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A free-ranging lion, considered one of the oldest in the world, died on Wednesday night after a group of shepherds attacked him with spears in Kenyaaccording to local authorities.
Loonkiito was 19 years old and died after he entered a community to hunt domestic cattle in the village of Olkelunyiet, a town bordering Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya.
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Conservation group Lion Guardians says it was “the oldest lion in our ecosystem and possibly in Africa.”
Most of the lions in freedom live around 13 years.
According to the World Wildlife Federation, almost all lions live in Africa apart from a small population found in India.
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) spokesman Paul Jinaro told the BBC the lion was old and frail and roamed the village from its home in the park looking for meal.
Jinaro couldn’t confirm if it was the oldest lion in the country, but noted that it was “very old.”
“A symbol of coexistence”
The Lion Guardians group works to conserve the lion population in Amboseli National Park, explaining that the end of a drought is “usually marked by an uptick in human-lion conflict” as “wild prey recover and They become more difficult to hunt.
“In desperation, lions often show up to take cattle,” he said.
He added that Loonkiito’s death represents a “difficult situation for both sides, the people and the lion”, and assured that the animal had been “a symbol of resilience and coexistence”.
Paula Kahumbu, wildlife conservationist and executive director of WildlifeDirectHe said he was saddened by the lion’s death and called for measures to protect wildlife in the country.
“This is the breaking point of the human-wildlife conflict and we must do more as a country to preserve the lions, which are facing extinction,” Kahumbu told the BBC.
The average lifespan of a lion in the wild is about 13 years, but they can live much longer in captivity.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
