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Legendary lion Blondie killed by trophy hunters

A legendary lion that was studied by Oxford University experts has been cruelly killed in Zimbabwe

Blondie was shot dead by heartless trophy hunters during the week of June 29 outside Hwange National Park, the country’s largest natural reserve.

The lion was reportedly fed chunks of meat from back of a truck to bait him
away from the park, where poaching is prohibited, and into a hunting area

The tragedy came just three months after research experts fitted Blondie with a GPS collar to track him and his pride of 10 cubs and three adult females as part of a long-term study.

There are concerns that a professional hunter involved in the hunt was aware that Blondie was collared and that he had dependent cubs.

Africa Geographic CEO Simon Espley said: ‘As the sponsor of Blondie’s research collar, we are dismayed and angered by this development.

‘That Blondie’s prominent collar did not prevent him from being offered to a hunting client, confirms the stark reality that no lion is safe from trophy hunting guns.

‘He was a breeding male in his prime, making a mockery of the ethics that ZPGA regularly espouses and the repeated claims that trophy hunters only target old, non-breeding males.’

It has been reported that, two weeks prior to the hunt, the hunter confirmed seeing Blondie with cubs and lionesses.

When approached for his side of the story, the hunter declined to comment, other than to say that the hunt was ‘conducted legally, and ethically,’ Africa Geographic reports.

A photograph showing the gun-toting trophy hunter kneeling down beside Blondie’s body was posted online and later removed.

Blondie was just five years old and was the last known descendant of the Somadada pride, which had previously moved from Hwange into community areas.

He had since established a stable pride in an area where resident lions have historically been scarce, due in part to conflict with local communities and previous hunting pressure.

Strict Zimbabwean hunting regulations stipulate a minimum age of six years for trophy lions, with an emphasis on targeting older, non‑breeding males.

Blondie fell well below that threshold, making his killing deeply controversial and widely condemned.

The loss of this key male lion is expected to cause turmoil for the pride, with a high likelihood that incoming rival males will kill his youngest cubs.

Last night, Mike Blignaut, the co-owner of Victoria Falls Safari Services who allegedly organised the hunt for Blondie, said: ‘At this time I cannot comment as I have been advised not to by the Zimbabwe Professional Guides Association.

‘But I will say the hunt was legal and conducted ethically.’

It comes after sixteen lions were killed by poachers who hacked the faces and paws off eight of the adults to sell their teeth and claws to be used to turn into black magic potions in 2020.

Distraught Gert Blom, 51, who owns Predators Rock Bush Lodge in Rustenburg, South Africa, was surprised when he woke up not to hear his lion pride roaring as usual at dawn.

He went down to their enclosure and found his two male lions and six lionesses missing and followed drag trails to behind a perimeter wall where he found them all butchered.

Gert said: ‘They had hacked off 32 paws for the claws and eight of their snouts for their teeth after killing them with poisoned chicken which is a really agonising death for the lions.

‘It is cruelty that is beyond belief and an absolutely terrible sight to behold when you see magnificent predators lying there covered in flies minus their faces and their paws’.

A further devastating blow was that two of the lionesses were within 24 hours of giving birth and a post mortem showed that they died with 3 unborn cubs inside each.

Another lioness had given birth the day before she was poisoned and two of her cubs were found dead and it is thought they probably died after suckling milk that was poisoned.

https://www.newzimbabwe.com/legendary-l ... -zimbabwe/

The trophy hunting of Blondie

A young, collared pride male from Hwange – has reignited concern across Zimbabwe’s safari industry

The hunt raises ethical & conservation questions. Below, Beks Ndlovu, CEO & Founder of African Bush Camps, long-term conservationist, and guide, shares a reflection on this troubling moment for tourism & wildlife.

“I began my journey as a safari guide in the Hwange NP landscape in 1995 as a young man filled with awe for the wild, & especially for the lions that roamed these ancient plains. Over nearly three decades, I’ve witnessed the pulse of this ecosystem: the rise & fall of prides, the unspoken language of the bush, & sadly, the repeated heartbreak of watching male lions, majestic, vital, irreplaceable, fall to bullets long before their time.

The premature killing, or ‘off-take’ as it’s termed in the consumptive industry, of pride males has had a devastating impact. It triggers a cruel cascade: cubs are killed by incoming males, gene pools shrink, social structures collapse & entire prides unravel. What remains is an ecological void & profound silence where vitality once roared.

One of the most tragic moments of my guiding life was the death of Cecil the lion, a loss that echoed far beyond the borders of Hwange

Yet, the pattern continues. Most recently, the killing of Blondie, a young male who had not reached his prime, reminds us of how vulnerable this landscape remains, not just for lions, but for all who depend on its balance

These losses have moved many of us from quiet grief to action. I cofounded Conservation & Wildlife Fund an organisation dedicated to the Hwange Landscape Conservation Initiative, to expand protected areas beyond the park’s borders, to forge functional wildlife corridors, & to promote a vision of co-existence where people & lions can thrive side by side.

This is not just an ecological imperative; it is a moral one. If given a chance, this landscape could hold one of Africa’s healthiest lion populations & become a living testament to what thoughtful conservation & shared stewardship can achieve.

I write not simply to protest, but to urge reflection. We are losing more than lions. We are losing legacy, balance & the wild inheritance of future generations. We must stop disguising unnecessary destruction as management, & instead support ethical, evidence-based conservation that values life, connection, & long-term harmony over short-term trophies.”

Beks Ndlovu
Founder & CEO African Bush Camps | Co-Founder CWF | Guide | Conservationist
African Bush Camps