Lions and Their Prey in Kenya's Maasai Mara

Join researchers in the Massai Mara to help discover how they can restore the dynamic balance between predators and prey through creative livestock management.

The iconic savannas of the Maasai Mara are reliant on a variety of wild undulates, like elephants, giraffes, zebras, and antelope, to keep it healthy and stable. Many local people also rely on this biodiversity to attract tourism and generate revenue. However, conservancy managers and landowners are struggling to maintain healthy populations of both these iconic herbivores and large predators. Since high populations of lions are linked to declines in rare large herbivores, including many iconic antelope species that tourists in Kenya want to see, landowners who depend on tourism are considering lethal methods to manage predators, further jeopardizing these big cats.

But what if both predators and their fragile prey could thrive? Lions most commonly eat zebras, which have a healthy and robust population in the area. And zebras seem to prefer areas where cattle have grazed. By carefully managing the relationships between these species, researchers think it’s possible to influence where the lions seek their meals.

Contribute to this innovative look at how new cattle ranching methods could transform African landscapes. You’ll check camera trap images for leopards, lions, wild dogs, spotted hyenas, and other predators. And you’ll survey zebras and other herbivores like hartebeest, topi, and eland to learn how their populations shift with cattle ranching. Take this rare opportunity to witness how interconnected all species really are.