Lions of Tanzania (Serengeti, Ngorongoro and others)

[BigLion39]

(10-06-2023, 04:52 AM)Spalea Wrote: As concerns Tanzania, protecting an apex predator implies for  local populations to change their view towards this animal. In this case of the Masai tribes, being narrowly implicated  for this aim, has had to give up an ancestral ritual: in order to become a warrior, a "morane", the young Masai had to kill a male lion with spears. Now, the lions being an endangered specy everywhere in Africa, the Masai have abandoned this ritual.

Unfortunately not all Massai, if any at all, have given up those rituals. Like you point out, the Massai also have a ritual/tradition to kill a male lion and when they turn from puberty into a man. Also they kill male lions and use their manes in wedding ceremonies. Another tradition, every 4 years or so they men go out and spear lions. Im not sure the tradition but I know they do it. Maybe this has slowed but it hasn't stopped in any Massai owned land between countries. This goes together with all the killing by cattle herders and we get the problems we have nowadays. Yeah Thabk God the Massai can live and mostly protect the lions but nowadays they must stop all these killings as the lions are disappearing from a lot of their traditional land.  And trust me, I've spoken to people in the know, most Massai see lions,lepeords, big cats, predetors, elephants, hippos, rhinos as a threat and would rather kill them and live without them.  Unfortunate Reply