One of Kenya’s oldest lions among 10 killed by herders in single week
One of Kenya’s oldest wild lions — a 19-year-old male named Loonkiito — was speared by herders protecting their livestock, bringing the number of big cats killed in the country to 10 last week alone.
Loonkiito was described as frail by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) spokesperson Paul Jinaro, who said that it wandered out of the Amboseli National Park into a village in search of food.
Conservation group Lion Guardians, which had been keeping tabs on the big cat’s health and movements for many years, said Loonkiito was killed Wednesday while preying on livestock.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of Loonkiito (2004 – 2023), the oldest male lion in our ecosystem and possibly in Africa,” the group said in a statement.
Lion Guardians described Loonkiito as “a symbol of resilience and coexistence. We at Lion Guardians feel privileged to have borne witness to his life and his legacy.”
Male lions rarely survive past 15 years in the wild, according to conservation experts. In captivity, African Lions have been known to live to up to 30 years.
Six more lions from the same national park as Loonkiito were speared by herders after they killed 11 goats and attacked a dog in Mbirikani area, Kajiado county.
“Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident as over the last week four other lions have been killed,” KWS stated.
Villagers living near nature reserves in Kenya, including the 96,880-acre Amboseli National Park, which is home to elephants, cheetahs and giraffes, often complain that lions and other predators kill their livestock and pets.
The spate of lion killings near a major nature reserve popular with visitors has alarmed conservationists and government officials in Kenya, where tourism accounts for more than 6 percent of the country’s GDP.
Tourism minister Peninah Malonza met locals in Mbirikani Sunday and urged them not to spear lions and to instead reach out to the wildlife service.
The government and conservation groups have a compensation program in place offering money to herders whose livestock is killed by wild animals.
But herders lately have been less willing to back down and more determined to protect their livestock in the wake of a devastating drought that has wiped out large numbers of domesticated animals.
With Post wires
