Since the release of Disney’s animated film, the Lion King, exactly thirty years ago in 1994, the number of lions in the wild has decreased by 80%. Yes, that’s right, 80%. At this rate, lions are expected to go extinct in 2-3 decades. It is ironic that as the iconic species’ charisma and soft power increased in the developed world, their actual numbers in the natural world plummeted.
The reality is that most of Africa’s iconic species are on the verge of disappearing (Lions, Rhinos, Elephants, Cheetahs, Giraffes, and many more). Hunting, poaching, habitat loss & fragmentation, and human wildlife conflict have decimated and taken their toll on the world’s most iconic wildlife – while the rest of the world slumbers on. Most people don't realize that Cheetas, for example, are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Redlist, with only approximately 7,000 left in the wild; or that there are only two female Northern White Rhinos left on the planet.
The last two Northern White Rhino on the planet, mother and daughter, Fatu & Najin.
As a result of this, I recently embarked on a long-awaited conservation-focused safari in Kenya. While there, I met with Kasaine Sankan, Senior Program Researcher, and Dominic Sakat, Community Outreach Officer, of the Mara Predator Conservation Program (MPCP), an organization that uses scientific research, community initiatives, and community education to conserve and protect predators (lions, cheetahs, wild dogs, leopards, hyenas) in the Greater Mara Ecosystem in Kenya, and prevent human wildlife conflict.
The Mara Predator Conservation Program was established in 2013 by the Kenya Wildlife Trust, and over the past 10 years has monitored large predator population trends in the Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding Conservancies. This is done through the use of predator collars, predator identification & photo “capture” in the field, and big data (using an application called Cybertracker) to track & analyze lion & cheetah movements, and track additional data about the conditions of the surrounding environment (number and type of prey present, etc.) for each sampled or “captured” predator.
This is important because as young, newly independent male lions are forced out of their prides, they must roam beyond the territory of the prides in the reserve and conservancies, and into the neighboring villages or communities to prey on livestock. 1 out of 3 lion males is killed due to human wildlife conflict. However, young lions aren’t the only predators preying on livestock. When leopards and hyenas break into a boma (a livestock enclosure) they can wipeout an entire boma of sheep or goat in one night (to eat 2-3 of the animals). This of course is disastrous for the local community who depend on their livestock to survive. This spawns retaliatory killings and poisoning of lions and other predators. The BBC Two’s documentary, “The Rise and Fall of the Marsh Pride”, chronicled the demise of the Maasai Mara’s Marsh Pride of lions due to a retaliatory poisoning (as well as the losses sustained by other wildlife such as vultures), and the severe penal punishment faced by the members of the local village responsible for the poisoning. It was a lose-lose scenario, for both humans and wildlife.
Armed with extensive collaring data, the MPCP quantifies existing threats against predators, and uses this to inform conservation management policy to prevent human wildlife conflict, and protect lions, cheetahs, leopards, and other predators. However, beyond scientific research and formal policy, successful conservation efforts must involve and meaningfully engage the local community as stakeholders and beneficiaries.
A female cheetah with four cubs in the Naboisho Conservancy.
To this end, the other half of the MPCP’s efforts is devoted towards community engagement and education. This involves an array of initiatives to engage the local communities, address their concerns against predators, and alter their negative perceptions of the enigmatic wildlife around them. Through the use of Lion Ambassadors, anti-poisoning campaigns, film screenings of “Because of the Predators”, community barazas (formal meetings), herder training, predator-proof boma reinforcement, and predator detractor lights, the organization strives to prevent human wildlife conflict between predators and communities in the Greater Mara Ecosystem.
Lion Ambassadors are members of the communities that have been handpicked to serve as liaisons between each community and the Mara predator conservation efforts. The role of the Lion Ambassadors is to prevent human wildlife conflict, deescalate and halt the persecution of lions, and enable “communities to embrace coexistence with the apex predators.” Lion Ambassadors have access to the Earthranger platform (which provides data and alerts to Lion Ambassadors when a lion is in close proximity to their respective community ) and can alert and enable their community to take preventive protective measures.
The anti-poison campaigns and community barazas (formal meetings) work to provide the local communities with a proper forum in which to address livestock depredation, and in which to learn about the extensive ecological risks associated with the use of readily available agricultural poisons to kill predators. These anti-poison campaigns include the use of traditional song and dance in the Maa language to educate about and dissuade the use of poisons.
Members of the Ilkisiusiu Breakout Pride in the Naboisho Conservancy.
But, it is perhaps the conservation education and wildlife immersion efforts dedicated for community children that may have the most enduring positive impact for wildlife in Kenya. Typically, most children in the local villages and communities on or surrounding conservancies have never gone on a safari or game drive. They see lions and other predators as nuisances that endanger their lives and livelihoods, and that must be hunted down. To shift this mindset, the MPCP has established Wildlife Clubs for school children to learn about the local wildlife and participate in game drives. This allows the community children to understand why people from all over the world come to see the wildlife on their doorstep, and to understand how meaningful and unique it is. The education programs have involved approximately 800 kids, from 18 elementary schools and two secondary schools. By the end of each program, the children’s perception of lions, wild dogs and hyenas has shifted from that of a nuisance that must be hunted down, to appreciation for the wildlife around them. This is evident in the drawings made by the children before and after the wildlife education programs.
In the Pardamot Conservation Area of the Greater Mara Ecosystem, this conservation area calls for a different approach, one where cultivating tolerance for predators amongst residents is the name of the game. This conservation area eschews the traditional model of relocating local communities to make room for wildlife and paying land leases to the community in return. Instead, the Pardamot Conservation Area retains the local community on their lands but works to cultivate tolerance for the predators within that community.
To learn more about the Mara Predator Conservation Program’s initiatives in Kenya, or to support their work, please visit: https://www.marapredatorconservation.org/
Elizabeth Cerda