Living with Lions

....Projects....

 

Kilimanjaro Lion Conservation Project

The Kilimanjaro Lion Conservation Project (KLCP) was established in early 2004 to try to use some of the lessons learnt in Laikipia to halt massacre of lions in an area of Maasailand between the Chyulu Hills, Tsavo and Amboseli National Parks in southern Kenya. Until a few years ago lions were relatively common here, but poisoning and spearing has almost destroyed the population.

The project is situated on Mbirikani Group Ranch, a 1200 km2 area of semi-arid grassland and bush, communally owned by approximately 10,000 Maasai pastoralists who graze their cattle, sheep and goats here. The region is ecologically important, as it is the wet season habitat for an abundance of wildlife, which migrate from the neighbouring national parks and converge on the plains during the wet season.

 


The project is situated on Mbirikani Group Ranch. Mount Kilimanjaro is visible in the distance.

The Maasai have been known as 'natural conservationists', living in harmony with wildlife, including the predators that share their lands. However, a recently developed intolerance to lions has been reported throughout Maasailand, and in this area alone, over 100 lions have been illegally poisoned and speared between 2001 and 2006. The project estimates that there are currently no more than 15 lions on Mbirikani Ranch, an area which could hold over 100, suggesting that the population has been reduced significantly.

The Kilimanjaro Lion Conservation Project carries out similar studies to the Laikipia Predator Project, monitoring the remainder of the local lion population by putting radio collars on them and tracking them, and carrying out studies and education on livestock husbandry techniques. They are also trying to understand the motivation for this seemingly recent intolerance towards lions by carrying out sociological studies. Part of their mandate is to advise the Mbirikani predator compensation scheme, and other local conservation initiatives.

 

Sociological research

The KLCP understand that the rapid decline of lions in this area is due to the conflict they face with humans, and that it is vitally important to consider the Maasai people when trying to devise predator conservation strategies.

The ideal would be to find solutions that benefit Maasai pastoralists and the lions of the area.

 

 

 


The views of the Maasai people must be considered when devising conservation strategies.

Leela Hazzah is carrying out sociological research to find out people's perceptions and attitudes towards wildlife, so that their opinions will be taken into account and so that they can become involved in decision making processes. She is conducting interviews and surveys across the ranch and elsewhere to find out why some people’s cattle are attacked more often than others, and is trying to discover why there has been such a great increase in the killing of lions over the last three years. Find out more about Leela's Masters thesis work here.

Predator Compensation Scheme

The KLCP works closely with the Mbirikani Predator Conservation Fund. By analyzing the case histories of livestock depredation and notifying the fund managers of patterns in the data, KLCP participates in the iteration of MPCF. MPCF seekswhich seeks to alleviate financial losses due to predator damage, thereby removing the incentive for predator killings. The scheme also works to improve livestock husbandry techniques used by the participating community in order to lessen the amount of livestock taken by predators.

When livestock (cow, goat, sheep or donkey) is killed by a predator, the owner may qualify for damage compensation equivalent to the average market price for the animal killed. In order to receive the payment claims must go through a verification procedure, involving visitation by a verification officer, who is able to confirm that a predator was responsible for the kill, and preventative husbandry measures were being used.

If livestock are lost or left out at night, or without a herder, or if they are not protected by a boma that meets project standards, the compensation payment may be reduced. And most importantly, during any given compensation pay period (2 months) no compensation is awarded to claimants from a zone where a predator has been killed. Since the compensation scheme relies on the participating community's agreement not to kill predators, a predator killing is seen as a breach of the project contract.

 

 


This man's donkey has been attacked by a lion. If he has used adequate livestock protection measures, and no predators are killed in the area in the next two months he will be entitled to compensation.

These penalties have been developed in order to achieve the main objectives of the scheme – improved livestock husbandry, a decrease in livestock depredation and a decrease in predator killings, and are accompanied by education about how to avoid depredation with cheap and effective anti-predator husbandry techniques.

The work of the Kilimanjaro Lion Conservation Project is an essential parallel to the compensation scheme. By monitoring the lion population the researchers will be able to identify persistent problem animals, as well as develop an understanding of the mechanisms of predator-livestock conflict in this part of Maasailand. Changes in the lion population over the coming years will illustrate the size of the population and will show whether the compensation scheme is an effective conservation tool for the protection of lions and other large predators.

Click here to find out about KLCP's completed projects

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