Photos courtesy of AFP
Lions have returned to the Republic of Rwanda for the first time in 21 years.
Read the following story from the Bangkok Post to learn more about the animals’ return.
Lions 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.”
TOURIST ATTRACTION
Some two hours by vehicle from the capital, Kigali, Akagera National Park is an important tourist destination, with some 28,000 visitors in 2014. The return of the lions is hoped to give an important boost.
Much preparation was needed. The park is ringed with electric fencing and the cats are equipped with satellite collars to reduce the risk of them entering inhabited areas.
“Of course a lion can kill a cow, but now that we have a fence, there is less risk,” said cattle herder Phocus Rukundo. “The people can no longer kill the lions because they understand the importance of their conservation for tourism.”
CONSERVATIONAL CONCERNS
Still, much work was needed to persuade people living nearby that the return of the top predator should be welcomed. “I am sure there are still people nervous about it,” said Sarah Hall, who is in charge of tourism for Africa Parks, a conservation group which works in Akagera.
Educational plays were put on for communities bordering the park, as well as a football tournament called “The Lion King,” Sarah said, adding that 5% of park income in Rwanda was donated to community projects, such as funding schools or health centres.
The lion remains listed as vulnerable at a global level, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said in an update to its “Red List” of threatened species.
Exercises
Read the story. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words.
1. IUCN stands for the ________________________________________________.
2. The country’s genocide occurred in the year ___________.
3. The capital city of Rwanda is _______________________.
4. The country’s genocide killed approximately ______________ people.
Vocabulary
- genocide (n): the murder of a whole race or group of people
predator (n): an animal that kills and eats other animals
quarantine (n): a period of time when an animal or a person that has or may have a disease is kept away from others in order to prevent the disease from spreading
symbolise (v): to be a symbol of something
inhabited (adj): with people or animals living there
