Protecting livestock from predators is a constant battle in rural Africa -- and protecting predators from people is equally hard. As African farmers attempt to raise livestock, big cats and other nearby wildlife will commonly attack herds, infuriating the humans that tend stock -- and thereby putting themselves at risk. Lions suffer disproportionately from farmers' wrath in the wake of livestock attacks, despite sharing the blame with other big cats like leopards. Regardless of who's to blame, the important thing is stopping attacks on animals -- whether they be lion on cow or human on lion.

In 2013, National Geographic launched a campaign to reduce the number of attacks on lions in rural Africa and to keep livestock safe by building special fortified fences known as bomas. The Build A Boma fundraiser has already successfully reduced lion killings by about 80 percent, and kept 200 head of livestock safe. According to Laly Lichtenfeld, co-founder of the African People and Wildlife Fund and recipient of a boma, the fortifications are almost always 100 percent effective.