Friday marked the arrival of a new generation of Maasai warriors, or murrans. A ritual called “Enkipaata” was marked in our district to see if the new murrans were ready to go under the knife (circumcision) and become the next Maasai army. This celebration happens every 13 years, or sometimes longer. The murrans to-be were…
The beautiful birds of the Chyulus
Thanks for all your comments about Koikai, and about the elephant. I will take your advice on board and see what we can do, and pass on your best wishes to him. I’ll let you know as soon as I have any news. In the meantime let me tell you of some more pleasant things. This…
Dangerous elephant still at large
The elephant we reported a few days ago is still in the area. I gave the details to the game scouts but so far no action has been taken by them. It is a dangerous situation, particularly as Lion Guardian Olubi thinks the elephant may be sick. When he saw it today it was not…
More good news for lions
For the second time in a week lion conservation has received a major boost. Yesterday we reported that the murrans who killed a lion on Olgulului Group Ranch, neighboring ours were sentenced. Today we report that a predator consolation scheme has been launched on this same ranch, with funding from National Geographic. The scheme means…
Justice at last as lion killers are sentenced
Today I am bringing you some really good news! I am sure that all of you are familiar with the last lion killing that happened in June outside our ranch. We were all very angry and saddened that murrans on our neighboring ranch would kill a lion in order to sell its claws. This is…
Elephant causing problems in the community
Lion Guardian Olubi has reported to us that there is an elephant worrying the people that live in the community of Olngosua. The single elephant has been in the area for the last three days and the community is asking for help to chase away the animal. Elephants can be very dangerous, and it is…
More new lions?
Lion Guardian Koikai has reported two lions close to Olbili, where he lives and works. When he passed on this information to the office, he said he thought they were a new pride. Our collared male Lentim is at Olosira, a hill close to Olbili, but Koikai think the ones he came across are probably…
Home, gardening, the origins of man
I have recently come back to camp after a few days at home, away from the office. It was great to be home – I really enjoyed spending some time with my mum and sisters and one of my brothers. Here is a photo of me with my mum and one of my young sisters.…
More cows killed by lions
An unidentified number of lions have killed 2 cows in an area called Centre, at the border of our ranch Mbirikani and one of our neighboring ranches called Kuku. As you can see, not much remains of the cows… This area is home to Lion Guardian Ritei who reported this news to us. He will…
Your questions answered (part 3)
I’m going to answer some questions from Jeff Spindel, who I met while I was visiting America. He asks me to talk about my feelings about the differences between the way Maasai treat their cattle and what I saw of how Americans treat their cattle. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/g5t6d_U_lM0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Jeff also asked me…