SAN DIEGO — The lion is called the king of the jungle and considered one of the most powerful hunters in Africa, but their numbers are on the decline.
There are an estimated 22,000 lions left in Africa, and while that may seem like a healthy number, the lion population has been in decline, down 40% over the past 20 years.
In Tanzania, the Maasai herd cattle for their livelihood and that is where lions find themselves in trouble.
The Maasai killed lions after they would hunt down their cows, but now Maasai warrior, Petro Lengima, is working to keep those with cattle away from the path of lions.
Laly Lichtenfeld works with African People and Wildlife. Since 2005, she has been trying to stop revenge killing by the Maasai.
Litchtenfeld has helped train lion monitors like Petro and build more than 1,000 fences called living walls that keep the cattle safe and the lions out. She said the work she’s been doing with locals is paying off. In 2017, there were 15 retaliatory attacks on lions. This year, that number so far has been three.
“These are the guardians of these landscapes. It is important to understand their point of view and why they would want to conserve these areas,” she said.
This week, News 8 will look at mountain gorillas in Rwanda and closer to home, the northern spotted owls of the Pacific Northwest.