In recent years, a historical threat to wildlife has resurfaced in the Amboseli ecosystem of southern Kenya. We have noted that there has been a significant uptick in the use of poisons for lacing prey carcasses to kill carnivores. Traditionally, Maasai do not use poison as it is seen as cowardly. But over time, culture…
Innovation & Collaboration: Open-Source Conservation for Bigger Impact
At Lion Guardians, it is our objective to share our knowledge and experiences with other conservation organizations and partners. We believe through openly sharing our successes, our challenges, our data, and our tools, that we can further conservation impact more effectively across the globe. We refer to this as ‘open-source conservation.’ We strongly believe that…
Celebrating the life of Loonkiito
Celebrating the Life of Loonkiito “Legends are not born, they are created” – Alexander D. Jones Nearly two decades ago, in 2004, two male lion cubs were born in the heart of Kenya’s Amboseli ecosystem. As the little cubs matured into sub-adults, they embarked on a journey of exploration, venturing beyond the familiarity…
Life on the brink
Four consecutive seasons of below-average rainfall in East Africa have resulted in the worst drought the region has seen in 40 years. Lion Guardians operates in the arid and semi-arid Kenya, which are hardest hit by the drought. The effects of the drought are severe. Lion Guardians is doing what it can to support the…
Nomadic pastoralists’ land management: our ideas, our future
The traditional land use practices of the Maasai are currently undergoing significant changes. The Maasai have traditionally practiced pastoral nomadism, the way of life where people depend on domesticated livestock and often migrate within an established territory to find pasture for their animals. This way of life was adaptable and primarily compatible with wildlife conservation.…
The Chyulu connection
By Eric Ole Kesoi, Lion Guardians Community Manager For the last 13 years, Lion Guardians have been monitoring lions in the Amboseli ecosystem so closely that we have come to know individual lions and their lineage. In studying the lions, we have also learned the critical importance of open spaces and the wildlife corridors that…
The art of lion tracking: a first-hand experience
By Eric Ole Kesoi, Lion Guardians Community Manager Lion tracking is an addictive art. Men from pastoralist communities learn this skill very early in life. I have formed the habit of tracking early every day when I am at the Lion Guardians camp. I find that there are few pleasures as wonderful as a peaceful…
The End of an Era
Nearly two decades ago, very few lions were roaming the lands surrounding Amboseli National Park. Most roamed alone. But there was one pride bold enough to travel in a larger group of up to eight individuals. They primarily resided in the Park but would travel out of the protected area and onto the Maasai lands…
The legend of Noonkiyaa
By Phillip J Briggs and Stephanie Dolrenry Deep in the the Amboseli ecosystem, where the Lion Guardians are based, there is a certain mystical rocky outcrop that draws many to it. Legend has it that this rock formation has deep wisdom. Its human neighbors refer to it as “Noonkiyiaa” meaning “she of elongated earlobes” in…
Gurme’s Pyrrhic victory
Two sub-adult male lions arrived in Selenkay Conservancy some years ago. They had dispersed from a pride in a part of the Chyulu Hills called Olosira (southern Kenya). In Selenkay, they found a resident male lion and his four sub-adult male sons. The two new arrivals, who Lion Guardians later named Gurme and Lormesasu, settled…