Nemasi’s first cow

It was a bright afternoon when we decided to follow up on a Lion Guardian’s report about Nemasi’s signal. After going through a very hard and stony area along the foot of Lemuna hill, and with the signal very clear, we saw a carcass of in the distance. At first, we thought it was an eland but as we got closer it was clear that it was a cow.

We were surprised because to the best of our knowledge Nemasi has never killed any livestock. In fact, this was her first! We found Lesoit, the male cub, guarding the carcass. He seemed to have been assigned that role with clear instructions not to allow any intruder anywhere near the carcass. It is a role he played admirably and with gusto! In fact, when we went to ascertain the brand, ear notches and sex of the cow, he practically charged us! He seems to have learned his role quickly given the fact that he is barely a year now.We found Nemasi and her two female cubs resting under a tree taking refuge from the hot sun.

On our way to the bomas nearby, to give the report of the dead cow, we found a male and female cheetah that seemed to be doing ‘reproductive work’. These two cheetahs seemed to have been the only witnesses to the kill, as the herders were clearly nowhere to be seen. The two were so vigil over the presence of lions nearby that they couldn’t have cared less when we approached them closely.