He was attacked by a lion. Now he wants to learn more about conserving them.

On the 5th of April 2025, Johannes Ikela and his colleague were called out to attend to a lion situation outside the eastern border of Etosha National Park. As Assistant Rangers of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), their task was to locate the lion and provide information for a darting team to come and relocate it. But then everything went horribly wrong.

We came from our office at Omuthiya to the Casablanca area near Oshivelo settlement, close to the military base. We went out to investigate following community reports to our office of a lion killing cattle. At this point, Johannes says, they were looking for the two dead cows. If they found the carcasses, they could be sure that the lion would return. This would be useful information for the darting team.

My colleague and I were armed with standard-issue R1 rifles and we had been taught self-defence as part of our ranger training, Johannes continues, but we were totally unprepared for what happened next.

The dead cows lay within a thick, bushy area, but they suspected that the lion had left them there and would be back that evening. They were wrong. While we were looking around in the bush, suddenly, the lion charged us. He had still been eating one of the cows he had killed, and reacted instinctively to defend his kill.

The next events were a blur of gunshots and fur flying. Both rangers fired their guns, with at least four shots hitting the lion, none of which were fatal. R1 rifle bullets tend to go straight through at that range, so the enraged lion was still very much alive. It pounced on my colleague, and I shot it again, but then it got on top of him, and I didn’t want to shoot him by mistake. Once the lion had subdued the first ranger, it looked around to identify any further threats, and saw Johannes aiming at it.

The lion pounced again. As it came for my throat, I blocked its mouth with my arm. Its teeth tore through my arm and parts of my hand. By this point, the lion was tiring from the previous bullet wounds. Johannes’ colleague was still alive and able to get back to his feet. I told him to take his time and aim for a headshot. After that last shot, the lion died on top of me, recounts Johannes.

After the attack, we still had to walk two kilometres with our rifles back to our vehicle. I was the driver, but neither of us could drive due to our injuries. I started to feel dizzy from blood loss, and only managed to collapse into the car when we finally got there. A local community member drove them to the nearest clinic where they received first aid.

We were extremely thirsty and desperate for water, but there was none in the car. Now we know that having no water was a good thing – we were told by the nurses later that drinking water after losing so much blood may have killed us.

After initial treatment at the clinic, they were transferred to Tsumeb State Hospital, where they were treated for three days. Our treatment at Tsumeb was not helping the wounds heal properly. The wounds were not closing or healing, so we requested a transfer to Ondangwa Private Hospital. At Ondangwa, Johannes underwent two skin graft surgeries to close the largest of his wounds. As public servants, MEFT Assistant Rangers qualify for medical aid, which covered 95% of the medical costs at the hospital and for the three months of physiotherapy required for rehabilitation.

Johannes still bears the scars of the attack, especially on his left arm that bore the brunt of the lion’s teeth. His left hand is not yet fully functional and he cannot carry more than 10 kg using that arm, even though it has been over a year since the incident. Scars from the deep puncture wounds made by the lion’s claws are still visible on his lower leg. Besides the physical scars, he still owes money for his treatment.

After such an ordeal, most people would have quit working with wildlife. But Johannes is different. He grew up in this part of the country and knew what working in the environment entailed. My father was a Ranger. He imparted his passion for this work to me, and I still want to pursue my career with MEFT. One of the reasons he joined MEFT was to help his community find ways to coexist with wildlife, and that goal has not changed since the attack.

One thing did change, however, I realised that I didn’t know enough about lions. There were things we could have done differently that day that would have saved the lion’s life and spared us these injuries. I therefore wanted to study animal behaviour to educate myself and my community.

In his search for further education, Johannes discovered the Southern African Wildlife College, an institution that provides internationally recognised qualifications in fields relating to wildlife. Using his personal savings, he enrolled for the Certificate in Natural Resource Management (NQF level 5), which involves 95 intensive training days in South Africa and 95 workplace days to implement the training. Having completed that course with distinction (achieving a mark of 87%), he has now set his sights on the next level: the one-year Advanced Certificate in Nature Conservation: Trans-frontier Conservation Management programme (NQF level 6).

The only thing preventing me from reaching my dream is lack of funds. With hospital bills still to pay, and having paid N$ 35,000 for my previous Certificate, I cannot afford the N$ 50,000 for the Advanced Certificate. Although MEFT does not have the budget to cover my studies, I am grateful to them for allowing me to take study leave for this purpose.

Johannes has already learned enough about lion behaviour from his course that he would do things very differently if he had to replay the events of that fateful day in April 2025. Rather than walking into the area, I would drive as close as possible to the bush and look for lion tracks around it. If there were no clear tracks leaving the bushy thicket, we would stay in the vehicle and call in the darting team.

This course of action could have saved the lion’s life, which is the outcome that Johannes is hoping for in future. Besides lion behaviour, I want to learn more about reducing human-lion conflict. I think our communities would be able to cope with lions better if we can build predator-proof kraals and set up an early warning system, like they have in other parts of the country. We also need to find ways for the community to benefit from Etosha, and to help them realise the value of these lions.

The death of a lion and mauling of two men was a tragic incident. Yet this story need not end there. If Johannes can find enough support to continue his studies, he can pass on his knowledge to other colleagues at MEFT and the wider community around Etosha National Park. If you want to help Johannes reach his dream of further education to better help lions and his community, you can donate any amount through this link, or contact NCE for direct banking details.

NCE has committed N$10,000 to help Johannes fund the next step in his education. If you would like to contribute, click here for the crowdfunding campaign, or contact admin@n-c-e.org for direct banking details. Any amount will help!