Lion Guardians

Category: Community work | Date: Dec 29 2008 | By: lionguardians

As many people all over the world do at this time of year, I took some time this festive season to go and see my family and friends back home. It was great being with my loved ones. My mum bought a goat, and we invited all our friends for a big feast. I was able to leave all my thoughts of work behind me, and just dine and drink with my friends and family.

This is also the time when lots of students and young murrans meet to discuss issues affecting the community. Despite being off duty, I attended two of these meetings. One was about the possibility of creating a local conservation area, which would be great for our wildlife and would also create more job opportunities for young people. Here is one of the meetings in action!

The second meeting was more for the young elite murrans to discuss the different positions and jobs they hold, and the impacts they have had since they got employed. Two of our Lion Guardians were present at this meeting and I am pleased to say that the invited elders were all very happy with the Lion Guardians program for giving uneducated warriors a chance in life, so they have another option apart from killing lions.

Now, I am back in office preparing for the Lion Guardians end of month, and end of year meeting. I hope you all had a great time during your holidays and are looking forward to the new year!

Tags: christmas, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, lions, Maasai, masai, meeting, murran, youth

5 responses so far

Category: Donations received | Date: Dec 27 2008 | By: lionguardians

I hope you had a great Christmas. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who donated to us in December. I know it is a difficult time of year to donate as there are so many other things to spend money on, so thank you to all of you who helped the Lion Guardians this month with your donations:

Black C, Loki Q, Anna M, Kevin C, Jaime E, Andrew P, Marianne W, Jessica F, Adrienne H, Pirjo I, Julie H, Mary B, Hashi H, Roseanne T, Pirjo I, Brenton H and Jia L. To those of you who bought Christmas certificates - I hope your gifts were well received. If you have any photos of your friends or family with their certificates I’d love to see them!

Thank you for helping save these beautiful animals, and helping the people that live with them.

I also wanted to let you know that wildlife vet and author Jerry Haigh has written about our success over the year in his blog. Have a read!

Tags: blog, christmas gift, donate, donor, jerry haigh, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, lions, Maasai, masai

One response so far

Category: Lion Guardian reports | Date: Dec 23 2008 | By: lionguardians

The Lion Guardians program has had an extremely successful second year. The Guardians have been kept busy all year round, monitoring the carnivores on the ranch, especially our collared lions, as well as helping their communities in many different ways to reduce conflict with wildlife.

We have experienced some difficult times over the year, particularly with the lack of water and the many problems associated with that, but we are proud to say that due to the commitment and efforts of the local Maasai communities, the Maasailand Preservation Trust, and the Lion Guardians program there have been no lions speared on our ranch, Mbirikani for the past two years.

You can read our annual report here.

Thank you!

Tags: 2008, annual report, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, lions, Maasai, masai

No responses yet

Category: ways you can help | Date: Dec 22 2008 | By: lionguardians

Great news! There is still time to buy a Lion Guardians Christmas gift certificate! If you would like to be emailed a certificate, please make your donation, and be sure to remember to add a comment, and we will send you one in time for Christmas.

 

Tags: 2008, christmas, gift, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, lions, Maasai, masai

4 responses so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Dec 19 2008 | By: lionguardians

On our last night at Eselenkei conservancy we went on a search for lions before heading back to Mbirikani Group Ranch. We had been told various times by the guys at the camp that lions could be seen easily, even though none of them have collars. We started our search at around 9.30pm and the first animal we saw was a genet. It was a bit shy so we could only see the long round tip of its tail and the elongated snout. I have posted a picture of a friendly genet that comes and sits in our office so you can see what they look like. (This one likes eating biscuits)!

After just a few metres we saw a serval cat. She was in the process of hunting and due to the long grass we could not see the prey. We proceeded along to find our lion. Wilson Kasaine who was the spotter guide saw some movement and we stopped. Just 200 meters ahead was a female lion. In the distance we could see some wildebeest and zebras running away. Within a second she disappeared. The guys knew their way around the place well, so we drove around the thick bush. After about 10 minutes we saw her lying down, trying to master the movement of her prey.

One of the guides happened to know a little bit about this lioness, who they think has some cubs of her own. She is the only survivor from her litter - her three siblings were killed three years ago on Eselenkei, and her mother has only been seen once after the killing of the other cubs.

The thing that surprised me the most was that this lioness is not scared of cars. She came right up close to the car, something lions on Mbirikani will never do. They are so shy that we are never able to get close to them.

Just a reminder - if you want us to send you a gift certificate, you must request one in a comment on the blog as well as giving the donation. A big thank you to everyone who has bought a certificate so far. There is still time, if you want a gift certificate!

Tags: cubs, eselenkei, genet, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, lions, Maasai, masai, mbirikani, porini

No responses yet

Category: ways you can help | Date: Dec 18 2008 | By: lionguardians

Stuck for a gift for your friend? No time to go to the shops? Well the Lion Guardians can help! Just make a donation to us, add a comment and we will send you a certificate. You print it out and give it to your friend to show them how they have helped the cause with their gift. Who needs another pair of socks or a toy they’ll never use?

You will be helping our work saving wild lions, and we will be helping you with the shopping! Perfect! Happy Holidays!

Tags: christmas gift, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, lions, Maasai, masai

5 responses so far

Category: life in camp | Date: Dec 17 2008 | By: lionguardians

We are in the process of establishing a new camp on Eselenkei group ranch, where we are going to start the Lion Guardians program. I have just been to visit Eselenkei, to see the place that we will be locating our camp, and we were very lucky to be able to stay at nearby Porini. Porini is a tented camp for tourists located north of Amboseli National Park. It is one of those amazing natural places that you would want to visit on vacation. It is located in a protected area of bush full of wildlife. Birds like the White bellied Go Away bird entertain you as you have your breakfast, and the views are beautiful.

We were treated like VIPs by the staff at Porini. I will never forget the hospitality of the guys I met, and I wish that I could have met them earlier. If I had, my life would have been more fun filled! I am very much looking forward to expanding the Lion Guardians to this new area.

Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me, but to see some photos of this beautiful place you can go to the Porini camp website.

Tags: Amboseli, camp, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, Maasai, masai, porini

One response so far

Category: Donations received, ways you can help | Date: Dec 15 2008 | By: lionguardians

I would like to thank all our donors who have given to us so generously in the month of November. Black C, Sauwah T, Hashi H, Loki Q, Malcolm F, Pirjo I, Nina T, Jessica F, Irene O, Pauline H. Thanks you so much for your donations. I would also like to say a special thank you to Jia L and Richard V, who are both sponsoring a Lion Guardian. Thanks also to those who have made Christmas gift donations to the Lion Guardians. You should all have your certificates - I hope they are well received!

There is still time to get your certificates, should you think of someone who would appreciate this gift. Just make your donation, add a comment, and we will email you the certificate for you to print out and give. Or you can forward the email with the certificate on to them if you do not have a printer, or they live abroad.

THANK YOU!

Tags: christmas gift, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, Maasai, masai

2 responses so far

Category: Meet the Lion Guardians, life in camp | Date: Dec 12 2008 | By: lionguardians

Lion Guardians Ritei and Koikai were in camp yesterday. I was working at my desk, when Ritei told me he wanted to learn how to use a computer. Ritei has never even been to school, and I was moved by his ambitiousness. First I opened a Word document for him to write his name; he did it perfectly although it took him some time to locate the different keys on the keyboard that made up his name.

With that kind of willingness to learn and with a bit of practice, I think soon he will be able to use a computer; and maybe even become the data enterer for the Guardians!

Tags: computer, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, Maasai, masai, ritei

3 responses so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Dec 10 2008 | By: lionguardians

Today I was sent a link by one of my friends about bull fighting, which is to be started in Nairobi. This is one of the saddest things to do to animals that I have ever seen, especially when some people use drugs to charge bulls to fight each other.

I asked everyone around the camp what they thought of bull fighting. Almost all of the guys I talked to were totally against it, and were unhappy to hear that it would soon be happening in our capital city. I will tell you more about the Maasai’s reaction to this story as I talk to more local livestock owners and my elders. I would like to know what you think about it too. I think it could even drive Maasai to become vegetarian if they watched this “sport”.

Tags: bull fighting, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, Livestock, Maasai, masai, Nairobi

9 responses so far