Namibian lions featured in 2015 movie 'murdered'

Three lions that featured in the movie Vanishing Kings filmed in Namibia are dead, the environment ministry said in a statement Friday.

The three lions were part of the five known as the Five Musketeers that were filmed over 18 months during the making of the movie released in July 2015.

Flip Stander, the founder of Namibia's Desert Lion Conservation Project, worked with filmmakers Will and Liane to document how the lions survive in a harsh environment like the Namib Desert.

In the statement, the environment ministry said the lions were found dead Tuesday last week and the cause has been found to be poisoning.

The suspected poisoning, the statement further said, could have been caused by the villagers' anger after the lions that occupied the Okongwe area (about 280 kilometers from Windhoek) in Kunene region were killing livestock.

According to the statement, the burnt carcasses of the lions were found when environment officials and some rangers were tracking them down for relocation.

"A case has therefore been opened with the Namibian Police for illegal killing of protected game (three lions)..." the statement said.

Stander told media that the four-year-old lions were very popular with tourists, hence their lack of fear of human beings.

He also said their satellite collars were burnt in an obvious attempt to destroy evidence.

"Whoever was responsible made a good job of destroying everything and hiding any evidence," Stander was quoted saying. Endit