An experienced big cat handler who previously saved a fellow gamekeeper from a tiger attack was himself fatally mauled at the zoo made famous by the Lion Man television show.
Dalu Mncube's friendliness towards people and his affection towards animals made him a hit with viewers of the show and with visitors to the Zion Wildlife Gardens in Northland.
Our readers share their memories of the man some came to know as 'Uncle Dalu.'
Janice: In January 08, I had a tour of the Zion Lion park, with Dalu as my host. He was very gracious, and informative, and I was impressed with his general manner - both with us as visitors, and the animals in the park.
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Reuben Pillsbury: I filmed with him in Africa whilst directing the first series of The Lion Man - he was a lovely gentle man.
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Zeeque: (United Kingdom) I come from Zimbabwe (though I now live here in the UK) and South Africa is our neighbour. I feel as if Dalu is kith and kin to me and I am very saddened about his tragic death.
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Vicki Harvey: My family and I met Dalu when we were at Zion last October - what a lovely man. We found the park clean and all the animals appeared well cared for and happy.
Condolences to Dalu's family. We found him a friendly cheerful man, we are shocked to hear of his death.
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Melanie Wrann: We met Dalu a couple of years ago when we visited the park, he was our guide & showed us around. He was a great guy, and obviously had a great affinity with the big cats. We are very sad to hear of his death, what a terrible loss.
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Fai: OMG! I visited the park last month! Dalu was our tour guide. Everybody affectionally called him Uncle Dalu!
He will be sadly missed. Much respect to his family & staff at the park.
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Sandee Ryan: I was heavily pregnant and past my due date. Dalu was lovely, giving me a white lion's whisker for "good luck" for the baby. He will be surely missed.
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Paul and Maarit: (Melbourne) We met Dalu in March when we visited Zion and took the Tiger walk with Dalu, which was an experience of a lifetime. Dalu seemed very passionate about the cats and the park and was very accommodating with any questions that we had.
My condolences to his partner and young child. My thoughts go out to all Zion staff and of course the beautiful cats.
I pray that the park is not shut down as it would be an awful shame, I'm sure Dalu would not want that either.
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Dhrushil: I met Mr Mncube when he was showing us around the wildlife gardens. We got to know each other very quickly. I asked a lot of disturbing questions, but still he answered my questions very calmly.
I am really sorry to hear that he is killed. I say he was a very brave man.
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Lynette and the Hitchinson family: (Australia) What an awesome guy. We are all South African expats and shared the same interest, the wildlife, however Dalu was honoured to work with the cats we so admired.
Dalu was more the "Lion Man" than Craig was, nothing personal against Craig though.
Sadly we relocated to Australia, renting our house out on the hill overlooking the park. I wish I was there now to put flowers by the park gate to honour him and his love for the wild.
You will be missed by so many people, Dalu. Your spirit will now be amongst all the wild in Africa and your people.
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Lucy Williams: (Wales) My heart goes out the the family and friends of the zookeeper. I have seen the gentleman in question on the show and it is clear he really loved the job he did.
I truly believe that Craig has trained his team well and without him there the whole feeling in the camp must be tense.
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Lauren: (United Kingdom) I did not know Dalu Mncube personally but I would like to send his family my deepest sympathies. I have watched the TV programme here in England. His family and Craig must be so upset to lose a friend in Dalu and one of the cats. I can't put into words how I feel about what is happening to the Zion Park and Craig's life.
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Lesley Airey: (United Kingdom) I was so sorry to hear on Sky News of the death of Dalu at Zion Wildlife Gardens. I have been following the Lion Man TV series in the UK & had become very fond of Craig, Dalu, and all the staff and cats.
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Keith and Kate Smith: (United Kingdom) We cannot find the words to express our horror and distress regarding the death of Dalu.
Our hearts go out to the family and friends of this poor man who died, but wonder if he would have wanted to the tiger to have died for this. We don't think he would.
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Kelly Huysmans: In March 2009 we were at Zion Wildlife Gardens and Dalu was our guide. We liked him a lot, he seemed to be a very nice person and it was obvious that he loved his job.
He told us about the incident that occured in February; we were amazed by his braveness.
Dalu, the Zion Wildlife Gardens, Sibili and all the other cats will always be in our hearts.
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Dan Urtnowski: Dalu Mncube will be missed by both animal and man.
He was important to the existence of so many others. He brought so many people close to the big cats and raised awareness and appreciation for what we are losing everyday in this world. He was very experienced and attentive with the every animal at the Wildlife Gardens. It is such a tragedy, and he will missed even by those who only knew him briefly.
He loved his job, and he was hoping that Zion was going to renew his contract when it was up. Dalu had been working with large cats since he was a teenager. When he was working in South Africa, and still fairly new, he was put in charge of retrieving some newly born lion cubs. Some of them are born white, and the pride kills them because they stand out.
His partner lost count of the lions while they were away from the cubs, and a mother lion caught Dalu by surprise as he held two young cubs in his arms. The lioness charged and left him permanently scarred. He got away with the cubs.
He was an amazing and capable caretaker. He will be impossible to replace.
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Helen van Asch: I met Dalu once in February when I visited the Zion Wildpark with a friend visiting from Australia. Dalu coordinated our lion and white tiger interaction and he made our experience very memorable and enjoyable.
He was so lovely and friendly and he was very good with the animals.
I am deeply saddened by this tragic event and my thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends who worked with him at the park.
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