France, May 3 -- On the dry plains alongside Amboseli National Park, nights can be stressful for families who rely on livestock for their livelihood. As darkness falls, predators emerge from the surrounding bushes.

For generations of these Maasai pastoralists, lions sneaking into animal enclosures have caused severe losses. And the result is that if lions kill livestock, people will kill lions - a practice conservationists say has greatly contributed to the declining lion population across East Africa.

Richard Turere grew up in one of these communities, where cattle represented money, food and the family's survival. From a young age, Turere was in charge of guarding his family's herd.

During the day, he watched the cattle while they gr...