Well-known South African conservationist is killed by his own lionesses

West Mathewson, a famous conservationist in South Africa, was attacked and killed by two of his own lionesses on Wednesday 26.

THE tragic incident was witnessed by his wife, who was following in a car, but was unable to stop the lions from mauling her husband.

West Mathewson, affectionately known as “Uncle West”, rescued lionesses from so-called “canned hunting”, which is when the animals are hunted in an enclosed area or raised to be hunted.

He ran a popular safari lodge, Lion Tree Top Lodge, in Limpopo province, and housed the lionesses he rescued in an enclosure on his lodge.

The 69-year-old conservationist was believed to have been attacked by the two lionesses during one of their usual walks after one of the them became aggressive towards the other before turning their attention to him, with his wife trying her best to distract them.

Police and emergency services were called to the incident but after suffering multiple injuries, West Mathewson was declared dead at the scene.

The lionesses have since been moved to another game lodge, after being tranquillised following the attack, and are expected to be released into the wild at a later stage.

The same lionesses reportedly killed a man working on a neighbouring property after they broke out of the enclosure in 2017.