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.
Culture without borders
The Maasai and Barabaig Lion Guardians took advantage of the recent Lion Guardians Games to share their cultures with each other.
Selenkay’s pride behaving well
Selenkay’s pride which is now composed of ten lions is well known for being a livestock killing group. This is because they have killed livestock in almost every corner of their territory and have been hunted countless times in retaliation. Fortunately, we have succeeded in stopping all lion hunting party’s intent on killing them except…
Lioness killed inside Amboseli Park
The on-going human-wildlife conflict in Amboseli moved a notch higher yesterday with a complete show of bravado never seen in the recent past. Monday in the middle of the night a lioness, Amyjane, had jumped into a boma adjacent to the park, killed a donkey and cow, and was speared in the front left leg. The morans responsible for the spearing…
Taking stock of the killing spree
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…
Lion marking territory
Male lion Manenkop stayed within Selenkay conservncay for almost a year and half. During this time, he exhibited maturity and conducted himself decently, rarely causing any problems. He was a favorite of many people. When Ndelie, the current resident male lion of Selenkay’s pride, came to the conservancy, Manenkop was scared away by his deep roars that…
Conflict and politics in Amboseli
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…
Unscuccesful Lion Hunt
Lions in the Osewan area have been killing livestock for some time now. A few days ago, the new Moran age-set could stand it no more.
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…
Proud of Birdie’s pride
Birdie Naape has been known by the Lion Guardians since 2004. Her Maasai name ‘Naape’ was given to her by the Lion Guardians monitoring her because she moves large distances on regular occasions across her home range. When Birdie and her daughters Nempirbil and Nanyorri gave birth to a combined total of 9 cubs, we…