Trophy‑hunted‑pride male lion ‘Blondie’ shot outside Hwange – leaving 10 cubs behind

In a tragic turn for Hwange National Park’s lion pride, a well‑known male explorer lion named Blondie was shot and killed by a trophy hunter.

Image of lion is not Blondie but used for illustrative purposes/Hans Veth/Unsplash

Blondie, approximately 5 years and 3 months old, was clearly visible in a satellite GPS collar fitted earlier that year by the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), in collaboration with Africa Geographic. Despite his prominence and relatively young age, he was legally hunted—having been lured out of safety—and now ten cubs remain without their father, reports Africa Geographic.

Blondie had long been the dominant male of the Zingweni pride, comprising three adult lionesses and ten cubs—seven around a year old, and three newborns. 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 in late June deeply controversial and widely condemned.

According to observers and conservationists, the hunt appears to have been carefully set up: Blondie was baited from a photo‑tourism concession—where hunting is prohibited—into a hunting allocated area near the Gwaai/Sikumi Forest, just outside Hwange National Park. Records suggest that the professional hunter involved knew Blondie was collared and accompanied by dependents. When approached for comment, he only stated that the hunt had been “conducted legally, and ethically.”

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The loss of this key male lion is expected to disrupt the Zingweni pride deeply. In lion society, the arrival of new males usually triggers infanticide, as the newcomers kill cubs sired by previous males to bring females back into estrus. This often forces lionesses to flee into community lands—areas rife with snares, conflict, and danger for both lions and humans.

Blondie’s death echoes the fate of other iconic Hwange lions: Cecil in 2015, his son Xanda in 2017, and Mopane in 2021—all well‑known, collared pride males who were trophy hunted shortly outside the park boundary. These incidents have highlighted structural issues in how hunting quotas are managed around protected areas.

Conservationists argue that Blondie’s death should catalyse change: they are calling for reviewing hunting policies along Hwange’s perimeter, enforcing a no‑hunt buffer zone, respecting age‑minimum rules, and honouring the presence of research‑collared lions. Photo‑tourism operators and community wildlife advocates continue to demand clearer ethical guidelines and accountability, rather than simply complying with the status quo.