Tiny flashing LED lights keep Kenya’s lions at bay

When lions kill livestock, the Masai retaliate with the simple solution of flashing lights on cattle kraals

(Space for Giants)

Kenya’s Masai people have always lived alongside lions and other wild animals. When a cow or a goat is lost to a wild animal, warriors go out and retaliate by killing a suspect lion. As livestock numbers increase, the frequency of attacks increases, putting more lions at risk. Here a simple homegrown solution has been found: fitting cattle enclosures with intermittently flashing LED lights run off batteries charged by solar power. They deter lions from attacking at night. These are among many measures featured here to protect Kenya’s remaining lion populations.  

Watch Dan’s full story here.

(Space for Giants)

This article is reproduced here as part of the Giants Club African Conservation Journalism Fellowships, a programme of the charity Space for Giants and supported by the owner of ESI Media, which includes independent.co.uk. It aims to expand the reach of conservation and environmental journalism in Africa, and bring more African voices into the international conservation debate.