Teen injured by lioness hunting food for its cubs at Amboseli

Cases of human-wildlife conflict continue to rise in Kajiado County as more wild animals continue to attack people living near Amboseli National Park.

The latest victim is a 17-year-old boy who is nursing serious injuries after he survived an attack by a lioness. According to locals, the incident that occurred in the Imbilikani area left them in shock.

The young man was rushed to Imbilikani Level Four Hospital in critical condition. The lioness, accompanied by its cubs, had attacked one of the cows, provoking the boy to try and rescue it.

Speaking from his hospital bed, the boy only identified as Meliyo said: "I was injured on the right hand and on the back. The lioness had attacked one of our cows and I was trying to save the cow from her claws," he told The Nairobian.

According to locals, the area has experienced more attacks from wild animals. "For some years now, there has been an upsurge in human-wildlife conflict cases in the sub-county. The area has borne the brunt of countless invasions of farms by wildlife with rogue elephants destroying food crops and other private property," said Moses Ole Konana, a resident.

"The devastation has irked the local community, which has been forced to express their anger through retaliation attacks."

However, Kenya Wildlife Service senior warden at Amboseli National Park Paul Wambi says that plans are in place to prevent such attacks. This comes as Parliament opened a public inquiry into human-wildlife conflict and unpaid claims of over Sh5 billion last month.

Wildlife Principal Secretary Sylvia Museiya said Treasury has only disbursed monies to the kitty three times, with the ministry disbursing Sh958 million for compensation of victims in the last financial year.