Four consecutive seasons of below-average rainfall in East Africa have resulted in the worst drought the region has seen in 40 years. Lion Guardians operates in the arid and semi-arid Kenya, which are hardest hit by the drought. The effects of the drought are severe. Lion Guardians is doing what it can to support the…
The verdant, beautiful 5000+ acres that make up the Kimana Sanctuary used to support a good number of lions; the big cats relied on its year-round water and used it as a critical link between large swaths of prime territory. But beginning in the 1990s, the lions disappeared, likely as a result of increasing human…
Have you been wondering what Lion Guardians are doing in AkageraPark, Rwanda – well now you need not wonder anymore… As many of you may have heard, seven lions were recently reintroduced to Rwanda after two decades. This was dubbed a milestone achievement by Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks, in a statement. [Read more here] Shortly…
The Lion Guardians Training Center at Nairrabala on Olgulului Group Ranch, has hosted several Guardians training courses, community meetings and other stakeholder meetings since its official launch last year. But in September, the Training Center came into its own when it was the site of the first ever official Project Managers Training course, a week…
When Eric Ole Kesoi, Lion Guardians’ Community Manager, someone who has tracked and followed lions for years, tells you he had an encounter with two of the ‘biggest lions he has ever seen,’ you can’t help but want to hear more. In the following post, Eric shares his first meeting with two of the largest…
Tracking is an art and an age-old tradition which can be very addictive. Lion tracking is usually inspired by boundless curiosity and ultimately the burning desire to find a lion.
On the 2nd of November, 2013 a sherehe (Swahili for celebratory gathering) was held to officially inaugurate the new Lion Guardians Training Camp at Nairrabala, Kenya. Amongst the honored guests were the chairman, secretary and treasurer of Olgulului Group Ranch, several chiefs from the Amboseli area, KWS Senior Warden and the Community Warden, the District Commissioner’s office, and various conservation partners which operate on Olgulului Group Ranch, including representatives from Big Life, African Wildlife Foundation and the School for Field Studies. Also, many members of the local community of Nchakita, were present, including women representatives, influential elders and the new warrior age set, the ituati also graced the occasion. All in all, there was a crowd of approximately 70 celebrators, including the Lion Guardians team.
With negotiations underway between the Maasai and KWS, Amboseli has reverted back to its normal calm. Peace and order has returned to the Amboseli ecosystem after a series of meetings held between the communities surrounding Amboseli National Park and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). The meetings were attended by thousands of community members as well as by top government…
The killing spree in Amboseli necessitated by political tensions between Kenya Wildlife Service and political leaders had a devastating effect to both wildlife and the community. Community leaders met and took stock of the killings within all of the Group Ranches. The results were shocking, but would have been worse were it not for the…
Human-wildlife conflict in any pastoralist environment is inevitable and has existed since time immemorial therefore Amboseli ecosystem is no exception. The negotiations leading to the creation of the Amboseli National Park in the early 1970’s were not smooth and due to the political tensions and resulting hunting, the rhino population was decimated. In the early 1990’s, populations…