Authorities in Kenya have reported that a wild male lion said to be among the oldest in the world died after being speared by herders. Loonkiito, a 19-year-old lion, passed away at night in the village of Olkelunyiet.
In southern Kenya, the settlement is situated along the Amboseli National Park’s boundary. He was “the oldest male lion in our ecosystem and possibly in Africa,” according to the conservation group Lion Guardians.
In the wild, lions often live to be around 13 years old. The World Wildlife Federation estimates that except for a small population in India, all lions are found in Africa. The lion entered the hamlet from the park in search of food, according to Paul Jinaro, spokesman for the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), who also told the BBC that the animal was old and feeble.
Despite stating that he was “very old,” Mr. Jinaro was unable to establish whether or not the lion was the oldest in the nation. The Maasai-run Lion Guardians organization, which works to protect the lion population in Amboseli National Park, stated that the conclusion of drought is “habitually marked by an uptick in human-lion conflict” as “wild prey recover and become more difficult to hunt.”
It stated that “lions frequently turn to steal livestock out of desperation”. It went on to say that Loonkiito’s death was “a difficult situation for both sides, the people and the lion,” and it praised him as “a symbol of resilience and coexistence.”WildlifeDirect’s CEO and naturalist Paula Kahumbu expressed her sorrow over the lion’s death and demanded action to safeguard the nation’s wildlife.
According to Ms. Kahumbu, “Lions are on the verge of extinction, and this is the breaking point for human-wildlife conflict. As a nation, we must do more to protect them.” In the wild, lions live an average of 13 years, while they can survive in captivity for far longer periods.
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