Ugandan authorities have arrested four people suspected of killing six lions in one of the country’s most famous parks.
The lions were found dead and mutilated last Friday and their bodies surrounded by dead vultures in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
On Tuesday, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said the suspects were arrested in a joint operation by the military, police and the wildlife authorities.
“Today at daybreak, the suspects took the security team to a location where three heads of lions were found hidden in a tree and the fourth one was buried with 15 legs under the same tree. The suspects said they dropped one leg in the park,” UWA said in a statement.
The wildlife authority said they found one of the suspects with a bottle of a poisonous chemical and a jerrycan of lion fat.
It said the operation had began after they received “credible information” about the suspects.
The authority had on Monday offered a cash reward of 10 million shillings (about $2,725; £1,987) for leads to the suspects.
UWA last week said they had been “saddened” by the killing of the lions – which are particularly known for their ability to climb trees.