My name is Eric Ole Kesoi, Lion Guardians Co-ordinator.
Lion Guardians Cause 
Follow us on TwitterMy name is Antony and I am the Assistant Director of the Lion Guardians program, here on Mbirikani Group Ranch in Maasailand, Kenya. I am 23 years old and am the first born in my family. My dad is married to three wives, and has 17 children. Since I left secondary school I have been working for the Living with Lions project. I have not had a chance to continue with my tertiary education yet, but I hope to some day.
I really like working for the Lion Guardians. I think it is a very special program, particularly because it gives young Maasai warriors (murrans) a chance to do something different from what they grew up doing, i.e. hunting lions (known in my language, Maa as Olamayio).
We are teaching the Guardians new things, like using radio telemetry to track collared lions, reading GPS units and filling in forms. None of the Guardians had a chance in school and I am fascinated by the way they pick up these new technologies that are introduced to them. I hope we can get enough funding through this blog to continue this program into the future, and maybe even expand it to other areas. In this photo I am helping teach a Guardian how to track collared lions.
With the population of lions still very low, we need to explain to the community that these animals have the right to live, even though they share the same land as their livestock, and may sometimes kill their source of livelihood.
Working for the Lion Guardians program is shaping my skills to prepare me for a competitive world as a young Maasai warrior. I am learning different ways of approaching tough decisions at a young age, through interacting with the older generation, and I hope this will enable me to lead my community in the right direction as the 21st century brings new and different technology to Maasailand. Here I am dressed up as a smart project director in my office!
In Maa we have a saying: â??an eye that has gone out is smart’. Because I am educated, and I have traveled outside the community and experienced new things, I feel I should pass on these new ideas and my knowledge to my community. I try to do this as much as I can.
I hope you enjoy reading the profiles of the Lion Guardians. If you can, please help us by making a donation to the project. We are very grateful for your support.
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7 Comments
Hi Antony!!! Just want you to know that only one picture is showing up on the blog…can’t see what the problem is though.
As always it is wonderful to hear from you and facinating to learn about your life…your dad has three wives? Hmm, that would about scare the pants off my husband…I think he finds that one wife is more than enough trouble…lol!
Always interesting to hear about your life Antony.
wonderful story and thanks for sharing and I got all the wonderful pics……
Thanks for your comments. I’m glad you enjoyed reading the post, and that you can see all the pictures – I think Wildlife Direct had some problems yesterday, so maybe that is why the pictures weren’t showing.
Hi Anthony,
I know you’re in UK at present, but I went on the website for ‘Living with Lions’ and felt inspired to tell you how great you look both in a suit and in your traditional dress!
Lion Guardians are doing a great job and I hope to meet them all one day soon. As you may know I am buying land near Emali and John Kisipan would like to get in touch with you all, as together we are going to start Amboseli and Samuli Wildlife Trust. We want to encourage more wildlife onto the land, especially if we can establish a wildlife corridor.
I am going to a fund raiser at KWS on Nov. 4th ‘09 to raise money for the lions with Born Free Foundation. Larger than life sized model lions are to be sponsored by companies, decorated and auctioned.
Speak soon. Pam.
Hi Antony,
I just saw your work on german TV and I am really impressed by the project. I studied Development Management in South Africa and I know how complicated and difficult it is to change something in a sustainable way.
I’m glad that you are doing this kind of work and I’m glad that I might be able to see lions, when I visit Kenia in August this year.
Keep up the hard work and your believe!
Best wishes
Annika Wörsdörfer from a very very cold and snowy Germany
Thank you very much for your comments and support!