VOICE TWO: Up to two hundred thousand lions lived in Africa twenty years ago. Today, fewer than thirty thousand lions live there, many in protected areas. But environmental activists are working to save the animals. And, the activists have some unexpected helpers.
Members of the Maasai people have stopped killing lions and now are protecting them. Maasai herders care for cattle, sheep and goats on the Mbirikani Group Ranch. This community-owned ranch is in southeastern Kenya. It covers more than one hundred twenty one thousand hectares.
Maasai warriors in their late teenage years, twenties and early thirties are called murran. The murran normally gain fame and honor if they kill a lion. But some of them now defend the animals and work to keep them alive. The murran are called Lion Guardians. They are part of a scientific and environmental-protection group called Living with Lions.
VOICE ONE: The Lion Guardians help herders find lost sheep, goats and cows. They observe the movement of lions and warn herders of their presence. Sometimes the guardians intervene and break up lion-hunters.
If a lion does kill a herd animal, the Maasai receive money from a program that repays herders for losses. The program has lessened the traditional conflict between herders and lions.
The murrans can follow a lion for hours without needing to drink water. They also learn radio work. That knowledge helps them find lions wearing radio collars. Scientists place the devices around the lions' necks so they can follow their movements. Some guardians also learn to read and write so they can keep records of their work. Others keep records using pictures.
VOICE TWO: The Lion Guardians have been facing an especially difficult situation in recent times. Herders in Kenya are suspected of killing lions with a pesticide product, Furadan. They reportedly pour the product on dead animals that lions eat. Furadan makes the lions unable to move, then causes a painful death.
Laurence Frank is a lion expert with the University of California at Berkeley. He says up to seventy-five wild Kenyan lions may have died this way during the past five years. Professor Frank heads the Living with Lions group.
In reaction to protests, the manufacturer of Furadan stopped all sales of it in Kenya. But environmental activists worry that the pesticide is already in stores and people's homes. Farmers use it to protect crops from insects, worms and mites.
VOICE ONE: African lions are also threatened by human expansion into areas that once were wild lion country. Other enemies are hunters who kill lions for their body parts. The parts are then used in traditional medicines and souvenirs.
And, diseases sometimes kill large numbers of lions. Infectious animal tuberculosis, for example, has established itself as a threat to lions in southern Africa. Researchers also blame long periods of dry weather and heavy rain. Some scientists say climate change makes this worse.
(MUSIC) VOICE TWO: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jerilyn Watson and Brianna Blake, who was also our producer. I'm Faith Lapidus. VOICE ONE: And I'm Doug Johnson. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
