By Gabriela Baron
“Loonkiito,” one of the world’s oldest lions, was killed in Kenya, non-profit organization Lion Guardians announced.
Aged 19, Loonkiito is the oldest male lion in Africa. Most lions live around 13 years in the wild.
Lion Guardians said the lion died on May 10.
He was killed while he was wandering in a village, searching for food, according to the Africa-based conservation organization.
“The end of a drought is habitually marked by an uptick in human-lion conflict as wild prey recover and become more difficult to hunt. In desperation, lions often turn to take livestock. Since livestock owners lost so many of their animals to the drought, they are particularly vigilant in watching over their remaining animals,” it said.
“Unfortunately, Loonkiito was caught up in this dynamic as he was starving and jumped into a corral in the middle of the night–this was a tough situation for both sides, the people and the lion,” it added.
Lion Guardians said Loonkiito was “a symbol of resilience and coexistence.”
“In the following weeks and months, we hope to share the extraordinary story of Loonkiito’s life with the world,” it added.
Lions are classified as “vulnerable” by the World Wildlife Fund or species considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. – cf