Maasai farmers only kill lions when they attack livestock

[Judi Lynn]

February 26, 2019

Maasai farmers do not kill lions for retribution whenever they lose sheep or cattle, new research shows.

It is widely believed that Maasai farmers kill lions after losing livestock - even if lions are not involved - but the study shows this is not the case.

Instead, researchers from the University of Exeter and the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi found that lion killing only increases when lions are thought to have killed livestock.

If livestock are lost to other predators, theft, drought or disease, lion killing does not increase.

Lion killing - a criminal act in Kenya that is famously part of traditional Maasai culture - is less common now than in the past, but its causes remain controversial.

More:
https://www.brightsurf.com/news/article/022619477113/maasai-farmers-only-kill-lions-when-they-attack-livestock.html

[Sneederbunk]

1. Except for Maasai dentists.