Tour guides, drivers, organisations protest killing of lions in the Mara

Lions on top of trees at Naibosho conservancy in the Masai Mara Game Reserve. Due to the tall grass the lions have resorted to climbing tree tops to spot potential prey. [Robert Kiplagat]

Pressure is mounting on the Narok County Government to publicly address its failure to protect lions and curb their killing in the iconic Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

The push elicited by the controversial killing of an iconic lion in the reserve two months ago has sparked widespread outrage among conservation advocates and citizens alike, who fear that the Maasai Mara's unique wildlife heritage is under imminent threat.

Wildlife enthusiasts, organisations, tour guides, and drivers say apart from the killing of Olobor, an iconic lion king in Mara, around 27 February, there are more than 5 lions who were either speared to death by herders or disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Led by East Africa Tour Drivers and Guides Association Chairman Felix Migoya, they sounded the alarm, warning that the ruin of lions will have devastating consequences for the Maasai Mara's fragile ecosystem.

“Apart from Oloibor, who was part of the 4 black rock boys of the Ronga pride, we want the county government, which is the main custodian of the 1,510 sq kilometers Maasai Mara National Reserve protected area, to tell us where Haile, brother to Mdogoand Osidai of Sopa pride,” said Migoya.

Migoya, who supports a court case by an American, Luis Franco, who moved to court suing the Kenyan Government over killings of lions in the Mara, claims Haile was speared to death. At the same time, his brother Mdogo survived with injuries on the back last year.

Migoya, also among the wildlife lovers who agree the county government cannot protect wildlife from local herders who storm the reserve to graze their thousands of livestock on nightfall, says one of the offbeat pride members disappeared without a trace. At the same time, Nyekundu, one of the most handsome lions in the Mara, was killed last year. Nyekundu was from the Enkuyanai pride.

“Also, there is a bibi and a half tail from Bila Shaka Pride near Musiara that was killed by spearing by headers,” he added.  

Franco’s decision to take legal action against the government is due to the targeted killings of lions, notably Olobor, Nyekundo, and Halftail, within the confines of protected areas by herders, which he said constitute blatant transgressions against the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act of 2013. Franco warned that the continued killings pose a threat to the lion’s population and risk extinction.

Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina accused Governor Patrick Ntutu of prioritizing private interests over the well-being of the lions.

According to Ole Kina, one of his social media accounts accused Ntutu of having plans to excise portions of the game reserve for personal use.

"The Governor is more concerned with lining his own pockets than protecting our wildlife."

"We are losing our game park, and the governor does not seem to care." Ole Kina stated on Facebook.

Many wildlife lovers took to social media to raise their voices against the killings, saying Lions play a pivotal role as apex predators, maintaining a delicate balance within the food chain.

In his Facebook account, Lokender Charan said, “I'm one of the most active guides in the mara, posting about wildlife daily.  I've been a lion's lover since I became a guide around 2010, and the love between this magnificent cat and me is beyond any measure. I know most guides and people will not agree with me, but the killing of lions by herders must stop. We're not going to tolerate it anymore, stop grazing cattle in the park,”.

Another wildlife enthusiast, Noor Ali, wondered why the Kenya Wildlife investigations couldn’t reveal how the lion was killed, while local sources indicate that the 16-year-old lion was speared to death; “But two months now, the remains or carcasses of Olobor have not been recovered.”

Ali wondered how KWS, when the matter popped up on social media, dismissed the "widely circulated report about the killing of Olobor, as an allegation which is yet to be confirmed, but the agency then said in a statement that top management officials, a team of predator experts working in the area, are searching for the lion.

“Now KWS further dismissed the reports as rumors but could not explain why the lion had not been sighted, despite a massive search by hundreds of rangers, helicopters, and drones where this lion is,” he added.

Christine Chang-Lions, the Mara director, says the killing occurred about Jan 27 or so, and then his brother Oloshipa was seen alone with Maji ya fisi pride.

“Hard to imagine how stressful Oloshipa would be that he won’t be able to find his dearest brother again.  This is outrageous. We lost another one of our favorite animals. What could we ever do to save our lions, except for posting this sad news once again? Not sure if Mdogo has recovered from his wounds. Not sure if Mdogo’s bro Osidai is even alive,” she expressed her concerns on her Facebook account.

Eddy Safari expressed the same sentiments, saying, “We need to stop the senseless killing of lions in the Maasaimara reserve and Amboseli parks by communities living around these parks. The number of big cats is steadily declining, and it is even becoming harder to spot them in the wild, especially in Amboseli and Nairobi.”

Eddy said it is up to the authorities to take decisive measures against those culpable of these acts and help save the national treasures, saying the cases of human-wildlife conflict have been fuelled by the illegal acts of cattle grazing within wildlife protection areas, especially Amboseli and Mara.

“Very soon we will have nothing to show visitors apart from livestock if measures are not taken,” he added.

The protest has also gone viral online, with another tourist, Alejandro Mora, initiating an online campaign pushing for the boycott of tourism in Kenya until those behind the killing of Olobor are brought to book. At least 2, 609 people have signed the petition.

The protest comes as Lion's density and abundance in the Maasai Mara Ecosystem have increased slightly while the cheetah population dropped by 31 percent in the last two years, according to the survey.

But the Maasai Mara Game Reserve chief park warden, Stephen Ole Minis, denied any lions killed within the reserve protected area and dared anyone with evidence to challenge him despite his quick comment that Human-wildlife conflict in the Mara ecosystem cannot be overruled as wildlife move out of the protected area to where human live, but denied any night grazing of livestock in the park.

“Cases we are handling are cases where lions moved to settlement areas and attacked livestock, in conservancies, the boundary of the park, and some of the lions named here died more than 4 years ago, and we arrested the culprits and took them to court,” said Minis on the phone.

A 2022 survey released by the Mara Predator Conservation Programme shows estimates for lion density, abundance, and sex ratio for animals over the age of one year in the Masai Mara National Reserve and the surrounding wildlife conservancies, measuring over 2000 sq kilometers, on an upward trend.

The study covering an area of 2,581 square kilometers indicates an increase in lion numbers from 436 individuals in 2021 to 459 in 2022.

The 2022 survey period, which spanned from August 1 to October 31, 2023, indicates the lion’s density has increased by 0.9 percent from 17.12 percent in 2021 to 18.04 percent in 2022.

“It is, however, important to emphasise that this is merely a fluctuation between two consecutive years and not a trend. All wildlife populations fluctuate naturally from year to year,’ indicated the report released last week.

What is noteworthy in the study is that almost all the Mara conservancies showed an increase in lion numbers, while the 1,510 sq kilometers Maasai Mara National Reserve and Mara Triangle show decreasing trends in the big cat numbers.

During the survey period, Enonkishu Conservancy scored highest in lion density with a 30 percent increase, followed by Olare-Motorgi Conservancy (OMC) with 24 percent and Lemek Conservancy with 23 percent.