Lions kill tourist in Zimbabwe nature reserve

Lions attacked and killed a tourist while he was showering at a campsite in a nature reserve in Zimbabwe, officials said today.

Peter Evershed, a 59-year-old Zimbabwean businessman, was mauled by five lions while showering under a tree as darkness fell at the Chitake Springs bush camp near the Mana Pools nature reserve on Saturday.

Mr Evershed's family and friends heard him scream and raced to the showers but he was already dead from a gash to the throat, said Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force head Johnny Rodrigues.

The lions retreated only after a safari operator pulled up in a vehicle with its headlights on and fired shots into the air.

"We appeal to everyone to exercise extreme caution. Animals have become extremely unpredictable," Mr Rodrigues said, adding that a surge in poaching has made animals more "traumatised" and dangerous to humans.

Last month, South African business executive Don Hornsby was killed by an elephant in the nearby Matusadona preserve. Mr Hornsby had helped fund feeding programmes for orphaned animals.

In September, businessman Geoff Blythe was nearly killed by a female elephant as he rode a bicycle near his home in the lakeside town of Kariba, 230 miles north-west of Harare, in an area normally considered safe.