BBC's Big Cat Diary lions poisoned in Kenya

A pride of lions that starred in the BBC programme Big Cat Diary has been poisoned.

Two Maasai herdsmen, Simindei Naururi and Kulangash Toposat, have been charged with allegedly covering a cow carcass with poison at the Maasai Mara Game reserve.

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Eight lions from the famous Marsh pride are being treated for poisoning, while two other lions, one not from the pride, were killed.

It is believed the lions killed three of the herdsmen's cows after entering the reserve.

According to the BBC, one of the lions killed was 17-year-old Bibi, who was "foaming at the mouth, fitting and panting".

BBC cameraman Mark MacEwen was at the scene and tweeted his sadness, saying: "Bibi the oldest lion from big cat diary marsh pride has died due to poisoning, words can't describe."

Another wildlife cameraman John Aitchison tweeted: "Bibi, the Masa Mara's oldest lioness, died today. She was poisoned. Lions deserve better than this or soon they will all be gone."

Jonathan Scott, an English zoologist, said that historically herders have killed lions that eat their cattle every year, but "in the last few years, the situation has escalated beyond all reason".

Grazing of livestock in the reserve has increased "exponentially", even though it's illegal to do so. Anne Kent Taylor, a conservationist at the Maasai Mara Reserve tells the National Geographic there's a vicious cycle happening: "Maasai landowners have seen their grazing lands restricted by land privatization and by agreements with wildlife conservancies, which have a strong record of successful wildlife conservation. In exchange for a considerable stipend, the Maasai agree to sell or set aside some of their land for wildlife conservation and tourism—no grazing allowed. They then use that money to buy more cows, but they have less land for those cows to graze on. The resulting overgrazing means that the herders need somewhere else for their cattle."

She added: "During the day, tens of thousands of unfenced cattle graze near the reserve. At nightfall, when the tourists go back to their camps, the animals are herded into the reserve where the grazing is better. That's the same time that nocturnal predators, including lions, are on the hunt."

The poisoning was confirmed on the pride's Facebook page, which is also posting updates of the situation and information on the other members of the pride.