Lion attacks have become recurring problems in Ethiopia
borkena
September 2, 2020
Lion attacks in Abobo district of the Gambella region of Ethiopia reportedly left five people dead and one other person seriously injured in the past twelve months.
Last year, two people were killed in the district in the months of July and August (Ethiopia’s rainy months). The rest of the people were killed this year since July 2020.
According to Abobo district head Umo Tuto, who spoke to BBC Amharic about the problem, one of the latest victims of the attack was a thirty years old daily labourer who was working in a sesame farm. He was attacked on the road after his farm work.
The other victim was a woman (unnamed). She was attacked around 6:00 p.m. local time as she was walking in the street in the district.
Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority was reportedly informed about it to act on the group of lions that attack people in the region but did not happen, and the lions continue to wreak havoc on human life, the district head Umo Tuto told BBC Amharic Service.
Regional authorities do not have the mandate to kill the lions. It falls within the power of the Federal government.
Kahsay Gebretinsae is the director of wildlife education in the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority. BBC Amharic quoted him that he said “A team deployed to eliminate the group of lions that were causing danger. But only one was taken down.”
For him, it is not a flock of lions that is causing the problem but a group of lions.
The district authorities do not seem to be pleased with the work of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority.
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