Ewaso Lions

Jalalo, one of the females in the Ngare Mara Pride, recently lost one of her 1-year old male cubs. The lions were crossing the main tarmac highway (Isiolo-Archers Post) at night, accessing a swamp opposite the Chokaa Gate entrance, when a speeding vehicle hit the cub. We went to investigate the following day and identified the lion as Jalalo’s cub. She remains with one cub.

Many bumps have been put along this road, however the section outside Chokaa Gate remains without any. We hope that this will change in the future as each dry season, many animals will cross the highway in search of water. To date, we’ve recorded Grevy’s zebra, aardwolf and numerous spotted hyena that have been hit on this road.

Identifying the lion with KWS ranger

Jeneria looks at the spot where the lion was hit

We teamed up with the Grevy’s Zebra Trust (GZT) team earlier in the year to train their new Warrior recruits from the Laisamis region, north of Samburu. This week-long training exercise brought together our Warriors from Westgate with ten Samburu and Rendille Warriors focusing on Grevy’s zebra monitoring in an area where they are threatened by lack of resources and hunting. The GZT Warriors learned about predators and how to mitigate conflict, and our Warrior Watch team also learnt about the behaviour and ecology of Grevy’s zebra, the conservation issues facing the species, and what is being done to address their plight. The Warriors were given the opportunity to work together in the field. This was very effective as they discussed their roles in wildlife conservation and the challenges they face. We wish the Grevy’s zebra Warriors all the very best in their work in northern Kenya.

I am honoured to have been selected to be featured in the new book WILDLIFE HEROES. The book combines unique real-life stories, stunning photographs, and fascinating animal information to make a point: we can turn the tide and save species in decline. The individuals profiled in the book have dedicated their lives to preserving compelling creatures that are struggling for existence.

With introductions to each chapter by icons such as author Kuki Gallman, actor Ted Danson, actress Stefanie Powers, Congressman Jay Inslee and animal advocate Jack Hanna, and a back cover endorsement by world-famous wildlife expert Dr. Jane Goodall, this book aims to bring broader awareness for the critical efforts taking place to save these amazing species.

It is a real privilege to have been featured in this book alongside such inspirational people, and I think the book is beautifully put together!

Wildlife Heroes is available in books stores and on-line beginning tomorrow (March 6, 2012). For more information, or to purchase the book, please visit WildlifeHeroes.org.

We are pleased to announce two new members of our core team; Yesalai Lemachokoti and Laikos Letupukwa.

Yesalai is a young Samburu warrior who comes from the Sasaab area in Westgate Conservancy. Yesalai is now our new Assistant Community Officer who will be assisting Ngila with recording all conflict incidences and working with the communities. With the increase in conflict in November 2011 during the rains, Ngila needed the additional support, to ensure that all incidences were being recorded. Following an initial training with Ngila, Yesalai is now working in the Sasaab area and based out of the Ewaso Lions Camp. Yesalai is also one of our warriors in the Warrior Watch programme and we are excited to be able to provide him with this new position.

Yesalai, Assistant Community Officer

Laikos Letupukwa comes from the Wamba area near Westgate and is our new camp cook. Laikos trained at a hotel on the Kenyan coast and came armed with lots of cooking skills. We are pleased to have him in camp as he feeds a growing number of Ewaso Lions team members and maintains camp.
Letupukwa, Camp Cook

We are grateful to the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative for funding Laikos’s position in 2012 and are currently seeking long-term secure funding for Yesalai’s position. If you would like to make a donation towards this, please click on the Donate Now button. Thank you!

Since the rains and floods that took place in November 2011, it was difficult for us to conduct our regular transects and drives in the Core Conservation Area in Westgate Community Conservancy. The area began to dry up slowly and we were able to finally start our drives in early January. For the first few weeks, we struggled to see any animals. Most of the wildlife had dispersed away from the Ewaso Nyiro River into the hills. We literally had a few gerenuk sightings and one leopard sighting; not much else for weeks. We had seen some lion tracks but were unable to find them.

On the 28th of January, we got a report that a lioness had been seen in the Core Area. I got really excited and immediately thought “Magilani!”. Jeneria and I left camp quickly and headed straight into the Core Area. I was excited yet nervous at the same time. We got to the area at 3 pm and immediately spotted the lioness. She was sitting under a tree in some thick bushes. As we approached, she barely flinched and didn’t even look at us. This was not the normal behaviour of a lion in a community area. They are rarely out in the daytime and often at the sight or sound of human presence, they disappear quickly. This female sat there without moving. I looked through my binoculars and realised that this was in fact a young female -and not Magilani. I was disappointed for a few minutes but interested and excited at the same time to figure out who this female was.

Nabulo sits under the tree – our first sighting of the trio

The pieces fell into place quickly. Jeneria and I discovered this female was Nabulo; one of three females from the Koitogor Pride in Samburu National Reserve, who left her mother, Nabo, in 2011. We soon spotted the other two females, the beautiful Sipen and Nanai (Jeneria’s favourite lion!). They had made a waterbuck kill and were resting in the shade near the kill.

We spent the afternoon with these beautiful lionesses and watched them come down to drink, feed on the kill and sit on the beached banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River. It was a special afternoon and our best lion sighting yet in Westgate.

Sipen comes to drink

Nanai and Nabulo drink

Feeding on their waterbuck kill

Jeneria’s reaction to this sighting was one of concern. He said, “These lions don’t know how to behave in community areas. They don’t know how to hide or to avoid people and danger. They are too calm and in the open. How will they survive here?”. I understood and agreed with his concerns and we decided to make sure the community were aware of their presence and monitor their movements to see if they would go back to Samburu National Reserve or stay in Westgate. This is the first time we have seen Reserve lions in Westgate and are keen to follow up to ensure their safety and monitor their movements.

A beautiful evening with Nabulo, Sipen and Nanai along the Ewaso Nyiro River

We have recently sponsored a young 15 year old Samburu girl, Painoti Letabare, to attend secondary school in Maralal, Samburu District. Painoti comes from the Westgate area in Westgate Conservancy and lives with her parents and younger siblings. She is the first from the family to be given the opportunity to attend secondary school after she completed primary school a few months ago.

Painoti studied at the Lpus Leluai Primary School where she attained 260 marks in the Primary School exams and was the top girl in the school. Her family who only have a few goats as livestock were unable to afford to send her to secondary school after she received admission in one of Samburu District’s best girls’ schools – Kisima High. Ewaso Lions followed her progress and learned about her family situation and decided to enroll young Painoti in our Bursary Programme to join Samson and Edward, the two boys Ewaso Lions is currently sponsoring.

We are excited to have Painoti attend secondary school and will keep you updated on her progress.

Painoti with her mother and youngest sister. Her mother is thrilled to send her oldest daughter to school

Painoti excited to be given the opportunity to go to school

Hi everyone!

As the year comes to a close, we want to wish everyone a very special holiday and express our deepest gratitude for your support this past year. Ewaso Lions would not be able to function without you. And we mean it.

2011 has been a big year marked by success and struggle. We were delighted to see the birth of cubs in the Reserves; the Warrior Watch programme is charging ahead, involving young Samburu warriors in conservation; but we also had hardships like Magilani’s injury and disappearance.

We have big plans for 2012 and hope for your continued support. Conservation efforts here are daunting, but we truly believe in the potential for coexistence between people and lions in Kenya.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday — and thanks again.

The Ewaso Lions team

PS If you would like to make a tax-deductible year-end gift to Ewaso Lions, click the link below. It would mean the world to us.

https://www.gifttool.com/donations/Donate?ID=1274&AID=1085

Jabdu and Cubs in Buffalo Springs

We are excited to share a new video in which Shivani talks about Ewaso Lions’ research, conservation, and community outreach efforts in the Ewaso Nyiro ecosystem. This video includes some key highlights of the work we do to record and monitor lions and other wildlife in the region, and alleviate human-wildlife conflict, as well as the education and local capacity building efforts that are helping to raise awareness of conservation issues among local populations.

So take a look, learn about our efforts to conserve lions, and be inspired to visit and experience for yourself the beauty and diversity of wildlife in this region of northern Kenya.

A special thanks to Pascal Fournié for making the video!

To watch, click the link below:

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube Direkt

Taylor Tully writes about the Ewaso Lions Team Building Day that took place a few weeks ago in Westgate Community Conservancy, Samburu.

On November 6^th, Ewaso Lions held its first Team Building event.  The day had 16 members of the Ewaso Lions team, including our Lion Scouts, Warriors and core staff, competing in various events that tested their ability to work as a team, as well as their physical prowess. The focus of the event was to build teamwork and strengthen communication, respect and trust among the staff.

The day started off with morning chai and discussions about teamwork, led by Shivani and myself.  To begin the competition, the team was divided up into four teams of four, each appropriately named after an African mammal. The first event was a scavenger hunt, followed by a relay race, fire-building challenge, blindfolded exercises and tug of war.  All of the staff really took to the games and you could feel the competitive energy in the air.

Discussing Team Building with the Ewaso Lions team

The “Lion Team” strategize prior to the Scavenger Hunt

Fire Challenge

Throughout the day, the competition was close and each team had its successes and challenges, but in the end, “Team Leopard” pulled ahead and won the team prize; four brand new kikois (coloured cloth).  Overall, the day was a great success and all of us saw an improvement in our communication, teamwork and sense of kinship.

The Ewaso Lions Team enjoying the events

The winning “Leopard Team” (from left to right): Yesalai, Ljarusi, Moses and Reria

Though I was busy running the event, my favorite part of the day was definitely the relay-race, which involved three stages: a three-legged race, a sack race and a “piggy-back” race.  We all shared many laughs during this event.   I also really enjoyed watching the teams complete the blindfold exercises, which involved team members directing a blindfolded teammate to walk through a “minefield” and erect a tent.

Jeneria helps Francis erect a tent blind-folded

I really enjoyed coordinating and participating in such a fun event and thank Sasaab Lodge for funding it.

The November 2011 issue of the Ewaso Lions Field Report is now available. Click here to download the PDF.

In this issue:

• Message from the directors
• Lion Update – Magilani’s injuries; new cubs in the Reserves
• Paul’s Human-Predator Conflict Study
• ‘Running for Lion’ Marathon
• Camera Traps update
• Cheetah, Leopard and Wild Dog News
• Renovation of Enter into Samburu National Reserve
• Support Local Schools
• Warrior Watch
• New Camp Cook
• Ewaso Lions in the media
• Upcoming activities
• Talks and Conferences
• Funding Update
• How You Can Help – New Research Centre Fund, Sponsor a Scout, Escalating Conflict

Read it now.

Let us know what you think. We would love your feedback!

Warmest regards,
Shivani and Paul