Kenya: Ten lions killed by herders as human-wildlife conflict worsens

According to a CNN article, ten lions, including one of the oldest in the country, were killed in Kenya in a week due to human-animal conflict, which caused the government to express alarm. Six of these lions were killed only on Saturday, according to Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). This is “a huge number of lions to be killed at one go,” an organization representative told the newspaper. According to a KWS press release, the six lions had murdered 11 goats and 1 dog. According to the conservation group Lion Guardian, a livestock owner shot and killed Loonkiito, one of Kenya’s oldest lions at 19 years old, when he entered a cattle cage and left a protected area in search of food.

The lions who were slain were part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve area close to Mount Kilimanjaro

The difficulty of hunting wild prey resulted from the conclusion of the drought. In order to prevent animal losses, livestock owners are likewise being particularly cautious at this time. The drought in Kenya is the worst it has been in forty years. Locals and government representatives attended a meeting held by KWS on Saturday to talk about the recent killings.

“The discussions centered on exploring ways to minimize the risk of human-wildlife conflict, including developing early warning systems to alert communities to the presence of wildlife in their vicinity,” the organization said. “Further discussions centered on the wider picture of exploring human-wildlife conflict in the context of community livelihoods and benefit sharing towards a harmonious coexistence in the open community and wildlife landscapes,” it added. The lions who were slain on Saturday, according to the UN, were a part of the Amboseli environment in Kajiado County, a UNESCO biosphere reserve area close to Mount Kilimanjaro.