A 14-year-old girl has been killed by a lion on the outskirts of Nairobi, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said.
Lion Attack Near Nairobi National Park
The child was snatched from a residential compound on a ranch next to Nairobi National Park, according to the conservation agency.
The alarm was raised by another teenager and KWS rangers followed tracks to the nearby Mbagathi River, where they found the primary school girl’s remains.
Search for the Lion Underway
The lion has not been spotted but KWS reported that it had laid a trap and sent search teams to find the animal, the agency further stated that extra security had been put in place to avert any other attacks.
Nairobi National Park and Human-Wildlife Conflict
Nairobi National Park is only 10km (six miles) from the city centre and contains animals like lions, buffalos, giraffes, leopards and cheetahs.
It is fenced on three sides to prevent animals from roaming into the city but it is open to the south to permit animals to come and go in and out of the region.
Incidents of Lions Clashing with Humans
Although lions tend to clash with humans in Kenya, particularly over livestock, it is not often that people are killed.
In a similar incident last year, CCTV captured the moment when a lion made away with a Rottweiler dog from a neighboring house near Nairobi National Park.
Man Killed by Elephant in Separate Incident
The KWS also indicated that a 54-year-old man was crushed to death by an elephant on Saturday. The attack occurred in the central Nyeri county, 130km (80 miles) north of Nairobi.
The elephant, which was grazing in the Mere Forest, attacked the man, causing him serious chest wounds, fractured ribs and internal injuries, he was rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to injuries.
Calls for Better Wildlife Risk Management
Conservation group head Paula Kahumbu of WildlifeDirect described the fatalities as not being isolated and called for the KWS to enhance “risk assessments and ensure real, accurate communication of wildlife movements and behavior, particularly in known high-risk locations like Savannah Ranch,” where the 14-year-old died.
She also said that all lodges, camps, and residential developments near areas where wildlife lived should be “equipped with anti-predator deterrent systems including lights, alarms, secure fencing, and anti-predator sprays”.
“Prevention is our first and best line of defense,” she added.
