The famous lion of the Maasai Mara named Olobor is still missing weeks after reports that it was killed in the notorious Maji ya Fisi area towards the end of January 2024.
The lion, one of the most famous animals in Kenya's wildlife ecosystem, has not been seen in weeks now, raising fears that reports of the killing could be true.
Animal enthusiasts who spoke to K24 anonymously held that the famous lion was killed in January, the reason he has not been sighted for weeks now.
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"He was killed in late January and they’re trying to cover it up now," a source told this writer.
On February 12, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) denied reports the lion was dead, promising to uncover his whereabouts.
KWS announced that it had tasked the top management of the reserve together with 'Mara Predators' - a research team whose work is monitoring lions, to look for Olobor.
"Reference to various social media messages of the alleged killing of Olobor, a famous lion from the 'Black Rock Pride' in Maasai Mara National Reserve by pastoralists. KWS Intelligence and Investigation teams responded by visiting the area but neither evidence nor information was gathered to prove the allegations," KWS stated.
"We reassure the public that we will provide an accurate account of Olobor when the facts are established and proven," KWS added.
Close to two weeks since the announcement, no update regarding the lion has been given by the entity tasked with taking care of the wildlife.
According to the Facebook page Lion Sightings, Olobor could have been killed as a result of human-animal conflict in the notorious Maji ya Fisi area towards the end of January 2024.
"Now it seems the famous Black Rock boy and one of the best fighters in Mara, Olobor, is no longer with us. Without photos as evidence the information we got to know is he was another victim of human-wildlife conflicts at the notorious Maji ya Fisi area," the Facebook page posted on February 9, 2024.
"The murder occurred at the end of January. In fact, many previous MajiYF pride males, including 2/3 Paiya Males, Haile, Maridadi, Oloisiado, and now Olobor, may have fallen to the same fate (only Haile and Olobor body found while others just vanished. We can't believe how sad and stressful Oloshipa would become as he'd never find his dearest buddy. Now the remaining three Black Rockers need to reunite and stand tough protecting their land and avoiding all these traps."
How important is Olobor?
In 2022, the famous lion was filmed fighting over 20 hyenas which had attacked him at the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
In the video posted on YouTube, although outnumbered by the clan of hyenas, Olobor showed the characteristics of a fearless male lion by fighting back.
The hyena clan was trying to defend its territory from the fearless male lion but instead, they lost a clan member trying to defend their territory in vain.
Olobor used to walk with his brother Olpadan, with whom they mauled another iconic lion, nicknamed King Olope, to death in a pride territorial fight.
