By Philip J. Briggs & Luke Maamai On April 28, 2025, Lion Guardians launched a powerful anti-poisoning campaign in the Osewan area—one of the Amboseli ecosystem’s most persistent poisoning hotspots. Since 2009, we’ve documented the deaths of at least 20 lions here due to poisoning, with many more likely going unreported due to the area’s…
By Filberto Mayiani, Lion Monitoring Coordinator, and Philip J. Briggs, Lion Conservation Advisor For years, Lion Guardians has been working tirelessly to mitigate the threats facing lions in the greater Amboseli ecosystem. Among the most pressing dangers is poisoning, which not only devastates lion populations but also impacts other predators and scavengers that play crucial…
By John Merishi, Head of People and Culture Over the years, Lion Guardians has provided various forms of assistance to the local communities within our operating areas in the Amboseli ecosystem. Our Guardians, who serve as grassroots liaisons, play a vital role in delivering this support to their respective zones. Thanks to the Lions for…
Alongside the flourishing lion numbers, lion-livestock conflict is on the rise in the Amboseli ecosystem. Lions attack livestock both during the day while they are being herded and sometimes breaking into livestock enclosures at night. While herders try to protect their animals using lion deterrents, some livestock are left with serious injuries that, if untreated,…
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…
From the beginning, the Lion Guardians’ founders harbored a vision: that the organization would be fully-owned and entirely run by the community. At the core of this vision lies the unwavering belief that the long-term conservation of lions and other carnivores can only be achieved when the people who live alongside the wildlife and on…
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 “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…
Last year, our Program Manager Luke Maamai successfully completed his Master’s thesis in Conservation Biology at University of Kent. Below, Luke shares some main findings from his research, which offers new hope for lions in our ecosystem, and guidance for how we can continue to enable coexistence in a changing landscape. In order to understand…
Recently, our Assistant Manager Jackson Kikardi checked in with a local Lion Guardians-supported schoolteacher to see how things were going. Here, like in many parts of the world, local schools have been closed for the last several months to protect communities during the pandemic. During this closure, many Maasai schoolkids remained at home and turned…