Kenya is thought to be the epicenter of giraffe evolution since it is the only country in the world which is home to three subspecies; Rothschild, Reticulated and Maasai giraffe. It is understood that giraffe once roamed freely across the greater Rift Valley but decades of persecution, increased human settlement and accelerated habitat loss have…
drought
2010 in Review
The beginning of 2010 marked an extremely difficult time for our Lion Guardians. First, a prolonged devastating drought wiped out over half of the herbivore population – both domestic and wild. Livestock, which are the backbone of the Maasai economy, were drastically reduced by both the drought and the subsequent diseases which affected the survivors…
Nosieki’s pride doing well despite the recent drought
The prolonged drought that finished earlier this year had an effect on practically everything. The worst affected were herbivores, both wild and domesticated. Wildebeest and zebra, the main prey species for lions, drastically reduced in number and at the height of drought, carnivores were having a field day as they fed on these weak herbivores,…
Lion Guardians busy stopping lion hunts
The Lion Guardian Games that were scheduled to be held between 27th and 29th December have unfortunately had to be postponed to a later date. The current heavy rainfall that is pounding the Amboseli ecosystem has made some areas no-go zones and has completely blocked access to many places. This is a great blessing for…
First green shoots!
Finally the Lion Guardians, Maasai communities, wildlife and livestock that live together on Mbirikani, Eselenkei and Olgulului Group Ranches have experienced their first showers of rain. Everyone is very excited and thankful that at last there are a few green shoots appearing from the ground. Though the wildlife and livestock are still very hungry, at…
The drought continues
The drought is still continuing here, and the animals and people are struggling badly. Everyone hopes rain will fall soon and bring back some life to the parched land. The water hole near to our neighbouring lodge Ol Donyo Wuas is constantly visited by many elephants, as well as very thin herbivores like these zebras,…
Amboseli lions and deadly drought
On Monday we received a report from one of the guides from Amboseli Porini Camp, which is near our new project on Eselenkei Group Ranch. (Thank you so much for the report Amboseli Porini!) They told us they had seen a collared lion in Amboseli National Park, so we rushed over to see who it…
Hyena menace
As we told you a few days ago, the devastating drought is contributing to an increase in human-wildlife conflicts. In the last couple of weeks, reports have been streaming in from our volunteering Lion Guardians. During one week, over ten donkeys were killed by hyenas in different corners of Eselenkei Group Ranch. Lack of enough…
Devastating drought
The drought is worsening day by day. It has not rained properly for two consecutive years, and the pastoralist Maasai community who inhabit the group ranch have moved their livestock in three directions in search of greener pastures. The cows are all becoming very thin, and many are dying. The first group moved their livestock…
Lion Guardians expanding!
You may be wondering what is happening with the expansion of the Lion Guardians program to two of our neighbouring ranches Eselenkei and Olgulului. The ongoing drought across these ranches sent Maasai murrans and their cattle to other areas in search of greener pastures, which meant that we couldn’t hold community meetings or interviews for Guardians –…