Help Save Lions

What's at Stake

For many years, scientists believed that there were between 100,000 and 200,000 lions living in Africa. However, a recent survey involving lion specialists across the continent has found that the number has dropped dramatically to approximately 23,000. Most of these lions live within protected national parks, but outside the parks, lions are being killed at an alarming rate, and unless urgent action is taken, they may soon be completely wiped out from these unprotected areas.

Taking Action

In response, the San Francisco Zoo is sponsoring a lion guardians program in the Laikipia District of Kenya, which is transforming young Masai men from lion killers, into lion protectors.

The program, created and managed by UC Berkeley Professor Dr. Laurence Frank’s Predator Project, is based on Leela Hazzah’s work on Masai attitudes toward conservation and predators. In her Master’s research she revealed that the Masai have typically been hostile toward previous preservation efforts because, as a tribe, they earn next to nothing from conservation and tourism, but pay a high price in livestock lost due to predation, disease transmission, and grazing competition from native wildlife populations.

The Lion Guardians Program trains young Masai men, the great majority of whom are uneducated and unemployable, to fill paid and respected conservation and community education positions. These jobs are keyed to the number of lions in the region, increasing as the lion populations rise, or conversely, decreasing with further declines. If lions are speared or poisoned, a job will disappear.

Each Masai Guardian is responsible for protecting lions in their areas by monitoring the lions and helping neighbors avoid them and by helping to retrieve stray livestock before they can become prey. There are currently six Lion Guardians and numerous volunteers who also work to educate their communities about conservation in general and livestock protection in particular.