Kenyan entrepreneur invents system to resolve human-wildlife conflict — RT Africa

Kenyan inventor Richard Turere, who has developed a device to ward off lions and other livestock predators using light sequences, has been named one of three finalists for the European Patent Office’s (EPO) Young Inventors Award ).

The invention, known as Lion Lights, is designed to flash intermittently, tricking lions into sensing human presence and ultimately scaring them away. Turere, a Maasai herder, was 11 when he invented the solar-powered lighting system to prevent his family’s livestock, which included goats and sheep, from falling prey to roaming lions in Kitengela.

The Horn of Africa country has a long-standing human-wildlife conflict, with communities near Nairobi National Park struggling to ward off wild animals that hunt livestock, which are often a key source of food and income for residents.

Africa’s lion population is estimated to have declined by 43% over the past 20 years, with only around 20,000 lions roaming the entire continent, the World Wildlife Fund said, blaming “man-lion conflict” as a major contributor to the decline.

Earlier this month, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) reported that ten lions were killed with spears in a “human-wildlife conflictat Amboseli National Park in Nairobi after attacking livestock, dealing a blow to the country’s conservation efforts. It followed conservationists news that Loonkiito, an iconic 19-year-old male lion believed to be the world’s oldest in the wild, was killed in a similar incident.

Authorities said last week that they were engaging with residents to “finding lasting solutionsfor the question, although the government and conservation groups have a compensation program for ranchers whose livestock are killed by wild animals.

However, Turere, 22, believes his technology, which is now used in more than 2,000 homes in Kenya, would promote sustainable and peaceful coexistence between people and wildlife. Prize organizers said in a statement that no lions had been killed in areas where Lion Lights are installed, while adding that a recent animal census at Nairobi National Park had seen a 15% increase in the lion population.

“Our motto at Lion Lights is that there is no existence without coexistence. In order for us to live harmoniously in this world, we will have to find a way to live in peace with each other, humans and wildlife.said Turere, quoted by the EPO.

Turere’s invention contributes to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 15, which include protecting, restoring and promoting the sustainable use of Earth’s ecosystems.

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