Lion DNA has been used to successfully prosecute poachers for the first time in the world, it has emerged.
Wildlife crime experts have only just revealed how they were able to identify the individual animal from body parts found in a suspect's village, as they matched a profile on Zimbabwe's lion database.
A blood sample had previously been taken from the male lion, which was being tracked by authorities in Hwange National Park - using a radio collar.
Two poachers were convicted for the 2024 incident and sent to prison in what is thought to be the first prosecution of its kind.
The details of the convictions and the role the DNA database played have been previously unknown.
