The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has dismissed reports circulating on social media alleging that Olobor, a famous lion within the Maasai Mara National Reserve, was killed by pastoralists.
Olobor, means the calm one. He is a member of the Black Rock pride that consists of the most famed lions in the Maasai Mara.
In the statement, KWS refuted claims that it was killed within the reserve and assured to dig deeper into its whereabouts.
“KWS Intelligence and Investigation responded by visiting the area but neither evidence nor information was gathered to prove the allegations,” a statement from the KWS communication desk said Monday evening.
KWS tasked the top management of the reserve together with ‘Mara Predators’, a research team whose work is monitoring lions, to look for Olobor.
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“We reassure the public that we will provide an accurate account of Olobor when the facts are established and proven,” the statement added.
Response on the update of Olobor
After the release of the update, Kenyans on social media responded to the notice.
Some of them expressed dissatisfaction with the update from KWS, pointing out that the response showed lack of awareness from its side.
“Sorry KWS! But this is disappointing, we all know what happened. Of course, neither you nor any of us can undo what’s happened so why lie now? #justiceforolob,” Prajwal Shetty Kaup on X expressed.
Another one reacted to the press release from the KWS stating that several lions have been killed in the recent past.
“Please take this very seriously! Because it’s not the first time a lion got speared in that area. His brother Lorkulup got speared last year. Loonkito died in the same area. It seems the herders graze their cattle near the lions. And we want you to investigate that. It’s your job to keep animals safe-So we urge investigation and Justice for OLOBOR,” JoyNeys on X stated.
Mystery sorrounds Olobor’s death
Reports have indicated that Olobor could have been killed as a result of human-animal conflict in the notorious ‘Maji ya Fisi’ area towards the end of January 2024.
This is according to a post on the Facebook page named Lion Sightings.
The post expressed sorrow and discomfort about death of the mara king. It also demanded protection of the remaining lions.
“With tremendous sadness, we have to speak up about the “rumours” we have heard during past days. Now it seems the famous Black Rock boy and one of the best fighters in the Mara, Olobor, is no longer with us.
Without photos as evidence the information we got to know is he was another victim of human-wildlife conflicts at the notorious Maji ya Fisi area,” the Facebook page posted on February 9, 2024.
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“The murder occurred at the end of January. In fact, many previous MajiYF pride males, including 2/3 Paiya Males, Haile, Maridadi, Oloisiado, and now Olobor, may have fallen to the same fate. Only Haile and Olobor body found while others just vanished,” it added.
Subsequently, several social media users have been airing the same- piling pressure on KWS to shed light into what exactly happened to the famous lion.
Some of the posts claimed that the famous lion had not been seen with his pride in recent weeks.
