With nearly 250 lions roaming our ecosystem, it can be hard to keep up with them all. In this post, Philip Briggs provides an update on a group we’ve keenly followed for years. In 2018, we enjoyed observing a trio of subadults – two sisters and a brother – disperse away from their natal range…
Celebrating legends on World Lion Day
Today, on World Lion Day, we are honoring a legend among lions. Loonkito is 16 and a half years old – a record for the Amboseli ecosystem and one of the oldest known African lions in the wild. Check out his story below in a new video by our Lion Monitoring Manager Philip Briggs. But…
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 memorable moment during the Lion Census
For over a hundred days, the Lion Guardians phone has been abuzz with messages and the air has been filled with exciting conversations about lions – even more so than usual! That’s because Lion Guardians has been involved in a key conservation effort currently underway across Kenya, the National Lion Census. This project has been…
How Some Lions Learn a Dangerous Habit
Like some other smart and social species, lions often learn from each other. This so-called “social learning” is generally advantageous for animals, since it enables helpful behaviors to spread through groups; dolphins learn from their mothers to use sponges as tools, monkeys learn to wash sweet potatoes from other members of their troop, and fish…
Familiar Faces in the Eselenkei Conservancy
In January of this year, we were surprised to find two young males, Gurme and Lormesasu, entering the heart of our handsome reigning king Martii’s territory. These teenagers have dispersed from the slopes of the Chyulu Hills, nearly 65 kilometers away. We are pleased to see them moving safely across the ecosystem and – as…
Mbalueni’s legacy lives on…
The call came in late in the afternoon. Guardian Kapande reported that he was following the tracks of one male, two females and two small cubs. He was sure the large male was Meliyo. A surge of excitement crept through Lion Guardians headquarters – Meliyo had not been seen since Mbalueni was poisoned. Could those…
Arming with Knowledge: Transforming Fear into Confidence
In today’s blog, Lion Guardians Cofounder and Director of Science, Dr. Stephanie Dolrenry shares with us the power of knowledge and her experience coaching rangers in @AkageraPark, Rwanda with community manager Eric Ole Kesoi and tenured Guardian Kisimir Olamayiani. When we first arrived in Akagera, we were excited to get going but before we started our…
History Repeats Itself
Recently, we told the story of Selenkay & Martii. Since then, Martii has been very busy and we are happy to report that he has now mated with Selenkay and her two daughters Meoshi and Noldupai, all of whom are heavily pregnant. However, there is one daughter that he hasn’t yet been able to mate…
Paying it forward
Guardian Parkesian flagged us down as we rushed out of the Training Center. He had run several kilometers to meet us in a matter of minutes. He was drenched in sweat, but he didn’t care. A hunt was on and there was no time to lose! Thirty minutes before, he was on a motorbike making…