IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Hazzah, L.N. | |
| Living among lions (_Panthera leo)_: coexistence or killing? Community attitudes towards conservation initiatives and the motivations behind lion killing in Kenyan Maasailand | |
| 2006 Full Book | |
African lion (_Panthera leo_) populations are in decline throughout most of Africa, but the problem is particularly acute in Kenyan Maasailand, where local Maasai are spearing and poisoning lions at a rate which will ensure local extinction within a decade. In order to understand this phenomenon, it is essential to recognize its foundations embedded within Maasai perception of livestock depredation by lions, socio-economic causes, and the complex Maasai-conservation relationship. These aspects all affect tolerance of Maasai towards lions and consequently impact their behavior towards conservation initiatives and carnivores in general. In an attempt to halt lion killings by Maasai a compensation program was initiated in early 2003 to increase local people's tolerance of carnivores by paying them for their lost livestock. In this study, performed on Mbirikani ranch in Kenyan Maasailand, I use an in-depth quantitative questionnaire and multiple participatory rural appraisals (PRAs) to identify the predictors associated with my two primary thesis questions: 1) How do socioecological variables shape an individual's propensity to kill lions? and 2) What are local citizens' attitudes towards the current compensation scheme on Mbirikani Ranch and how do they affect people's attitudes towards conservation and tolerance of carnivores? My results indicate that individuals who have a greater proportion of livestock lost to predators relative to their overall livestock lost, those affiliated with the evangelical church, and those whose dependence on livestock is mainly for sale purposes all have a higher reported propensity to kill carnivores. Without a better understanding of the nuances of human-carnivore conflict and a concerted effort to unreservedly address appropriate cultural and community-level institutions, chiefly by encouraging local people to participate in conservation, the future of carnivore conservation may be jeopardized. |
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