Ewaso Lions

Category: Other news | Date: Jul 25 2008 | By: ewasolions

On the 11th of July, I was driving to camp from Samburu National Reserve when I noticed dark clouds form and surround us. I drove quickly to camp to consult with the guys to see what they thought. Joseph, camp manager and cook, said that if it rained it would come from the direction of the reserve and not Wamba. This reassured me slightly.

However, with time it became clear that it would rain soon as we were surrounded by black clouds. We made quick plans to remove all the things that would need to be protected. The mobile film unit equipment, food boxes, solar panel, battery, etc were packed quickly into Gypsy. We put on our rain jackets and waited as it thundered all around.

Prepared for rain

Rain on the way

The wind picked up and some of the chairs and solar panel boxes started flying away. We frantically ran around picking things up. We huddled together under the kitchen tarp, which was sagging under the weight of a growing puddle of rainwater. It then came pouring down and our little kitchen succumbed to the heavy rain. One of the dead tree branches that served as a wall got blown over, bringing down the tarp.

There was little we could do except sit and get soaked. We managed to cook some food and eat in the rain. At 9pm, we ran into our leaking tents and tried to get some sleep. It eventually stopped raining late at night.

We woke early the following day to assess the damage. The bathroom, loo and kitchen had collapsed from the weight of the water on the hessian material. Everything was soaking wet and our camp looked like a bush laundromat as we hung everything out to dry. My tent and Lekuraiyo’s were ok, however the other 2 tents were soaked. One of the food boxes had leaked and water had got into the ugali.

We’re rebuilding Echo Lima camp, but we could use your help and donations to improve camp to survive any more rain.

The rains were completely unexpected and unusual for this time of year (hence my camp wasn’t built to be waterproof). I can’t help but think this is a sign of global climate change.

The upside to this mess is that I saw the Kipsing River flow into the Ewaso Nyiro. It was beautiful. The brief shower brought relief to the dry parched landscape, with new growth and it was good to see the Ewaso Nyiro flow once again.

Pools of water on top of Ndonyo Nanyeke

Kipsing flowing into Ewaso Nyiro

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Category: Research | Date: Jul 24 2008 | By: ewasolions

Between January and May this year I collected 17 lion faecal samples in the reserve and Francis, one of the Ewaso Lion scouts has collected 10 samples in the community area. This is an important component of my project where I want to compare lion’s diet in the reserves and in West Gate Community Conservancy.

After collecting all the samples, I dried and put them in a crate for preservation until I was ready to begin analysis. A Kenyan student from Oxford University, Will, has recently arrived to help me. He has brought a microscope with him and has begun plucking the hairs from the scat and mounting them on slides.

This bush laboratory has intrigued everyone who passes by camp including the staff from the nearby lodge. Many have wandered in to have a peek in the microscope and see what’s going on! Camels and donkeys that usually graze in the camp area got a scare a few days ago when they got a whiff of all the lion scat. They scampered off in all directions and now tread cautiously in the area!

Learamu looking through the microscope under Will’s supervision

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Category: Lions | Date: Jul 23 2008 | By: ewasolions

On the 29th of June, I received word from one of the resident driver guides in Samburu that he had seen 3 little lion cubs 2 days ago! Some background: The last time we had cubs in Samburu was in May 2006. Since then, Nashipai, Nabo and Uni have mated often with the 3 resident males but no cubs. I was getting a little worried about the situation especially since I have recorded a drop in the resident lion population. So, when I received this news, I was sooo excited and couldn’t wait to see the cubs and identify which female had given birth.

Ntito’s 2 cubs in 2006 -the last time there were cubs in Samburu

On the 4th of July, I headed out to try my luck at finding the cubs. They hadn’t been seen since the 27th of June. At about 2pm, we spotted Uni and Nashipai in the river, looking very full and content lying in the dry river-bed. I looked around hoping to see more signs of lions, but nothing. After a few minutes we did see a fresh impala carcass. It was clear that the lions had killed in the morning. We also passed a resident driver from one of the nearby lodges who said that he had seen the female and 3 cubs with 2 other lionesses feeding on the impala earlier that day. We continued our search for the other lions…

As we headed towards the main hill of Koitogor, we saw tracks of a female. I backtracked and suddenly realized I was not only seeing tracks of a female, but also smaller ones! These were the 3 cubs. I whooped with excitement and followed the tracks until we came to an area of thick Salvadora bushes on the tip of Koitogor hill. My Samburu friends whispered “the cubs are in here for sure”. We waited for a while and then saw many Superb Starlings congregate and chirp away on top of one of the Salvadora bushes. The birds were seeing something that we were unable to see and as had happened on many previous occasions, I wished I was a bird to hover above and see what was there. We left the area as I did not want to disturb the cubs too much, with the hope that I would catch a glimpse of them the following day.

We left camp at 5 45am on the 5th of July and headed straight for the Salvadora thicket. I turned off the engine and listened. We heard crackling of bushes and at one point it sounded as if something was being eaten. We poked our heads out of Gypsy’s roof hatch and then we saw them! 3 tiny little ones aged at approximately 8-9 weeks, playing in the Salvadora bushes. At first I wasn’t sure if the cubs were alone or not but then we saw the cubs pull at what appeared to be an adult lion’s tail. The mother was there. We then saw her ears and at this stage I knew immediately this was Nabo. I hadn’t seen Nabo since March and had already suspected that she may be the mother. It appeared that Nabo was chewing on something; possibly something she had killed during the night. The cubs were playing and running around each other. We could hear them nursing and every few minutes one of the cubs would come tearing round the bushes chasing another. We left the cubs and Nabo after a while.

First glimpse of the cub

Nabo coming out of the bushes

This was a very special moment. I was so relieved to see that Samburu finally has cubs once again. Watching Nabo look after them and witnessing their playful behaviour was definitely the highlight for me and I couldn’t be happier.

Since then I have seen the cubs a few more times. The wardens, rangers and resident drivers are all so excited and stop me each time on the road to say “Have you seen the cubs?”. Also, a few days ago I received a text message from another resident driver that he had seen another female with 2 cubs! I am currently in Nairobi doing some administration but am so excited to head back tomorrow to see who else has shown up with cubs. The lions of Samburu are back….and we couldn’t be happier.

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Category: Reserves | Date: Jul 23 2008 | By: ewasolions

Firstly, I must apologize for not having posted a blog in a really long time. Fieldwork has consumed every minute of my time. It has been an amazing month in the field with a lot going on. I will be posting a few blogs over the next few days to inform you of what’s been going on here.

On Monday the 7th of July, I was preparing to leave for Archers Post to pick a student who was coming to assist me with lion scat analysis, when I received a phone call from Abdi Sukuna, the Senior Sergeant of Buffalo Springs. Abdi informed me that a dead cheetah had been sighted in the reserve and requested me to investigate the situation. Accompanied by Paul Thomson from the African Wildlife Foundation, who was visiting for a few days, I left Samburu and headed to the Ngare Mara Gate in Buffalo Springs. I picked up Abdi and Rasheed another ranger and we drove towards the springs. It took us about half an hour before we arrived in an open area and there it was. A huge male cheetah.

Identifying the zebra tracks

I immediately called Daktari Stephen Chege, the Kenya Wildlife Service vet in charge of the area, who asked us to guard the cheetah from hyenas and lions and he would arrive early the next morning to perform a necropsy. He asked me not to touch the cheetah as it was crucial to leave it the way it was. We agreed to guard the cheetah along with the rangers from Buffalo Springs. Luckily we had some food (a cabbage and some rotting carrots) in the car (and crates of lion scat as well!) but unfortunately no tent (I have learnt my lesson here!) so as on many previous occasions, Gypsy came to our rescue and was our home for the night.

Two lionesses approached the cheetah at 10pm but were scared off by the headlights of the ranger’s vehicle. A hyena also came at 4am. The rangers left at 6am and we watched the sun rise over the plains and the dead cheetah. Zebra, oryx and Grants gazelle surrounded us.

Guarding the dead cheetah

Dr Chege arrived at 9 am and immediately began the necropsy. It had probably died 2 days ago and as it was lying out in the sun it had decomposed pretty badly. Dr Chege said that the cheetah appeared to have been healthy before its death. He sliced through the head and within less than a minute stated that the cheetah had died of a brain hemorrhage. There was a fracture down the skull which was very clear. After walking around the site, we noticed many zebra tracks right next to the cheetah ones. It was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. The cheetah was hunting a zebra and unfortunately in this case lost out as the zebra kicked it straight in the head with its hind leg. Dr Chege said the cheetah must have died instantly.

Performing the necropsy

The necropsy was complete by 10 30 am and we left the area. I am currently comparing all the cheetah identity photos that I have collected this year. I knew of 2 male cheetahs in the area where we found the dead male and will soon know if this was one of them.

Photos by Paul Thomson

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