Kibonge: Entebbe zoo's oldest lion dies

By Gerald Tenywa  

ENTEBBE - There were no tears after the passing of the oldest lion at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC), formerly Entebbe Zoo.

Kibonge was estimated at 18 years, yet the life expectancy for lions is estimated between 10 and 16 years.  It was his time to depart.

His teeth had given way and his coat had faded months before he stopped roaring.

For weeks he could not feed, as he waited for his creator to take him to another destination. His earthly existence ended at midday local time (EAT) on Friday when Belinda Atim, the Public Relations Manager at UWEC broke the news to New Vision about his demise.

“It is with great sadness that UWEC announces the death of Kibonge, the 18-year-old lion,” she said, adding that his bones would be treated and used for educational purposes, and that the burial of his remains is scheduled for Tuesday.

 “The lions symbolize authority. Kibonge has helped us reach out to many Ugandans and hope to preserve his bones to continue with the conservation gospel.”

In his last days, Kibonge had been crippled by age and was no longer the fierce lion that instilled fear in his neighbours such as Rafiki, the hyena, as well as his visitors.
 

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Kibonge's bones will be preserved for educational purposes. (Credit: Uganda Wildlife Education Centre)

Kibonge’s history

He was abandoned at Nairobi Park, Kenya where he was raised by animal care givers until he made three years and was donated to UWEC in 1999.

He gave company to Salaam, a lioness who had stayed alone for a long time. But when Salaam departed, Kibonge lived alone until 2009. A zoo in London donated two lionesses that sparked off blissful moments at the den.

“I did not know that Kibonge could breed but when the lionesses came to the zoo he was able to father four cubs,” said Jennifer Nandutu.

Two of his offspring died while two others born in 2012 survived.

His [Kibonge’s] daughters, Mutagamba – named after the current Minister of Tourism Maria Mutagamba – and Flavia are part of the pride and spend most of their time with Biza.

Caregivers prolonged Kibonge’s life                                          

In the wilderness, according to Atim, Kibonge would have been thrown out of the pride.

“It would have been difficult to survive in the wild,” she said, adding that younger lions are always on the prowl challenging their older counterparts.
 

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It would have been a very dangerous life for Kibonge in the wilderness. (Credit: Uganda Wildlife Education Centre)

“The lions become vulnerable when they are thrown out of the pride because they depend on the females to hunt for prey.

“Old lions turn to soft targets such as human beings and livestock the moment they are thrown out of the group.”

The young lions usually aged two years start fighting for leadership in a pride. The lionesses usually hide the male cubs from the lions to protect them from aggressive lions fighting for power and dominance, according to Atim.

Uganda’s lions under threat 

Currently, Uganda’s lion population is estimated to be less than 300.

This, according to Aggrey Rwetsiba, the head of Monitoring and Research is expected to decline further as habitat destruction, hunting for trophies and poisoning by grazing by cattle keepers increases across the country.

The lions are now living in large protected areas such as Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park and Kidepo Valley National Park.