Kenya's lions fitted with satellite tracking collars

A team of scientists, researchers and veterinarians have launched a project which has seen lions at Nairobi National Park begin wearing satellite tracking collars to help reduce conflict and beef up security operations in the park. The Nairobi National Park lion project, which will run for a period of two years, aims at raising awareness among the local people and tourists about lion movements and on how to prevent livestock predation. "Information gathered during the project will support Nairobi National Park and adjacent areas management strategies with respect to lions, and significantly contribute to lion conservation efforts in Kenya," Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said on Tuesday. The project is jointly funded by KWS, Safaricom Foundation, Institute of Environmental Sciences of Leiden University and the Leo Foundation. KWS said the project is expected to help scientists understand the extent lion ranging is affected by human and livestock distribution around the Park. The collars will also aid direct observations of the lions in the field to investigate pride structure and additional social behavior. Lion populations in Kenya are suspected to have decreased considerably over the last two decades, mainly due to habitat loss and conflicts with people and their livestock. There are an estimated 2,000 lions in Kenya. Cases of conflict have risen sharply over the years. By monitoring movements of the collared lions, the conservationists anticipate that incidences of death, injury and damage to crops and property arising from conflict with lions will be minimized by rapid deployment of rangers to those areas.