Why don’t we just Domesticate our Wild Animals?

It has been both refreshing and scary to see lions without having to pay park fees. I remember back in the day when I was a taxi driver. I often used to get clients to take to the National Park. It was however always stressful to get a tourist who could only be satisfied on seeing a lion. That was usually a tall order because lions were not that many in the park. On most days, we could drive around for hours and not see a single carnivore.

One day, I was with a French tourist who spoke English with a very heavy accent. He was really excited to finally get to see a lion (apparently he had never seen one). I prayed that he would be able to achieve his lifelong dream. It was distressing for me because most of the tourists I took to Nairobi National Park had been senior citizens who would be perfectly happy to see just butterflies. I needed not have worried because after more than four hours, we found a full pride of lions, some even on trees.

Escaping Lions
We have been treated to the rare spectacle of lions strolling in our neighbourhoods. Initially it appeared comical to meet with a lion walking in places you only meet dogs. The jokes died down and the harsh reality of what was happening culminated in the killing of “Mohawk” the lion. Mohawk acquired his fame in death. He was virtually unknown when he was living in the safety of the Nairobi national park.

I am a Layman on matters to do with wildlife but I, like other Kenyans, have my own theories on why lions all of a sudden feel uncomfortable in the park. One reason could be what a KWS official claimed that their prey have been wandering out of the park and the lions are just following them. Another might be that their numbers have increased resulting in congestion in the park. Thirdly, there could be foul play. Someone might intentionally be letting the Lions out for ulterior motives (to do with land). I don’t have the means or motivation to conclusively decide what the real reason is.

Domesticating the Wild Animals

I have never heard of Human-Animal conflict involving domestic animals such cats, dogs, cows, and sheep. It is for this reason that I think domesticating wild animals will permanently eradicate the human wildlife conflict. There must have been serious conflict involving cats and dogs during prehistoric times. I can imagine zinjanthropus or one of those other ancient dudes mumbling in their primitive language on how to overcome killer dogs and cats. I can also imagine their jubilant guffaws when they came up with the solution that we benefit from even today.

Expected Benefits of Domesticating Wild Animals

Space

A park like Nairobi sits on prime land which can be freed up if all animals were domesticated and taken to people’s homes. Animals at home do not require extra space. They can make do with minimal comforts. Dogs sleep on unused corners of rooms and compounds. Cats can spend their entire lives on sofa set back rests where nobody sits on anyway.

Every day will be a Holiday

People save up thousands of shillings and set aside many weeks’ worth of leave days just to go and see a lion. Imagine how much they can save if they have their very own lion in their backyard. The food fed to the lion would be worth every shilling in other savings.

Animal Populations would go up

Have you ever heard of endangered domestic animals? Since some of these animals were domesticated, there has never been a problem of shortage. If anything, their numbers go up so high that they have to be controlled. When I saw the KWS ranger shooting “Mohawk”, I thought to myself, “He should have been hired by the dog pound to shoot stray dogs”.

Travel Advisories would lose Meaning

We depend too much on tourism such that, a simple travel advisory wreaks havoc on our economy. Some of these advisories have political overtones and so by having no national parks, there would be no need for tourists and no room for arm twisting us.

P.S. The late Mutula Kilonzo was a visionary in keeping lions at his ranch. Imagine how well it would work out if each of us was allowed to adopt one or two of their favourite predators?