"...Since 1992, OBC has flown in wealthy clients to shoot lions and leopards, angering nomadic Maasai cattle herders who are blocked from pastures in the hunting grounds..."

There is your answer Bill.

Wealth clients shooting leopards and lions.

The fact the Loliondo has been a hunting area for many years before that makes no difference.

And the fact that the Masai and lions cannot co-exist makes no difference.

quote:

And the fact that the Masai and lions cannot co-exist makes no difference.

Interesting observation. Of course you run across cattle in the hunting areas in Masailand, but I was very surprised to see cattle right outside of Ngorongoro last year. Getting the cattle out of there is good for the game whoever is, or isn't, hunting the area.

This reminds me of the 1970s in India. For decades some Arab Sheiks used to visit Rajastan for falconry. They were very private and discrete - no publicity. Then the press got wind and made a big noise about wealthy Arabs supposedly hunting Great Indian bustard (a protected bird).

The moment it hit the press the entire group left the country in private jets and never returned.

There was never any evidence that game laws were being violated etc. Just media hype!

http://www.theguardian.com/wor...ti-wildlife-corridor



Tanzania ditches plan to evict Masai for Serengeti 'wildlife corridor'

Activists claim victory as plan to annex 1,500 sq km bordering national park to benefit UAE-based luxury safari firm dropped

David Smith, Africa correspondent

theguardian.com, Monday 7 October 2013 11.38 EDT



Activists have claimed victory in a campaign to stop Tanzania evicting 40,000 Masai pastoralists from their ancestral land to make way for a big game hunting reserve for Dubai's royal family.

Government officials had planned to annex 1,500 sq km bordering the Serengeti national park for a "wildlife corridor" that would benefit a luxury hunting and safari company based in the United Arab Emirates.

But campaigners said ministers dropped the scheme after visiting the Masai, who complained that their livestock would be cut off from vital grazing pasture, as well as 18 months of co-ordinated protests that included a global petition signed by more than 1.7 million people.

Samwel Nangiria, co-ordinator of the local Ngonett civil society group, said Tanzanian prime minister Mizengo Pinda spent two and a half days with the Masai in Loliondo district late last month. "The Masai said we cannot lose this land at any cost – this land has been ours for centuries.

"The conclusion was that government has turned down the plan to evict tens of thousands of Masai. It's a big success story, not only for the Masai in Loliondo but also in Tanzania and east Africa."

The Masai will now try to renew their legal rights and end long-running disputes over the land with the assistance of the land minister, Nangiria added. He was not aware if alternative arrangements had been made for the Ortelo Business Corporation (OBC), a safari company set up by a UAE official close to the royal family.

"The OBC called last week and wanted a meeting with us," he said. "They are feeling very threatened, for sure."

Nangiria paid tribute to a "very sophisticated, high level" campaign that was mounted in defence of the Masai with the help of methods old and new. It included a protest march, pressuring international donors to Tanzania, and adverts in the East African newspaper that warned that the Masai would reconsider their support for the government at the ballot box.

The international effort was led by the online activism site Avaaz.org, whose Stop the Serengeti Sell-off petition attracted 1,775,320 signatures and led to targeted email and Twitter protests. It argued that the Masai would be robbed of their livelihoods if their land was used for the commercial hunting of prize game such as leopards and lions by UAE royals.

Sam Barratt, a spokesman for Avaaz, said: "It's been amazing. The government did all it could to stop this becoming a national story but I think the confidence of the Masai has grown and grown. We helped get it out internationally and it was tremendously successful."

He added: "This is a nomadic tribe thousands of years old that lives by ancient traditions, but modern technology unlocked their cause to the world."

The Tanzanian government did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.

The Masai win again. They are undoubtedly the most politically astute tribe in sub-Saharan africa. Anybody who doubts them is simply not paying attention.

Money talks!!!

Yes but game looses.
Just like anywhere else, cattle wins and for what? They are the most destructive creatures beside sheep and goats.
Look at western USA.
Ranchers have a lot of clout and those USFS and BLM leases in Fall make me sick. And all for few extra bucks.

quote:

Originally posted by LionHunter:
The Masai win again. They are undoubtedly the most politically astute tribe in sub-Saharan africa. Anybody who doubts them is simply not paying attention.

As well as being enemy #1 of the lion...poison or whatever it takes.

And they are not good stewards of wild-life or wild places in general.

Lavaca

Last year I also saw cattle and Maasai outside the crater and inside on the crater floor. I even have pictures of them. Maasailand is overrun with people and cattle. Glad I got to see it before it's gone. Did I mention every Maasai now seems to come equipped with a cell phone?

quote:

"This is a nomadic tribe thousands of years old that lives by ancient traditions,

Ancient traditions of cars and cell phones?????


.

That reminds me American Indians in the west.
All year long seasons, with high power rifle from back of the pick up truck .
" Tradition " tradition my ass
People just don't give a rats ass. It's all about " I want it all and I want it now "
Massai better get the drift. Sounds like have already ruined a lot of country.
Right, they need cattle to trade for wives, I forgot about that
Why it doesn't surprise me?

When malaria is cured by Bill Gates & Co, I imagine things will get better?