A cluster of deadly bushmeat traps caused the demise of three Kenyan lions and a few others. The three lions fell victim to the lethal snare and died in Kenya’s Masai Mara national park. Amongst the three lions that died were four hyenas and one eland.
Bushmeat Traps Kill Rafiki and Lenkume
The Mara Predator Conservation Program announced the tragic death of the lions and the other animals. Rafiki and Lenkume were names given to two of the lions that sadly died due to the hunter’s snares. Additionally, a third lion, one of Lenkumes’s sons, also fell victim to the deadly traps set up by hunters.
In their report, the Mara Predator Conservation Program stated that they believed that the eland was the first of all the other animals to get trapped in the snares set up. The eland they assumed was what attracted the lions and hyenas to the site. Due to this, all the animals got trapped in the snares as well.
The Conservancy Program also revealed that more than 50 other snares were found where the lions died. Poachers had set up the 50 snares in a small area on the periphery of Ol Chorro Conservancy. Ol Chorro can be found not far from the Mara River, which is the border of the conservancy.
A series of grim photos of the dead animals were posted online. The Mara Predator Conservation Program posted the pictures on their Facebook page. The Conservation Program stated in their post that they choose to make the post on their page to ensure that the correct information, to the best of their knowledge, was shared.
Measures to Stop Poaching
Poachers continue to carry out their illegal activities every day in Kenya. For years, due to their consistent poaching activities and the decline of their natural habitat, the lion population keeps dropping. During the last count that occurred in 2017, there were just 2000 lions left in Kenya. Because of this continued decline in the predator’s numbers, the authorities in Kenya concerned with conservation have been in high alert.
With the latest killing of Rafiki, Lenkume and the other animals’ authorities concerned got to clearing the site of other traps. Rangers from the Kenya Wildlife Service, Ol Chorro Conservancy, Enonkishu Conservancy Kenya, Mara North Conservancy (Masai Mara, Kenya), and the Lemek Conservancy joined forces to try and sweep a larger area for snares. Additionally, the team tasked themselves with conducting a full investigation of what exactly happened on the site.
Over the year’s poachers lay many deadly traps across the Mara in Kenya. Rangers work tirelessly to try to clear thousands of bushmeat snares laid out across the Mara each year. Each year, sadly, they are always hit with the sad realization that they can’t find every snare. Because of this inability to find deadly traps laid out in a vast Mara, many animals die each year, which is deeply saddening and worrying.
As a final thought, the Mara Predator Conservation Program in their post asked the public to remember the beautiful lions when they were roaming the Mara.
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