Eight lions from a famous pride in Maasai Mara, Kenya were poisoned by a cow carcass.
The Telegraph reports the members of the Marsh Pride featured in the BBC documentary Big Cat Diary were preying on a dead cow when it was laced with poison. Among the audience' favourites, a lioness named Bibi, was reported dead when she was found panting frantically with foam in her mouth.
As the population of villagers and herders grow outside the Masai Mara National Reserve, people have become desperate for land. At night, herders drive thousands of cattle into the reserve for grazing --- which clearly attracted the predators. Humans retaliated from their loss by poisoning the lions.
Safari expert Brian Jackman, who named the stricken pride when he co-authored the book, The Marsh Lions (where the documentary was inspired), was deeply saddened upon hearing the news.
"I'm absolutely heartbroken," said Jackman, who studied the pride since 1982. "They were beautiful, mature adult lionesses. Bibi was one of the great Marsh matriarchs. They were so well known that you would recognise them as you would your own cat or dog or member of your own family. You get to know their whole life."
"The illegal nightly invasions of livestock have reduced much of the grasslands to a virtual desert, so devoid of life that there were not even enough food for once common bird species such as kori bustards and black-shouldered kites," Jackman added.
Luckily, the Kenya Wildlife Service later claimed that all poisoned lions had already recovered and weren't showing "visible signs of poisoning" anymore. The Wildlife Service released a statement that Bibi is actually alive and was mistaken for another dead lioness.
The police charged three men responsible for poisoning the felines. If these herders are convicted, they will be subjected to pay the maximum fine of almost $197,000 or face life imprisonment.
