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…

Lion Guardians Wanted!!

For the last three days I have been busy trying to get things started with the new Lion Guardians projects on our neighbouring group ranches Eselenkei and Olgulului. In the past, these two ranches have been significant in finishing off the few lions that still roam the vast Maasai plains. They are larger and will…

Young child goes missing in the bush

We had a great end of month meeting with our director Leela. All the Guardians shared their reports from the zones that they live and work in. The most shocking news came from Lion Guardian Mokoi, who reported that a child had gone missing out in the bush for 2 days. Here are the Lion…

Good news – elephant no longer a threat

We have some good news for you about the elephant that was worrying the community in Lion Guardian Olubi’s area of work. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers from Amboseli have now visited the area and met with Olubi and were able to track the elephant. We are pleased to say that they confirmed he was…