Lion Guardian Meeting and Human Poisoning
We had our end of the month meeting and every one came together from all over the ranch to share news. All the Lion Guardians expressed excitement with on-going rains on the ranch; they are happy to report that their overload of community work is going to been reduced since all the livestock owners are going back to permanent bomas which are better built.
The saddest news of the month came from Ilchalai Guardian Lekina Ngida. Apparently an elder was poisoned by his son in the Ilchalai. The poison was added to the elder’s spirit (alcoholic drink). The elder asked his son to buy him spirits at the Kimana market, which the son did, but then the son added a bit of poison to the drink. The elder became very ill after drinking his spirits and was taken to the Mbirikani Mobile clinic where it was confirmed that the elder had been poisoned. The poison was identified as Furadan by Game Scouts (the same inexpensive and available poison that is used to kill wildlife like Sangale and Birdie). He got better, but after a week he passed away when he was taken to the clinic for the second time. His murran son has since disappeared.
As for the good news, Kapande is finally out of hospital! He was discharged on Tuesday the 25th of March. He is on road to recovery and he will go final check up on the 15th of April.
Here is a picture of Maria (the acting assistant director of Lion Guardians) and two of the Guardians at our monthly meeting.
Antony, great news about Kapande, I hope he knows how to take it easy. Maria is a beautiful woman, a treasure to have her help. As for this poor elder being poisoned by his son, I wonder what his motive was. Really alarming, how easily this and other poisons can be obtained.
I’m so glad that Kapande is home. Please send him our wishes for continued good health, Antony.
As for the poisoning of the elder, that is very sad and disturbing. Do the Masai have their own way of dealing with murders in their communities?
poisoning one’s own father is just plain wrong and i don’t care what culture, country or community one is in! and i am sure murder or the intention to murder one human being is acceptable in Kenya. Thus this murran acted as a coward for such deadly act against his own flesh and blood.
I wish such cheap poison would be banned in Kenya or other countries so that wildlife or people will not die in vain.
WildlifeDirect is launching an poisoning blog which will have several different bloggers posting. This is one step towards addressing the issue across the continent. We realised how necessary this was as so many of our bloggers have been posting on this.
We are also convening an action planning meeting at the end of this month as a way to pull all the minds together and come up with a very specific plan to deal with this once and for all.
Watch the WildlifeDirect space…one more battle that must be fought.
Yes Dipesh, we are all concerned about this problem. Simon’s blog not too long ago discussed this problem in horrific detail, raptors who had fed on poisoned carrion, literaly dropping from the sky, only to die a painful death. One of the most disturbing posts I had ever read. I would also like to see the problem of snares, addressed as well. So much misery and death caused by these cruel inventions of man.
snares are a big problem not only in Kenya; it’s also a big headache in S. Africa and even Namibia’s Kalahari desert! Not long ago a cheetah was snared right on the bordering fence. And Botswana’s economy is much better than Kenya for sure.
Yes Sauwah, in the Congo, as well. Please visit today’s entry at the Gorilla Protection blog. Poachers were caught with both poison and snares. And welcome to you, for joining in. I agreed with your comments about cattle at the MT blog.