Nairobi

Lion populations are in decline throughout most of Africa, but the problem is acutely urgent in Kenyan Masailand, where local residents are spearing and poisoning lions at a rate which will ensure local extinction within a very few years. Kajiado and Narok Districts contain two of Kenya’s most important tourist destinations, Amboseli National Park and the Masai Mara National Reserve, where lions are the primary attraction for overseas visitors. Limited data from the Tsavo-Amboseli Ecosystem (lying between Amboseli and Tsavo West National Parks) indicate that a minimum of 108 lions, and probably many more, have been killed in the region since 2001. In spite of a generous compensation program which pays people for livestock lost to predators, lion numbers on Mbirikani Group Ranch have declined steadily, and evidence suggests that the situation is as bad or worse elsewhere in the region. Young warriors who engage in traditional lion killing do not face significant consequences because of lax law enforcement and judicial corruption. Unless that changes in the immediate future, Kenya will lose its most important tourist attraction