A lioness poses on the sunlit plains of the Shompole Conservancy within Kenya's Great Rift Valley.

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Shompole Lodge founder Anthony Russel has partnered with local Masai in the Shompole region of southwest Kenya to help protect lions. Across Kenya and the African continent, numerous threats loom for lions, including habitat loss and poisons used in retaliation for livestock deaths. According to the Panthera Foundation, some 100 of Kenya's estimated 2,000 lions die each year from human hands. If the trend persists, lions could face extinction in Kenya by 2030. Since the inception of Shompole Lodge and its conservancy in 2000, however, lion populations in the area have increased from six to more than 70.

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Size: 4287px × 2848px
Location: Shompole Conservancy, Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Africa
Photo credit: © Joel Centano / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: africa, african, conservation, great, kenya, lion, lioness, lions, plains, rift, safari, savanna, shompole, travel, valley, wildlife