Lion Guardians in Akagera National Park

Shortly after their reintroduction, we received a message from Jes Gruner (Akagera Park Manager), asking if we could help train & coach their rangers on how to safely monitor and protect the lions that have been translocated there. It seems after nearly twenty years without lions, the rangers are quite nervous about patrolling on foot and don’t feel comfortable identifying, following, & understanding lion tracks.

So now Stephanie, Eric and Kisimir are in Akagera National Park and we are excited to be using our skills to help protect these new lions. On Sunday 20th September, they conducted a site assessment to firm up the curriculum for the three week customised coaching that we will be providing and to assess how the lions react to human beings. Community Manager Eric Ole Kesoi shares his thoughts from the day:

“Not long after we started tracking, we spotted a male lion approximately five years old and an older female lioness relaxing on the shores of the lake in Magashi. The lions were very much at ease with our cars and they seemed to have acclimatized to the area gracefully occupying their positions in the Akagera ecosystem.

They watched as several crocodiles were feeding on a baby hippo inside the lake water. While we were out, we also managed to pick-up the signal of three other collared lions but unfortunately the terrain proved prohibitive to further tracking.

It was a great day and we managed to see many wildlife species in the most pristine National park in ‪#‎Rwanda‬ and I dare say East Africa.”

To learn more about the training and support we can provide – check out our brochure:http://lionguardiansorg.c.presscdn.com/…/Lion-Guardians-Tra…