own volition over 10 kms from the park boundary into a hunting area. He had recently survived a fight with a rival coalition after the disappearance of his brother, and the lack of a dominant male to protect the lionesses. By all accounts the encounter with the lion was by chance, a fair chase endeavour, no bait involved, and legal.

Every year over 70 lions are legally shot in the country and as far as I know this yield is perfectly sustainable. The number killed illegally in snares, through poisoning and other means is probably higher but that is another snippet that will be of little interest to the Carrie Johnsons and Greta Thunbergs of this world.

What is also not widely reported is collared lions in this instance and area are not protected, and the people and associations who collar them are well aware of this. The Oxford University researchers, to their great credit, have let this be known and understand that the managed hunting component where these lions roam forms part of the wider conservation dynamic that must be factored into future planning.

At least one hunter in the area has routinely reported collared lions in his concession and solicited the consent of the relevant authorities before continuing to hunt them. Hunters have let it be known that they are open to certain lions being protected but they must be defined and identified, and this must be communicated to them. Cynics involved in this controversy point out that having a collared lion killed with the attendant publicity as in this case is very good for the business of fund-raising.

One of the hunters in this area challenges members of the outraged public to accompany him to a meeting with some of the local villagers, elders and chiefs where they can fully ventilate their anger in his presence, and explain to the meeting why hunting must stop immediately and all animals must be given full freedom of movement.

The local attendees might well then ask their interlocuters why there was no fulminating when a young boy named Elton, while on his way to school in the morning, was killed by lions near where ‘Cecil’ was shot and at almost the same time. And another young teenager killed at night sleeping in the maize-fields while trying to protect the crops from foraging elephants. And the old railwayman at Kennedy Siding on the edge of the park, killed and partially devoured after returning at night to his dwelling from an outing.

Hunters and Guides ask if anyone remembers Quinn Swales; the guide mauled and killed by a belligerent lion while on a walking safari in Hwange Park soon after the ‘Cecil’ uproar? He almost certainly did not fire because he was too terrified of the adverse publicity that would follow the death of another lion.

The true figure is probably greater but every year over 100 villagers are killed by wild animals in Zimbabwe, hundreds, maybe thousands of domestic animals are devoured, and extensive crop-damage suffered as a result of marauding elephants. The fact is, and what the local people know, is the professional hunters the world loves to hate (often, but not always white) are revered in their homelands where they offer them some protection while plying their tough and often dangerous trade while trying to find and maintain the delicate balance that allows humans to co-exist in these areas without decimating the wildlife. And central to this uneasy trade-off is the portion of hunting-generated revenue that accrues to them to compensate for the losses they suffer and the dangers they live with. Stop the hunting, stop the revenue flow, remove the protection, and the local inhabitants will kill the animals, extend their cropping areas, destroy the natural habitat, and turn the area into a dustbowl, it is that simple.

As the anti-hunting lobby grows in number and influence, notwithstanding the salient facts, it looks increasingly pointless trying to reason with them but if anyone out there cares to know more, the research on the impact of hunting in Kenya and South Africa is enlightening.

Data indicates that following the closure of all hunting in Kenya in 1974 the wildlife population has declined by over 60%. In South Africa following the privatisation of wildlife and the establishment of safari hunting as a legitimate branch of the country’s tourism industry the wildlife population has grown from roughly 500,000 to over four million animals.

I pen this article because it is all I can do in the full knowledge my views are but a whisper in the wind, and feel a little better for trying, but I have learned the hard way that arguing with stupid people, their minds mangled by emotion, who are in denial when it comes to facts, is a waste of good beer-drinking time!

Cheers to anyone who bothers to read it!