ions have returned to Rwanda for the first time since the endangered animal was wiped out following the country’s 1994 genocide.
WARM WELCOME
Seven lions — two males and five females — were transported in a marathon 30-hour journey from South Africa, first by air, then the final stretch by road to Rwanda’s eastern Akagera National Park, officials reported on July 6.
Schoolgirls sang outside the park in Akagera, a 112,000-hectare park bordering Tanzania, welcoming the predators as they ended their journey.
One by one, they were released into a giant pen, where they will stay for an initial quarantine of around two weeks, before being allowed out into the wild of the park itself. “It is a huge conservation milestone. It is a beginning of a fantastic chapter for lions in Rwanda,” Akagera park director Jes Gruner said.
HISTORICAL GENOCIDE
Lions in Rwanda were wiped out in the years following the 1994 genocide, which left an estimated 800,000 people dead.
Fleeing refugees and displaced people occupied part of the park, with lions being driven out or killed as people tried to protect their livestock.
“I still have the pictures of the last three lions that were poisoned. It was very sad,” said vet Tony Mudakikwa.
“So the return of lions symbolises more than a conservation success. We are excited as a nation,” said Yamina Karitanyi, head of tourism under the Rwanda Development Board. “We are proud to welcome the lions.”