The world's third-oldest lion, named Loonkito, was killed by Kenyan herders from the village of Olkelunyiet, which borders Amboseli National Park, after the big cat preyed on their livestock in search of food, local media reported.
"The animal entered the cowshed around 9pm and the owners attacked him with spears before he attacked the animals. It was weak due to old age and succumbed to the spear wounds in its head," an informed unnamed source said, as quoted by local media.
The killing of the lion is a sign of intense human-wildlife conflict in the Amboseli wildlife corridor, as noted by Daniel Campus, a senior coordinator at Big Life Foundation's predator protection program. The wildlife activist urged residents to refrain from killing wildlife.
Loonkito was a prime representative of Africa's Big Five, which includes the lion, leopard, black rhinoceros, African bush elephant, and African buffalo.
While there are only about 100 lions in the Amboseli National Park, according to the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), the killing of the lion Loonkito is not an isolated incident, as there have been many cases of locals killing lions and other wildlife in the region.
In 2012, at least six lions were killed by angry locals in Kitengela, Kajiado County, on the outskirts of Nairobi, in revenge for some 28 livestock mauled by the wild animals.
The most recent similar accident took place in December last year when a crowd of about 200 locals killed several elephants, including a pregnant one, in Esaronoto village, Mashuuru sub-county, Kajiado County, after a man named Nelson Lepilal Somoire died following an elephant attack.