The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has responded to claims that pastoralists killed Olobor, a lion from the "Black Rock Pride," in the Maasai Mara Reserve.
KWS claims that although intelligence and investigation teams visited the scene in response to the reports, no proof of the accusations was found.
“KWS tasked the top management of the reserve together with ‘Mara Predators’- a research team whose work is monitoring lions to look for Olobor," the authority said in a statement on Monday evening.
They promised the people that once the facts were established, they would present an accurate picture of Olobor.
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Unverified rumors had claimed that Olobor had died in the Mara, and KWS and other authorities had done nothing to address the claims.
The result of this was the creation of a Change.org petition urging people to boycott travel to Kenya due to the Black Rock Pride member's murder.
The petitioners said that when lions are slain in the Mara by unauthorized grazers, KWS does nothing.
Jesse, a magnificent Maasai Mara lion, perished in July 2023 following an attack by rival pride members during a territorial dispute.
Three lions from the Enkuiyani Pride killed the lion that had been the leader of the Offbeat Pride for more than ten years.
