Lion Guardians

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 time of year is my favorite time to be in the Chyulus. It is really interesting because many different birds come to our camp looking for water.

I was getting so tired of work in the office that I needed to take a break. So, I had a walk outside and had a look at these amazing birds and felt much more relaxed. I took a few photos. Can you help me to identify them?

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Tags: birds, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, Maasai, masai

Today we hosted the Lion Guardians monthly meeting at camp. All the Guardians attended, except for Ritei, who was feeling unwell, and couldn’t come. Everyone talked about what had happened during the month, and shared their experiences. We also asked the Guardians your questions. Here I am interviewing Lenkina.

And here I am with Koikai.

We were joking because he was trying to practice his English in front of the camera, which is very funny to listen to! We will be posting the answers to your questions on the blog soon.. and maybe some of Koikai’s “English” too!

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

Today the Lion Guardians are arriving for the monthly meeting, which will happen tomorrow. Some of them have to walk a very long way to get here; some have to come all the way from the other side of the ranch, so they are usually very tired when they arrive. But despite this they are helping out by collecting firewood for us. Here is Mokoi helping out.

We use the firewood to heat water to wash with, and the Guardians also take the opportunity to wash their clothes and shukas while they are here!

Tomorrow during the meeting we will be interviewing the Guardians, so today is your last chance to tell us if you have any questions that you would like the Guardians to answer!

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

Since the film crew left I have been stuck in the office. Maria who sometimes helps me with data entry when she is not busy in the kitchen has gone home for her holiday, so we don’t even have good food to sustain us!

However we do currently have some help from Stephen Melubo from the college of African Wildlife Management who is getting stuck in to data entry too! He is currently entering data for the Kilimanjaro Lion Conservation project. I hope he finishes this soon so I can have a helping hand with the Lion Guardians data and will have time to visit all the Guardians tomorrow to pick up their forms!

The weather here is not good; the sun has gone and we are all feeling cold. We are even thinking of bringing our Maasai blankets into the office to keep ourselves warm!

I hope you are all having a good weekend.

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Tags: data, Kenya, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, Maasai, masai, office

The other day I was traveling back to camp; I had been to the place where the lion was speared, to investigate what had happened there. I had to get a public bus and since it was full, I had to stand all the way. During my journey I noticed a group of non-Maasai people on the bus. From their conversation they looked like they were from Tanzania. Half way through the journey, we came across a herd of more than 10 giraffes browsing nonchalantly on the Acacias by the roadside.

On seeing this, the guys all stood up from their seats staring at them with great amazement. They were so excited that they had to ask the driver to stop the bus so they could have a better look at these beautiful creatures. They did not even care that they were delaying some of us who see this every day!

Then I started thinking: why don’t most communities endowed with natural resources appreciate the beauty of the land provided to them free of charge? What would happen if a lion crossed the road in front of us and these people saw it, like this one in the Masai Mara? Would they be struck by the lion’s beauty also, or would they be scared and want to kill it?

These are some of the questions that linger in my mind as I sit at my desk at camp.

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Tags: giraffe, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, Maasai, masai

I have just been at home visiting my family, and am now back in camp after spending six days away. It feels like I have been away for a whole month - especially because I don’t normally leave camp, not even for weekends, so now that I’m back in the office I don’t know where to start!

It felt strange to be home and things seemed quite new to me. But whatever may have changed at home, I know what I have been up to: helping my community and the lions that desperately need me.

Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me, so I can’t introduce the person who has shaped my life and given me love whenever I needed it - the love from a mother that is always present when you need it. So instead I am posting photos of the lions that I work to save.

As I grow up one thing is clear in my mind. A message from my mum; one day you will be a great person. Just work hard in whatever you do and it will certainly pay off. This is the inspiration that I always have at the back of my mind, when I am working to help conserve the lions. Thank you mum; no one is like you.

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

After the training with the NRT scouts, where we all learnt a lot about lions three Lion Guardians; Mokoi, Olubi and Lenkina slaughtered a goat for our guests. We had to give them a chance to slaughter the goat in their traditional Samburu way so that they could take the goat blood while it was still warm, before it clots. After that, we skinned the goat and roasted it in our Ilkisongo way (Ilkisongo is our section of Maasai). They were amazed at how we stick the meat on thin sticks and stand them up in holes next to a big fire, waiting for charcoal to get hot.

They were served the delicious roast meat while it was hot and were left licking their fingers! It was a totally different experience for them, as where they come from they just place the meat on the flames and it ends up burning. So they learnt more than just about lions on their tour down to the Chyulus - also about how to not burn their meat!

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

Today was the end of our two days of lectures with the Northern Rangeland Trust. They had come all the way down from the North of Kenya to learn all about lions, and wanted to visit the Lion Guardians to find out how we deal with the conflicts between people and carnivores. This made us proud because we are being read about far and wide. We were also very glad they came because we too got to learn a lot about lions, that we didn’t already know. The lectures tackled lion biology and ecology, how to tell a lion’s age and how to identify a particular lion incase one is causing trouble to the local community.

They also dealt with carnivore conflict, and we visited a livestock owner who’s goat had been killed by a cheetah the night before. We went out to find tracks and learnt how to recognize those of different animals.

We also found out all about a particular problem they have in the North - man eating lions. We have never had such a case here in the Chyulus and the Guardians were surprised. On our side we learned a great deal about lions and their status in Samburu and Laikipia districts. All our staff at camp attended the lectures and we were amazed that we had lived with lions for such a long time, and would not have been able to tell their age even after killing them! Now we are all concerned with conserving lions, and are glad we know much more about them. A big thanks to Seamus who took his time to take us through the training.

You can now ask me any questions regarding lions and I will try to answer you! After the lectures were finished, we handed out Maasai shukas (blankets) to our guests, as it is a Maasai tradition. We also had a goat party, and stayed up late discussing the origins of the Maasai; but more on that tomorrow.

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

Here in camp we have a very interesting friend who occasionally comes to visit us; a strange old man who lives in a cave in the Chyulu Hills. His name is Mambo, and although we don’t know his exact age we are sure he is over 78 years old. When he was a young murran he decided to go and live in the bush, and has been there ever since.

Mambo never got married and so he has no family of his own. He is a specialist in herbal medicines, and he brings plenty of them to us and to others in the local area when he comes to visit. He barters with people for food and water and occasionally for money when he wants to buy some local brew, and in return he gives them his herbal medicines, which he makes from plants, roots, leaves and bark. He has different medicines for all sorts of different conditions: stomach pain, coughs, colds, diarrhoea, back aches…

Mambo never used to eat farm produce; instead he used to hunt or feed on the leftovers of lions when they had made a kill. He has even told us that he once cut a steak from an eland when a lion was feeding from it!

Mambo is almost like an honorary Lion Guardian because whenever he visits us he delivers the latest information about lions he has seen or heard, or tracks he has found. In return we give him some food; he is getting old so he cannot hunt anymore. People have been offering him food and shelter, but he doesn’t want to come and live like other people. He prefers his own lifestyle. Have you ever met such an interesting character!?

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

I woke up this morning feeling full of energy. Yesterday I was wearing my traditional Maasai clothes - brightly colored cloths called shukas, and adorned with beautiful beads.

I thought of my important position as Assistant Director of the Lion Guardians program… and that gave me an idea. I put on some smart trousers and a shirt and I borrowed a tie from one of my work mates. After putting on everything I noticed that I was missing one thing; a fat tummy. Most senior people in Kenya have big tummies, so I took a fleece and folded it up and put it inside my shirt. I looked like a proper Kenyan business man!

I took a walk around our neighborhood and everybody was falling about laughing….! I hope I made some peoples’ day!

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