Lions killed three Tanzanian children who were searching for lost cattle in a forest near Africa’s Ngorongoro conservation area, according to reports.
The children between the ages of nine and eleven of the Maasai tribe had just come home from school on Monday when they went to search for the missing cattle, the Agence France-Presse reported.
“That is when the lions attacked and killed three children, while injuring one,” Arusha police chief Justine Masejo said, according to AFP.
A fourth child reportedly escaped the attack, according to The Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper.
She continued: “I would like to urge the nomadic communities around the reserved areas to take precautions against fierce animals especially when they task their children to take care of the livestock. That will help to protect the children and their families.”
Wildlife attacks against humans in the area are rare but not unheard of, as Tanzania allows certain communities to live within wildlife preserves.
The lions who attacked the three children had been living on the conservation for three years but will now be relocated, The Citizen reported.
The country was forced to relocate 36 lions in 2020 after a group of the increasingly endangered species attacked humans numerous times, according to AFP.
I’m sorry, but are the parents really that naive to let young children search a forested area to find lost cattle KNOWING THERE ARE LIONS LIVING THERE? What is wrong with those parents?
Having to relocate 36 lions because they attacked humans and now have a taste for human flesh — and yet those ignorant parents still allowed their children to go into that forest to find cattle— something is very wrong with those parents!
If cattle are missing it would make sense to think a rogue lion had killed them and is eating them! The lion returns to eat on the carcass until it is devoured. Sending children to do a job an adult should do is FOOLISH and unthinkable — no matter that tribe’s traditions. ADULTS ARE EASILY KILLED BY LIONS, CHILDREN WOULD BE EASIER YET! This is a NO BRAINER!
For everyone’s safety, that country should remove those people from that Reserve so no more people die — REMOVE THE PEOPLE, NOT THE LIONS! The people are encroaching on the lions living area and are now becoming FOOD/PREY for those lions! REMOVE THE PEOPLE!
Maybe the parents and the children didn’t know there were “Lions”, loose Lions in the forest! so quick to judge, information is not always diseminated to surrounding communities! Woud you as a child or a parent go into the
woods or send your child ther if you knew there were lions running loose??? Your question should have been what’s
wrong with the people who put the lions there, knowing PEOPLE live near by! But I can quess why you didn’t ask THAT question.
More to the point, many of these people are starving and have little choice but to take risks. Moving them to places where they are certain to starve is hardly an ideal option.
Micala- YOU ARE A MORON!
It is tragic that the young ones lost their lives…and that parents will mourn and feel guilt as well. These people have a right to a home as much as the animals.. You should not condemn things you do not understand nor should we judge. Quite simply, your righteous indignation is understandable but not a kind response to this sad situation.