It seems that the sad loss of a lion on the neighbouring ranch is not the only bad news for us at the moment. Yesterday I visited the Lion Guardians to collect their data sheets, and found out that two of them are unwell. Both Koikai and Mokoi are not able to carry out their work as Lion Guardians at the moment.
Koikai fell on some rocks while running away from an elephant when he was following some lion tracks. I took him to the clinic, where he was given some medicine and he was told that if the problem persists he should go for further checkups including an x-ray. Here is Koikai doing some filming with me.
Mokoi, another of our Lion Guardians, meanwhile has an eye infection. His right eye cannot blink at all and stays open all the time. He can’t sleep because of the pain, and I am worried that it will get worse. His father has advised him to take some herbal medicine before going to the clinic, which he has been using, but so far it has not got any better. I hope that he will take my advice and go to the clinic soon, if it persists. Here is a photo of Mokoi with one of his young children.
I hope you will join me in wishing both Koikai and Mokoi a speedy recovery. Â
Best wishes to both Koikai and Mokai…hopefully they will be well soon!
I thought readers of this blog would want to know that the National Geographic Society is working to protect the current remaining lions in Kenya, and to establish programs that will help the population grow and thrive well into the future. The key to protecting the lions is first to remove the economic incentive to kill the lions. These efforts involve creating a sustainable balance between local Maasai communities and lion groups. You can read more about their efforts at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/bigcats
So sorry to hear this….please get well soon!
I wish the best for Koikai & Mokai. Get well soon! Please go to the clinic for help before your condition worsens!
Mokoi sounds like he has a condition called Bell’s Palsey or facial Palsey. My wife recently had this and it slowly went away. are the muscles on that side of his face with the open eye also not working? It is very important that Mokoi keeps his eye moist – he can permanently damage his retna, i believe. There is dawa for this available in Nairobi but i understand that Commelina can help sooth eyes. Definately tell him to cover his eye at night.
cheers, james
http://www.karisia.com
this is not a comment regarding this particular post. although i sincerely hope both koikai and mokai will recover soon!
i would like to sponsor a lion guardian. I do not know if someone needs to be sponsor more than others, since ive read that there are more newly joined members. please give advice anthony, in which guardian is more needed to be sponsored. [whether they be injured, sick, or new]
also, im asking if mambo has healed from his recent injury.
last thing. i would also like to donate two cell phones to you. and is wondering if you are in need of more digital cameras. and if the guardians or even mambo would like some clothing, if so which kind. jackets? shirts? shoes? or if the camp needs some equipment such as eating utensils, bowls, plates…etc.
please let me know anthony on what you need and how i can send them to you!
i greatly appreciate the wonderful work that you are doing in saving the beautiful lions! i hope to have the opportunity to visit your ranch someday. and since i live in new york city, i hope to meet you if you ever come back again!
James â?? thank you so much for you advice. I have called Mokoi and told him to visit the clinic, and to keep the eye covered at night and to also keep it moist. The muscles on his face on that side are not working either so it sounds like the same condition. Iâ??m glad to hear that your wife recovered.
Hi Jia,
First of all welcome to our blog; your views, ideas and donations will make a big impact in saving the few remaining lions in Maasailand and the lives of the Guardians.
To answer your questions, we would be delighted for you to sponsor a Guardian. You may choose to sponsor any of the Guardians â?? each one would be extremely happy to have your support â?? I cannot suggest one over another, but we will soon be posting profiles of each Guardian to try and encourage others to sponsor them too. Sponsoring a Guardian will mean that he is guaranteed wages and food for his family.
All donations will make our work easier and since we are hoping to expand Lion Guardians and recruit more murrans in other areas (like the one where a lion was recently speared), any items you can pass on to us will be used to benefit the lions and the community that has agreed to live with them.
The mobile phones would be very useful â?? thank you. Do they operate on GSM? Any other type will not work for us here. We would love it if we could have cameras to give to a few of the Lion Guardians so we could show you the photos that they take during the course of their work. In terms of how you could get these items to us, it depends where you are based. We would not advise you to send them in the post to Kenya, as it is not always reliable. If you are in America perhaps we could give you an address for you to send them to, for someone to bring over with them when they come to camp?
Mamboâ??s hand has healed and he comes to camp often to report to us about lions and predators that he has seen. Giving him clothes or blankets will keep him warm, especially in the cold weather that we are having now â?? but it would be difficult and costly to send them to us. If you would like to make a donation specifically for this purpose, please let us know and we can buy some clothes or a blanket with the money â?? or even utensils for camp. We particularly need more items like chairs, blankets, mugs and bowls.
I would like to take this chance as well to welcome the following readers to the Lion Guardian blog; James, Lynne, Annie and Chaz. Thank you all for your comments.
dear lion guardians,
thank you for your quick reply.
in that case, i would like to sponsor mirishi from eselenkei group ranch.
i am located in new york city. so if you can, please send me an email at jiali0618@gmail.com with the address where i can send the phones to.
i will do everything i can to help!
[…] for us Guardians. For the third time in a month we have a Guardian fallen ill. Earlier in the month Mokoi had a very bad problem with his eye, which meant that he couldn’t close it, and it seemed to almost pop right out of the socket. […]
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