Now that the worst of the human-wildlife conflict seems to be over we thought we would give you some news of the lions on Mbirikani. The lionesses Elikan and Selenkay who are usually seen together with their 4 cubs are doing very well and we are pleased to report that they are still staying away…
Livestock
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,…
The return to normality
Lion Guardians coordinator Eric writes about the return to calm and normality after what has been a hectic and difficult time for all of us: After the recent tragedies on Mbirikani Group Ranch with the deaths of the lionesses Narika and Mbeuti, we are proud to announce the return to normality in the ecosystem. Stakeholders…
Another lioness is speared, but the worst is behind us
Eric tells us about the sad second spearing of a lioness on Mbirikani, but brings us the good news that calm is now retuning to the area: The Maasai community has been known since time immemorial to be completely dependant on their livestock. The love they attach to their livestock is second to none and…
Narika’s cubs nowhere to be found
After Narika’s spearing we had a little hope that her 3 young cubs might live, but they were less than a month old and would only be able to survive if one of the other females in the pride – either Selenkay or Elikan, who both also had young cubs adopted them. The cubs were…
Pride male Lomunyak in constant search for Narika
This is Eric reporting from the field after the sad death of lioness Narika: In what has truly broken my heart, Lomunyak the proud male lion of Narika’s small pride and father of her cubs has been tirelessly looking for her after she was killed. Lomunyak’s tracks have been found practically all over his territory, revealing a strong…
A drag of lion evidence
During the Lion Guardians’ duties of monitoring lions around their communities and surrounding zones, their skills and knowledge are fine tuned to locate evidence of these predators, which would remain unseen to the untrained eye. Evidence of lions can come in a variety of ways, for example hearing them roar at night and following that…
The limping lion
For a few days, we kept on receiving reports about a problematic limping lion. He has been sighted several times and is known to have an appetite for livestock meat. Not good news! His story is very interesting though…. Many years ago, before conservation moved into the area, a pride of lions killed several goats…
A blog from Antony – the tough task ahead
This is my first month back in the office and a lot is happening. I have heard that lots of lions are being killed in the south of Olgulului. This area has no Lion Guardians to monitor lions and other carnivores presently. Partly because we are looking for funds to expand the project to this…
Another angry lion hunting party is stopped
Eric, the Lion Guardian coordinator on Eselenkei and Olgulului group ranches gives us the latest news from what is still a battlefield between lion and Maasai: In what has become a daily occurrence over the last two months, our Lion Guardians team has yet again worked together with our conservation partners to stop a lion…