The Nairobi Lion’s Dilemma

The Nairobi National Park is situated about seven kilometers south of Kenya’s capital city. It measures around 117.21 square kilometers and was started in 1946 by the colonial government. The park is largely an open grass plain with acacia and other types of bushes. The Nairobi National Park hosts various animals including the lion, zebra, giraffe and antelopes. The fact that the park is so close to human habitation has posed a great threat to its survival and that of its fauna and flora.

The lion in this park has in the recent past come under heavy attack from the Maasai community around the southern part where it borders the Mbagathi River. This part is unfenced and the lions have taken to invading human settlements for livestock. The Maasai, being pastoralists, have in the process lost a big part of their livelihood. They have retaliated by killing over forty lions and the numbers may rise unless the human-wildlife conflict is addressed.

The bigger problem is posed by the rapid urbanization of the plains around the park. This has led to pressure on land available to both the wildlife and to the residents. The once open migration corridors that allowed herbivores to move freely from the park to Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro during the requisite seasons have been closed. The park now has an electric fence that ensures that the animals do not go out of the park apart from the southern side. This fencing has greatly reduced the prey available to the King of the Jungle.

The Maasai are determined to exterminate the lion in Nairobi National Park and only a concerted effort involving the community, government, conservationists and the Kenya Wildlife Service will save the big cat.