Finally the Lion Guardians, Maasai communities, wildlife and livestock that live together on Mbirikani, Eselenkei and Olgulului Group Ranches have experienced their first showers of rain. Everyone is very excited and thankful that at last there are a few green shoots appearing from the ground. Though the wildlife and livestock are still very hungry, at…
Kenyan lions face extinction in 20 years?
A report in the Telegraph on Tuesday suggested that within 20 years lions may become extinct in Kenya. This follows a press release from KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service) which says that Kenya is losing an average of 100 of its 2,000 lions every year due to growing human settlements, increasing farming, climate change and disease.…
New Lion Guardians chosen!
The one month voluntary period by the new Lion Guardians on Eselenkei Group Ranch is now over. During this period the volunteering Lion Guardians have helped reinforce more than ten community bomas (livestock enclosures) to predator proof levels, found lost livestock herds in the bush and been tracking lions across the length & breadth of the…
Lions, bomas, laptops? Thank you!
Thank you for your concern about the ongoing drought here and for your donations over the past few months. We would like to thank Cass N, Brian M, Black C, Richard V, Lois C, Anne C, Loki Q, Diane K, Jessica F, Pirjo I, Sheri H, Katherine J, Samantha V, Scott R, Jace A, Sauwah…
Guardians help prevent conflicts with wildlife
At the workshops we held recently with the new potential Guardians, we asked them to each pick the weakest boma (livestock enclosure) in their area – one that had been recently targeted by predators or that they thought needed the most urgent re-building. We wanted them to find bomas that would benefit most from being given…
More tests for new Lion Guardians
The Lion Guardians team recently conducted three workshops for our thirteen new Guardians who are hoping for employment. We trained and tested them on their tracking skills and reading and writing abilities, as well as carrying out some human-wildlife conflict role-play scenarios with them. The Maasai warriors were eager to learn as well as demonstrate…
Our new area!
We would like to tell you about the area that our new research and Lion Guardians camp is based. The local Maasai Group Ranch is called Eselenkei, which is communal land owned by the Maasai, mainly used for grazing livestock. This map shows you the ranches around Amboseli National Park, which is near to the…
New Lion Guardians! The selection process continues.
After months of waiting, we have finally been able to conduct interviews for three positions as Lion Guardians on Eselenkei Group Ranch. With the drought really affecting the area, the Maasai murrans (warriors) have been travelling huge distances throughout southern Kenya in search of better pastures for their famished cattle herds. Now after a little rain,…
News from the Lion Guardians
First of all I would like to say Happy Easter to all our blog readers! I hope you enjoyed your holiday. Here in Kenya we too have been celebrating Easter, and have also been busy with many other things! We have even had a few hard rain showers! On Saturday it was the day of…
Is this the worst drought ever?
Last week we reported a day of rain, which brought hope to the Maasai of Southern Kenya. But since that one day we have had no more rain. Some are saying this is the worst drought to hit our ranch since 1984. Elders of the pastoral communities have described it as the most dangerous of…