Lion Guardians

Category: Lions killed, lion killings | Date: Jun 18 2008 | By: lionguardians

We have some sad news to report. A lion has been killed by murrans at Olgulului, the ranch bordering Amboseli National Park, and the neighbouring ranch to Mbirikani, home of the Lion Guardians.

The reason for the killing was first unclear. Some rumors reported that the lion had killed two goats and that the murrans went after it in revenge. But after further investigations it became clear that they speared this lion for trade. Two of the murrans are beach boys at the Kenyan coast and it seems they killed the lion so that they could take the claws to go and sell. Here is the paw of the lion, that was left after the claws were removed.

This is awful news for us, as the population of lions in this area is already so low, and it is a tragedy to lose another lion. It was a female lion, probably about four years old, but not one known by the Lion Guardians.

One of the factors that has led to the decline in the number of lions in this area is the low level of employment, especially for murrans - the warrior age class. We are hoping that we can raise enough funds to start up the Lion Guardians program on Olgulului too. This would give at least some of the murrans employment and an interest in conserving lions, which they will then pass on to their communities. Your donations are vitally important at this critical time, so we can try to save the few remaining lions in this area.

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Tags: Amboseli, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, Maasai, masai, murrans, speared

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Category: life in camp, lion killings | Date: Apr 28 2008 | By: admin

I have made it back to camp safely now, after my journey from Nairobi. Sometimes Nairobi scares me a lot especially when I come across security men - because it can either mean there is lawlessness in that area, or that the police are hunting for criminals, and when a shoot out starts anybody could be a target. I had just boarded a Matatu to camp when two security men arrived on horses.

After talking to members of the public for a while it seemed that they were just on patrol, making sure that everything was in order. When I found that out I was able to relax, knowing that at least the government is trying to provide some security for its citizens. In all the times I have been to Nairobi I have never come across police on horseback before. I am glad they are making an effort to enforce security on the streets of Nairobi.

I am now glad to be safely back at camp after the poisoning meeting, which you can read more about here. At the meeting we also heard more news from Dr Asuka Takita about the poisoned lions in the Mara. You can read about the findings of the investigation on Asuka’s blog and on the Mara Conservancy blog.

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Tags: 220, 325, 327, 339, 341, 350, 43

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Category: Lions killed, lion killings | Date: Mar 31 2008 | By: admin

We’ve received a report that on the 28th of March, 60 murrans from Olgulului (OLG) went to hunt for lions. Allegedly these lions killed a cow and the warriors were seeking revenge. The murrans divided into groups and were chasing a lion, which headed into Amboseli National Park when the Amboseli-Tsavo Game Scouts and the Kenya Wildlife Service stopped the first group from entering the park. Just after the first group left, a second group showed up, but luckily the Game Scouts and KWS were able to calm the situation and put a halt to the lion hunting. The Olgulului warriors were not able to spear any lions. That was a smart (or lucky) lion to head back to the National Park. We are so glad that the Game Scouts and Kenya Wildlife Service were there to stop the killing before it happened.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that OLG is in desperate need of lion conservation. We are aiming to start Lion Guardians program over there in late summer/early fall. Those murrans need to begin benefiting from living with lions.

As for the murrans who succeeded in spearing lions on OLG last month; they appeared in court before the judge last week and denied their charges after being advised to do so by other inmates. Their case will be heard on the 19th of April.

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