In Maasai moran Metito’s community a lion jumped into a boma at night and killed a cow and a donkey. The lion was speared by angry morans, but escaped with a serious injury and could not go far from the boma. The following morning the morans from the boma wanted to finish off from where they left at night. But not Metito. Even though he was not yet employed as a Lion Guardian, he told the morans not to kill the lion and instead informed KWS to come over and assess its injuries and treat it if possible.

This was a complete turn around for a traditional Maasai moran, reputed in his zone for his previous exploits against lions. From then on, Metito has been on our minds as a possible Lion Guardian, after strongly impressing our team during the onset of the project’s expansion.

Ever since we took him on he has been very impressive with his performance as a Lion Guardian. Even though he has never been to school, his willingness and thirst to learn has been clearly visible. He now knows how to read and write on his data forms. He actually beat his literate brother to the job in a very tight race for employment. Already he has familiarised himself with the different prides of lions that are frequently in his Esiteti zone. Welcome Metito and thank you for saving one lion already!