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Mohawk The Lion Shot Dead After Attacking Man, 2000 Sign Petition Requesting #JusticeForMohawk

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 09:56 PST, Mar 31, 2016

Mohawk the lion was shot dead by a ranger of the Kenya Wildlife Service on Wednesday after it attacked and injured a nearby bystander.

According to the New York Times, the 13-year-old male lion, known as Mohawk because of the shape of his mane, had been a tourist attraction for many years at the Nairobi National Park, located in the capital of Nairobi.

Mohawk had reportedly escaped from the park and was found 12 miles away in the city of Isinya, Kenya Wildlife Service spokesman Paul Udoto explained. When Mohawk the lion’s whereabouts were determined, a veterinary team headed to Isinya with tranquilizers. However, before the vets could get there to tranq the lion, the noise from the bystanders agitated Mohawk, prompting him to attack. The rangers said, because they were only carrying rifles and not tranquilizers, they had no other choice but to take action, and shot Mohawk dead before the vets arrived.

“This action was taken as a last resort after an escalation of the situation and a concern for public safety,” the Kenya Wildlife Service said in a statement.

According to the Washington Post, it turns out that a group of men had reportedly surrounded Mohawk and were taking pictures and throwing rocks at him. The onlookers “brought about a visible agitation in the lion due to the rowdiness and size of the crowd,” the wildlife service said, adding that there were upwards of 400 people present at the time.

Mohawk the lion remained calm at first, but then thrashed at one of the men, identified only as a 27-year-old man on a motorcycle, who sustained bruises and deep lacerations on his back.

“When it injured that person, it became imminent to us that it could lead to a worse situation and it had to be brought down,” said Kenya Wildlife Service spokesman Paul Gathitu.

According to the Nairobi National Park, several lions have escaped over the past few weeks, and all but Mohawk have been retrieved alive. The wildlife service believes Mohawk had traveled to Isinya to establish new territory for himself.

The wildlife service continues to call Mohawk’s death a last resort, and explained that they are committed to protecting and serving the wildlife.

“We wish to assure the public that we remain true and committed to serving and protecting our wildlife resources,” it wrote on Twitter. “Our number-one focus has and will always be conserving our wildlife for Kenyans and the world as a whole.”

Despite their claims, Kenyan residents are outraged over Mohawk’s death, and have taken to social media to seek justice for the majestic lion using the hashtag #JusticeForMohawk. A petition has also been created, which already has more than 2,000 signatures.

“In Kenya our heritage is our wildlife. The protectors of our heritage are the government and KWS. But they shot this lion dead in cold blood, without reason other than their total incompetence,” the petition read in part, according to Kenyan paper The Star. “The park itself is under threat by government-sanctioned development projects that are sure to ruin it. Corruption, greed and selfishness are taking nature away.”

“We must stop,” the petition continued. “This must not be another scandal swept under the piles the Kenyan government has stashed under the carpet. We want things to change and we want Mohawk to be the symbol of that which must be protected.”

[Photo via Shutterstock]

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