Amboseli National Park, which monitors Lonkitu’s habitat, could not say with certainty that Lonkitu was the oldest lion in Africa. A spokesperson says he was “definitely one of the oldest” BBC News. In any case, the park does not know of an older wild lion on the continent.

The killing of a lion causes a lot of grief in Kenya. And according to the Lion Guardians, the Loonkito was “a symbol of resilience and coexistence.”

Animal organizations are calling for more to be done to protect lions. Animals are threatened with extinction all over the world. Besides Africa, they live only in the wild in India, in protected reserves.