The wild lion that was believed to be the world’s oldest was killed by herders after approaching a village in Kenya.
Loonkito was a 19-year-old hardened beast from southern Kenya and possibly the oldest wild lion in the world. While lions easily live two to three decades in captivity, they typically don’t get anywhere close to Loonkito’s age when faced with the dangers of living in the wild.
Unfortunately, Loonkito’s life came to an end after he succumbed to injuries inflicted by human hands. According to the wildlife officials, the majestic lion was killed by Maasai warriors after wandering into the proximity of Olkelunyiet village and preying on the cattle.
The village in question is located on the verge of Amboseli National Park where animals such as lions and elephants are allowed to roam freely.
“It was an old lion that had issues… getting prey on its own and livestock is easy prey. A normal lion would go for wildlife inside the park,” Kenya Wildlife Service officials said in a statement.
As of right now, there are only about one hundred lions left in the Amboseli National Park. Meanwhile, there are just over 23,000 of these beasts still living in the wild worldwide, making them a “vulnerable” species on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The majority of the world’s lions live in Africa, but a small population also lives in the wild in India.
While it is not clear if Loonkito was the world’s oldest living lion prior to his premature death, this remains a strong possibility since wild lions typically live just 12 to 16 years.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of Loonkito (2004 – 2023), the oldest male lion in our ecosystem and possibly in Africa,” Lion Guardians, a conservation group, said in a tribute to the marvelous beast.
Sadly, similar reports of wild animals being killed after straying into inhabited areas have become more frequent in recent years as people began expanding into the animals’ territories and hunting grounds, forcing the animals to migrate and seek food and water from other sources.
“People need to be sensitized on looking for a way to alert us and then we can take animals back to the parks,” a Kenya Wildlife Service official said.
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