A 30-year-old employee was mauled to death by a lion while walking at night in the Dinokeng Game Reserve in Gauteng, South Africa. Johannes Matshe, who worked for a landowner at the reserve, was killed on shift on Sunday night, August 13, 2023. His remains were found the following Monday morning.
Attack details and discovery
The lion pounced on him and tore the flesh from his bones. Graphic images reportedly showed the lion scalping the skin from his skull, with his leg bone visible poking out of his work boots, stripped of flesh.
The remains were discovered by an operations manager at the reserve at 10.37am on Monday morning. Reserve spokesman Hartogh Streicher confirmed that employees are strictly prohibited from wandering through the park after sunset.
Official statements
Streicher explained: "Lions are nocturnal animals, driven by their natural instinct and hunting patterns, and may perceive a person as a normal prey species."
The spokesperson shared in a statement: "The individual was tragically attacked and killed by lions while attempting to navigate the reserve on foot after dark... The operations manager responded promptly, confirming the unfortunate loss of life."
Previous fatal incident
This is not the first fatal lion attack at the reserve. In 2018, 22-year-old Megan van der Zwan was mauled to death by a lion while interviewing manager Kevin Richardson, known as 'the lion whisperer', in a 'conversation zone' not accessible to the general public.
Richardson described the incident: "Myself and an experienced colleague took three lions walking in the reserve, as we do on a weekly basis, as part of their exercise and stimulation regiment. We assessed the landscape for other Big Five animals and, as per procedure, sent out a notification that we were walking in the reserve. One of the lionesses charged off after an impala and must have run 2 to 2.5km, where she encountered the 22-year-old outside the car. I am devastated, and my heart goes out to this young woman's family."
Following the attack, paramedics were called out, but it was too late, and the young woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
