Lion Guardians

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Sep 24 2007 | By: admin

We got a report of a person being attacked by a hyena while bathing at the river during the daytime. Its very unusual to even see a hyena here during the day, let alone be attacked by one. Apparently, the murran was washing after watering his livestock and was cooling his body to trek back to the Chyulu Hills where his animals were staying. He sustained head injuries a broken hand and finger, he was taken to a nearby mobile clinic and referred to St. Mary’s Hospital in Nairobi.

The story surrounding this incident is still unclear as each person gives an account of what happen and apparently leading to the death of the hyena. One story goes that it was killed by an elder while murran were running away from it by spearing. While others says that it died from a stab by the warrior while struggling to free himself.

Before getting killed the hyena had killed two domestic animals and chased a herder thereby leading the child (herder) to seek refuge in the nearby murrans (warriors). Stories led from one to another as a game scout from Kuku (adjacent ranch to the south) raised his concern over a person who has been poisoning livestock after birth leading to dearth of two dogs, on the same note some people reported seeing carcasses of African Civet Cat. In the morning of the 24th a lion Guardian saw a carcass of a vulture under some bushes almost 2-3weeks old and its death still remain unclear.

Here are two pictures. One is of two lion guardians (Koikai and Melubo) and myself, looking at the place where the murran was attacked. There is a piece of his clothing (shuka) on the rocks. The other picture shows Koikai and Melubo with the dead hyena.

Our job as lion guardians is to try to reduce conflict between all carnivores and people. So when someone is attacked like this we take it very seriously and spend lots of time talking to the community