Guardians: Protectors of Livestock and Livelihoods

Livestock are paramount in Maasailand – they are a form of wealth, and are the lifeblood and livelihood of communities. Guardians help protect local livestock not only because keeping them safe limits the opportunities for lions to prey on them, but also because these efforts show communities that we are there for them. Guardians such…

A New Name for a Long-time Guardian

  Recently, Olubi got some much-deserved recognition from a community in the form of a new name. Here, Lion Guardians’ Assistant Manager, Jackson Kikardi, describes what happened. Two of our Guardians, Olubi and Tonkei, woke up early one morning and began their daily work of tracking lions and helping their community coexist peacefully with predators.…

Time Heals All

Our monitoring team recently caught up with a lion we had been hoping to get our eyes on for months. In this dispatch from the field, our Director of Science, Stephanie Dolrenry, explains the encounter and the backstory. When they were young, Sanarua and Nekompewa were inseparable. The young sisters were always the most “mature”…

A Close Call for Nalotuesha

Recently, Guardian Lupembe played a critical role in saving the lives of several lions. Below, our community manager Eric Ole Kesoi explains what happened. In 2019, four calves from a Maasai community beyond our borders got lost out in the bush. Locals from the community convened to look for them, and Guardian Lupembe came across…

A Road Map for the Future

At Lion Guardians, we pride ourselves on being creative, reacting to challenges, and taking risks. But we also know that in order to be effective, these actions need to be in the context of a larger strategy – one that combines lessons from the past with current information to chart a course for the future.…

Our team goes back to school

Three members of our senior management team recently embarked on endeavors of continuing education – Luke Maamai (Masters in Conservation Biology: University of Kent), Pauline Kamau (MBA for Conservation Leaders: African Leadership University), and Salisha Chandra (Masters in Conservation Leadership: University of Cambridge) – and they now have several months of school under their belts.…

The Lion Guardians Games gets a Revamp

Last year, the Lion Guardians Games returned to Amboseli after three years of being hosted in Ngorongoro, Tanzania, and it was an incredible and rewarding experience. Below, our Program Manager Luke Maamai recounts what made this year’s Games different. The Lion Guardians Games is an annual event that brings Guardians, stakeholders, and partners together to…