In the growing conflict of Lions versus Cattle, Lions are being decimated with a poison called Furadan.
African herders whose livestock and livelihood are threatened by lions are killing them in the most effective and economical way they can.
And overwhelmingly, that is by using a cheap American chemical called Furadan. It is marketed as a pesticide, to be used for protecting crops. But it’s bought by many to kill animals. And that’s one reason why, conservationists say, Africa’s lions are in trouble.
Dr. Laurence Frank, of the University of California Berkeley, says that he believes that poison, combined with other threats, will make the lion in Africa extinct.
It’s one of the most toxic pesticides sold in Kenya, widely available and hard to detect because it dissipates quickly in poisoned animals. Lab tests, he says, ruled out any other poison.
So why would anyone want to poison these glorious creatures? The area is inhabited by the Maasai people, and Kasanga, a Maasai tribesman, is now try to avert that disaster and save the lions. He is a leading member of the Lion Guardians, a group of reformed Maasai warriors who keep track of collared lions and warn herders when the lions get too close to their cattle.
Last year, they were too late in reaching an old herder whose cow had been killed. The herder laced the carcass with poison, knowing the lions would return to finish their meal.
That night, Sengale and Birdie, two collared lions the Guardians knew well, feasted on it. If the carcass was poisoned with Furadan, they wouldn’t have suspected it because Furadan has no taste and no smell. It didn’t take long before the lions were found dead. One of the lions was pregnant with five cubs.
One poisoned lion captured on camera could barely walk. Its nervous system was shutting down, so it was put down by vets from the Kenyan Wildlife Service who conducted an autopsy.
Tribesman don’t have any trouble finding Furadan: it can be bought in towns and villages all over Kenya in stores called “Agro-Vets,” which sell agricultural products, including pesticides.
In its granular form, Furadan is banned in Europe and the United Kingdom; it is severely restricted in the United States. Just a tiny amount from a $2 bottle is enough to kill an entire pride of lions.
Furadan, even when used as directed, is estimated to have wiped out millions of birds in the United States and poses unacceptable risks to human health. That’s why the Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of banning it.
But in Africa, Furadan is perfectly legal as a pesticide. However, when the granules are sprinkled on carcasses, any animal that feeds on them will die. And not just lions – hyenas, leopards, jackals, vultures and other birds die in droves.
Source: CBS News 
photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The URL is a bit misleading. I always look at the URL before I look at the title at the top of the browser or the title to an article and I was half convinced that somebody had put something in my drink. “african-lion-numbers-fall-from-20000-to-30000-in-20-years/”. That is taken from the original URL. Fall from 20000(twenty thousand) to 30000(thirty thousand) in twenty years. I’m sure you can see my confusion. PS: That poison they use? Everything about it other than the name is nothing but nasty business. Good article. Way to spread awareness.
Zargon,
Thanks for the comment. Yup, we missed a zero in the URL but made sure that it was in the headline.