Members of Kenya’s Marsh lion pride, made famous in BBC’s
long-running Big Cat Diary documentary series, have reportedly been poisoned
after eating a cow carcass in the Masai Mara Reserve.
So far, two lions have died—a lioness named Bibi and an
unidentified lion, which was found in the field dead, fed on by scavengers.
Another female named Sienna has been missing since Governor’s Camp manager
Patrick Reynolds discovered the animals acting strange Sunday morning.
On Tuesday, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust posted on
its Facebook page that an autopsy of Bibi found that traces of an insecticide
had been used to poison the pride. The wildlife trust’s mobile veterinary unit
is treating five other lions in the pride with antidotes for the poison, and
reported that six white vultures were found dead near the location of the
poisoned cow carcass.
The rest of the 13-member lion pride has been accounted for
and remains under 24-hour watch by veterinarians and park rangers, according to
Paula Kahumbu of the conservation group Wildlife Direct.
While it remains unclear who is responsible for the
attacks, cattle herders who allow their cows to graze on grasses in the Masai
Mara reserve are suspects. Lions can prey on the cows the herders bring on the
land, and conflicts are becoming more frequent. A 2009 study in the Journal of
Zoology found that illegal cattle grazing on protected land in Kenya’s Mara
region has increased more than 1,100 percent since 1970.
On Tuesday, Kenyan Wildlife Service officials charged two
men with poisoning the lions. If convicted, the men could face up to $200,000
in fines or life in jail.
“Kenya has never before charged a person with poisoning
wildlife even though it is a frequent crime that is devastating populations of
vultures lions and other predators,” Kahumbu said in a statement. “This is
sending a shock wave of fear through the criminal networks.”
Conservationist and certified wildlife veterinarian Hayley
Adams said the poisoning of the famous Marsh lion pride will help raise awareness
of long-standing conflict issues between humans and Africa’s wildlife that’s
been quietly escalating in recent years.
“Pastoralists have been retaliating with spears against
lions that predate on their livestock, and now there have been growing instances
of poisoning as it becomes easier to access,” said Adams, who has been working
in East Africa for more than 20 years. “The problem will most likely get worse
before it gets better.”
And when poachers or ranchers use poison, it affects more
than just the animal they are targeting, it can affect an ecosystem. Animals
not targeted, such as the vultures in this case, can end up dead.
Adams’ foundation works with local communities on health
issues and also with wildlife conservation efforts.
“The educational angle we can take is getting the
communities to understand that poisoning the animals can end up hurting
themselves,” Adams said. “It can get in other species, which hurts ecotourism
in the region, and it can get in the water supply.”
One option Masai Mara Reserve officials could look into to
reduce lion-cow conflict would be to allow herders to graze cattle in the
preserve during daylight hours, and ban cattle grazing at night. That system
has been beneficial in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area, south of the
Masai Mara, to limit herders’ run-ins with lions.
“The way it is now, herders are bringing their cattle there
under cover of night, when lions are more likely to hunt, because it’s
illegal,” Adams said. “It’s a difficult situation, both for the lions, and the
communities.”
Bibi with her lion cubs
