The Merrueshi ecosystem sits directly beside Amboseli National Park near the Kenya/Tanzania border. You can see Mount Kilimanjaro from Merrueshi and in fact, water coming down from Kilimanjaro finds its way into Amboseli National Park to bring much needed hydration in the dry season.
The Merrueshi ecosystem consists of 58 villages (manyattas), where households and livestock live together behind feeble thorn bush fences.
Because of the proximity of the National Park, the entire area suffers high levels of predation from lions and other predators. Carnivores in search of food find livestock an easy prey as their natural prey is more scattered (especially during the ever longer dry season) and increasingly poached. And it is so much easier for a carnivore to go for an easy kill, rather than concentrating on their natural prey.