In the human- and-cattle-dominated landscapes of Maasailand, located between Kenya and Tanzania, African lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are in steep decline. These large predators are being poisoned and speared because they kill the livestock local Maasai people depend on for food, income, and social status.
The Maasai people inhabit the vast grassland that lies within the borders of Kenya and Tanzania. These communities are very dependent on their herds of goats, cattle, and sheep. Over the years, socioeconomic change resulted in more human occupied land and an increase in predator and livestock conflict.
Denver Zoo supports the Living with Lions project which focuses on finding methods to manage predator conservation within livestock management. It is the first integrated study of the ecology and conservation of predator/prey relationships in a human-dominated African environment.
 Living with Lions is a combination of a variety of projects over different regions of Kenya. The main goal of each project is the conservation of large predators through sustainable livelihoods for the surrounding Maasai tribes. The program is unique in working together with the local Massai warriors to manage their livestock.
By creating Lion Guardians, a group of local Massai warriors who look ok out and protect local lions, the community benefits. They gain a sense of attachment to the predators, and are able to incorporate the traditional role of warriors to reduce lion depredations on livestock. Moreover, this brings the financial benefits of conservation to impoverished rural people.
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