Lions Found Dead
Tanzanian Authorities Investigate Suspected Poisoning After Ten Lions Found Dead
Anonymous
Tanzanian authorities are investigating after 10 lions were found dead on September 18 in the Ndutu area of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with preliminary findings suggesting they may have ingested poison. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority has launched an expert inquiry to determine the cause of death and identify anyone responsible, but no final laboratory findings, motive or arrests have been announced. The deaths have heightened concern in the UNESCO-listed reserve, which is a major tourism destination and habitat for lions, elephants, buffalo and endangered black rhinos. The incident comes amid long-running tensions between Tanzanian authorities and local communities over conservation policies and a resettlement program, as well as separate suspected pesticide-poisoning deaths of at least 20 elephants in Kenya’s nearby Amboseli ecosystem.
Key Points
1
The lions were found in Ndutu, within Endulen Ward, and the NCAA issued its public notice about the deaths on September 19, one day after the discovery.
2
Tanzanian authorities say the number of people living in Ngorongoro has risen from about 8,000 in 1959 to more than 100,000, which the government cites as evidence that population growth is encroaching on wildlife habitat and as justification for its resettlement policy.
3
Poisoning has repeatedly threatened large carnivores in East Africa, and some previous incidents have been associated with conflict between predators and livestock owners; officials have not said whether that dynamic was involved in the Ngorongoro deaths.
4
In the separate Kenyan elephant investigation, authorities arrested four suspects in August in connection with the deaths of 18 elephants, although Tanzanian officials have not linked that case to the lion deaths.
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