OREANDA-NEWS  Two men in Uganda were sentenced to 17 years in prison each for the fatal poisoning of six lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park last year. The men were arrested and admitted to killing the animals and showed security officials the location where the heads of the dead animals were hidden.

According to Deputy Resident District Commissioner Gad Rugaaju Ahimbisibwe, both men - Vincent Tumuhiirwe, 49, and Robert Ariyo, 40 - admitted to slaughtering the lions for their teeth and claws.According to Ugandan police, the men used Furadan, a dangerous chemical pesticide on the lions. Apart from poisoning the lions, the poachers cut their heads and paws off, and left their carcasses to attract vultures whom they later killed for their body parts. Africa has two populations of tree-climbing lions - in Queen Elizabeth Park in Uganda and in Manyara, Tanzania. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has placed lions on its list of species that are vulnerable to extinction.