MWCT Report on Lion-Killing Incident

In February a lion was killed in Kuku Group Ranch in reaction to an incident of lion-livestock predation for the first time in more than three years. The lioness killed was named Nosero (Maa for thick cover after the lava field forests that were her favorite hiding places) was well-known to MWCT and Campi ya Kanzi -- in 2007 she was collared for the first time and was since then has been frequently tracked by MWCT Simba Scouts; her movements, behavior and reproduction history were well-known and documented.

The incident in which Nosero was killed was very unfortunate. Early on the morning of February 19th, a party of young morani (Maasai warriors) departed on a traditional lion hunt to kill the lion responsible for killing a lost cow the day before. The hunt was planned at night and sadly MWCT was not alerted in time to respond. Unfortunately, Nosero and her three cubs were found feeding on the cow carcass when the morani arrived; Nosero and two cubs were killed. The other cub was able to escape.

Nosero shown with her radio collar.

Even more unfortunately, one of the Maasai warriors was severely injured during this hunt and tragically passed away before he could be transported to the Iltilal health center. It had been over three years since a lion was killed by Maasai on Kuku and more than thirty since a human life was lost in this community due to a lion hunt.

In weeks prior to the fatal hunt there had been a sharp rise in planned lion hunts, with hunts prompted by nearly every incident of lion-livestock predation. Since the implementation of Wildlife Pays, MWCT's wildlife protection and livestock compensation program, there has been a marked decline of such hunts as the community embraced the reliability of compensation for losses and the increased economic benefit of tourism. However, this year a significant cultural moment within the community, the initiation of a new warrior age set, stressed this happy partnership with new pressures.

MWCT Rangers, Verifying Officers, Simba Scouts, and Kenya Wildlife Services intervened to stop twelve hunts during 2012, but nine hunts were already mounted in under two months of 2013. Several meetings were held with the new Maasai warriors and community elders, but despite these efforts to convince the morani to abandon the hunts, they persevered and killed Nosero before MWCT could be alerted.

MWCT officers speak to morani while halting a lion hunt in late 2012.

Any time we fail to stop the unnecessary killing of even one animal, we are greatly saddened. But it is important to place this isolated event in context. Two years before Wildlife Pays was implemented, in 2005, an average of nine or ten lions were being killed on Kuku Group Ranch per year. Since Wildlife Pays began the number of lions killed has decreased dramatically; with only five killings in seven years. Overall, the human-caused lion mortality rate decreased 92%.

Additionally, 2013 was widely anticipated to be an extremely challenging year due to the cultural significance of a new warrior age set being inducted. Traditionally, this is when many lions are killed throughout the ecosystem by newly minted warriors eager to prove their manhood through a traditional hunt. In February Prior to the incident on Feb. 19th in which Nosero was killed, MWCT and KWS prevented six lion hunts; two more were stopped in January. From this perspective, the killing of Nosero and her cubs was the only loss in a month that without MWCT's intervention may have seen a dozen lions killed.

MWCT's Simba Scouts received GPS training in late 2012 to become more effective in the field. 

Finally, Nosero herself is testament to the impact of our programs. The lifespan of lions in the wild is between 10-15 years; Nosero reached the age of twelve last year. This is especially significant considering she lived outside a national park in a largely human-dominated landscape. In the course of her long life, this lioness preyed on cattle several times and would have been hunted each time if not for Wildlife Pays.

Over her twelve years she gave birth to five litters with fifteen cubs total, so MWCT's efforts allowed this single lioness to add nine lions (three cubs were killed by fellow lion) to the local population. While saddened by any loss, we consider Nosero's life a shining example of how MWCT's work is assisting the recovery of the Tsavo-Amboseli lion population.