Young Boy Killed by a Leopard at Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda
On Friday, a toddler was eaten by a leopard in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park.
According a local report from The Kampala Post, the boy (two-and-a-half-year-old Elisha Nabugyere) was the son of a park ranger. He was pulled from his seat near the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s staff quarters and dragged into the bush.
Attempts to rescue Nabugyere were unsuccessful. His remains were located the following day.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority’s communications manager, Bashir Hangi told The Kampala Post that the incident was unfortunate, and that they were working to track down the leopard. “We are…evaluating options such as relocating it somewhere else. It is not good to keep it [here.]”
“Once it has eaten human flesh,” Hangi elaborated in a statement, “the temptations are high to eat another human being. It becomes dangerous.”
Queen Elizabeth National Park is a popular safari destination. It’s home to some 95 species of mammals — including leopards, lions, elephants and the largest concentration of hippos on Earth. Travelers often stay at upscale properties like Mweya Safari Lodge and Ishash Wilderness Camp.
The Points Guy reached out to UWA, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. A recent statement from the organization shows that the nation’s national parks have been witness to a number of tragedies, both human and wildlife, in recent weeks.
In early April, four suspects presumably poisoned a pride of 11 lions near Hamukungu Fishing Village. And later that month, a French tourist passed away in Bwindi National Park while returning from a mountain gorilla trek. He died of natural causes.
*An earlier version of this post stated the incident took place at Mweya Safari Lodge. According to a representative from the property, it did not. The incident was only at the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s staff quarters. This post has since been corrected.