A group of shepherds killed this Wednesday in southern Kenya to the oldest free lion in Africa, aged 19 and christened as Loonkito, after the animal entered a community to attack domestic livestock, conservation NGO Big Life Foundation said on Friday.
“Shepherds are on high alert to protect the few animals that survived a recent severe drought,” said Daniel Sampu, the Big Life Foundation’s compensation programs coordinator for damage to lions and other large predators, in statements to local media. .
According to a witness to the incident, who declined to be identified speaking to the Kenyan Daily Nation newspaper, the lion entered a community near Amboseli National Park (south) on Wednesday at around 8pm local time, and the shepherds killed with spears before he could attack domestic cattle.
“(The lion) was weak due to his old age and succumbed to spear wounds to the head,” the witness said.
Loonkito was a male lion known for his advanced age, much longer than the average life span of lions of his sex, which is around 11 years.
Currently There are an estimated 30,000 lions left in Africa and their populations continue to decline.according to the latest data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Between 1993 and 2014, lion populations decreased by 43%, mainly due to the loss of their habitats and conflicts between these animals and communities, which sometimes poison or attack cats to protect their livestock.
Lions came close to extinction in southern Kenya earlier this century, but the efforts of local communities, rangers and conservation NGOs have meant that lion populations in Amboseli National Park and surrounding wildlife reserves will multiply by six between 2004 and 2020.
To avoid conflicts between lions and humans, special enclosures have been built to protect Maasai cows from lion attacks, financial compensation is given to shepherds who have lost their livestock to these cats, and communities have been involved in the industry. tourism to improve their economies.
Source: Clarin
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