Leela Hazzah

Leela Hazzah is an Egyptian conservation biologist who works in Kenya and Tanzania. Hazzah grew up in Egypt, and completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees in the United States. In 2007, Hazzah founded Lion Guardians, which works to protect lions in East Africa along with the indigenous Maasai people.

Childhood and education Hazzah grew up in Egypt. As a child, her family members told her stories of listening to roaring lions from the roof of their house, something that was no longer possible because lions were extinct in Egypt. Hazzah states that hearing this story inspired her to pursue lion conservation as a career. While earning her master's degree in conservation Biology, Hazzah carried out research in Kenya, where she witnessed the difficulties of lion conservation.

Lion Guardians Hazzah lived with the indigenous Mbirikani Maasai for a year, studying their relationship with lions, while working for the group Living with Lions. Hazzah lived in the region adjacent to the Chyulu Hills National Park, and participated in the daily life of the Maasai community. Killing a lion is a rite of passage for young Maasai men. The Maasai have a complex relationship with lions; the lions kill the Maasai's livestock, yet the Maasai appreciate the lions for their beauty. Lions are threatened all over their East African habitat, particularly in Amboseli National Park, where Hazzah did a lot of her work. In addition to tracking and monitoring lion populations, it also tracks herds of cattle, which often fall prey to lions, which are then killed by the herders.

Awards and recognitions In 2014, Hazzah was named one of CNN's "Top ten heroes" of the year. She was awarded the "Young Women Conservation Biology Award" from the Society for Conservation Biology, and has also received several other awards and fellowships.