Tracks on the Savanna
Cases unlock in order, like levels. This is case 21 of 100.
Enkare Lodge, Masai Mara, Kenya, 6:40 am. Owen Fairbrook, a British wildlife photographer, was found dead on the river trail, 800 meters from the tents.
A single shot, at 6:10 am. The guide Lemayian found Owen at 6:25 am, next to his fallen tripod. The camera was there. The memory card was not.
The nearest neighbor is two hours away by dirt road. Apart from the kitchen staff, only three people were awake before dawn. One of them took the card.
The lodge's mess tent, khaki canvas, lanterns still lit, the savanna growing light outside.
Suspects
Dirk VenterSouth African guest, 51
Lemayian Ole SankaleLodge guide, 34
Wanjiru KamauElephant researcher, 38
The real case
The killing of Cecil the lion and the murder of Joan Root
Zimbabwe, 2015, and Kenya, 2006
This case is a work of fiction. The characters, names, places and events in the game do not portray real people. The account below is a factual summary, based on public sources, of the case that served as inspiration.
In July 2015, Cecil, a 13-year-old lion tracked for years by researchers from the University of Oxford, was lured out of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe and killed with a bow and arrow by an American dentist on a paid hunt. His death caused worldwide outrage and debate over trophy hunting; the hunter was not prosecuted.
Nine years earlier, in Kenya, filmmaker and conservationist Joan Root, who funded a team fighting illegal fishing and poaching around Lake Naivasha, was shot dead in her home in January 2006. The accused were acquitted and the crime remains unsolved.
The game borrows the illegal hunt of a lion and the death of someone who documented crimes against wildlife. Characters, setting and outcome are fiction.
Sources
Case glossary
Words from this case you might not know.
- Masai Mara
- A large game reserve in southwestern Kenya, famous for lions and the yearly wildebeest migration.