Lion Guardians

Category: lion research fieldwork | Date: Jul 28 2009 | By: lionguardians

Ever since she was collared 1 ½ months ago, our female lioness named Selenkay has been missing. We have searched for her practically everywhere but all in vain; it seemed she disappeared into thin air! The Lion Guardians both on Eselenkei and Mbirikani Group Ranches, conducted an intensive ground operation to look out for tracks or sightings of three lionesses, but all the searching was to no avail.

It was therefore with a great sigh of relief that we received the news that Selenkay had been found. The Director of the Living with Lions project, Dr. Laurence Frank, joined the search for Selenkay by flying around the greater Amboseli ecosystem.  He detected her signal from within Amboseli National Park. We immediately dispatched a team to verify the report and get visuals on Selenkay and her lioness companions. And here they are!

The outcome was very satisfying. A visibly pregnant Selenkay and her two sisters were found peacefully resting within the Park. Their movement patterns (which we get from downloading and mapping the GPS data from Selenkay’s collar) completely baffled our team. They have spent most of their time outside designated protected areas, visiting not only Eselenkei Group Ranch (where Selenkay was collared) but also spending a lot of time on Mbirikani and Olgulului Group Ranches.

Their beautiful, peaceful, and absolutely captivating nature marks them out from the other Amboseli lionesses. Their spots are distinctively clear…. there is no doubt that they are members of the Tara Pride! We will definitely be keeping a close eye on them, particularly as Selenkay prepares to give birth in the upcoming months. We can’t wait to find out where she’ll choose to settle down and bring her cubs into the world. Keep reading the blog to find out!

Tags: collared lion, eselenkei, Kenya, lion, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, lion research, lions, Maasai, masai, selenkay

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Category: Lion Guardian reports | Date: Feb 18 2009 | By: lionguardians

Lion Guardian Mokoi has finally located collared male Kasayio, who he found in the company of two other lions. Kasayio is one of those shy lions who will never show his face. But on this day, Mokoi and I were able to see one of Kasayio’s comrades, a young male that we have never encountered before.

He is probably two to two and a half years old, judging by the development of his mane. Mokoi had to warn the community because he knows Kasayio killed a cow in December in Lion Guardian Kapande’s area, so we know he has a taste for livestock. We are crossing our fingers until these lions move out of the area as they are very close to people’s settlements at the moment, and we don’t want any conflicts between the local people and these handsome young males.

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

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