Ewaso Lions

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

Below are a few video clips from Raph’s wedding in Wamba.  It was a very vibrant occasion full of colour and dance.  Perfect viewing for this Christmas period!

Happy holidays to you all,

Shivani

Below is a warrior dance and song specific to Samburu ceremonies.  They sing about cattle raiding, the areas they walk through and the battles they fight.  See if you can spot Jeneria!

This dance shown in the clip below is another ceremonial dance where the warriors dance with girls and ladies.  This is one my my favourite dances!

This dance has both men and women dancing.  The warriors are in the centre with women and young girls surrounding them.  It is normal for the women to have huge beaded necklaces which they move around their neck as they dance.

Tags: Africa, Ceremonies, Conservation, Lions, Samburu, Wamba, Wedding

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Category: Team | Date: Dec 24 2008 | By: ewasolions

The entire Ewaso Lions team has just returned from a 2 day wedding in Wamba, North of Samburu.  This was the second wedding of the year of one of the Ewaso Lions team members.  This wedding was for the project’s community officer - Raphael Lekuraiyo.  Jeremiah Letoole, Ewaso Lions scout, was married in July this year again in Wamba.

It was a lively, colourful and fun occasion, with many traditional dances and feasts.  Below are a few photos of the occasion.

Raph, the groom

Alice, the beautiful bride from Wamba

Joseph and Jeneria dance amongst the other warriors and ladies

More traditional dancing

The Ewaso Lions team

Look out for future blogs which will have some videos of the Samburu dances at the wedding!

Tags: dances, Lions, Samburu, tradition, weddings

3 responses so far

Category: Other news | Date: Dec 23 2008 | By: ewasolions

We are approaching the end of 2008 and what a year it has been.  Thank you to all the donors who have supported this project and come to our rescue when we really needed it.  Generous funds have been donated towards Gypsy, a new hard drive, camp solar system, Joseph’s salary, vehicle security radio and new tyres for Gypsy.  In total, $1585 has been donated through the blog for the Ewaso Lions project since May.

My heartfelt thanks to you all who have made donations.  Each and every single penny donated goes a long way in securing the future of this unknown lion population in Northern Kenya.

However, urgent funds are still needed to keep the project going! As an Xmas appeal to you all, I am asking for donations to be made towards:

1. Fuel for Gypsy:  My grant for fuel ran out in November and I have been unable to secure further funding for fuel costs.  $10 will provide enough fuel for a day and I urgently need some funds for the next few months.
2. Salary for Lekuraiyo: Unfortunately, I have no funds to cover Lekuraiyo’s salary which is $100 a month.  I would be most grateful for any donations that can be made towards his salary.  He is a key member of the team and without him I would never find any lions!
3. Digital camera for Raphael:  Raph has worked for more than a year on this project and urgently needs a digital camera for capturing images of the important community work he is doing in the conservancy.  A second hand digital camera will be most appreciated or a donation of $100 for a new Nikon camera.
4. Service costs for Gypsy:  These are costs that are very hard to seek funds for.  Every 5000 kms, I need to ensure that Gypsy gets a full service.  Since January this year, close to 17000 kms have been covered and the last service under warranty is due in 2 weeks time.  The service will amount to approximately $200 however I do not have funds for this and being the last service under warranty, it is vital that the service is done.  Any help towards this would be most appreciated.

Thank you for considering my appeal.

Wishing you all a very Merry Xmas and all the best for the New Year,

Shivani

My favourite photo - Nashipai on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro

Tags: Africa, Conservation, Ewaso Nyiro, Kenya, Lions, Samburu, wildlife

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Category: Other news | Date: Dec 22 2008 | By: ewasolions

It has been a really successful year with a lot happening; good and some bad but mostly great and exciting. Below are some of the highlights of the year.

-  The Ewaso Lions (El) team was formed early in the year.  Raphael (community officer), Joseph (camp manager and cook), Lekuraiyo and Ricila (trackers) and Jeneria, Francis and Jeremiah (Ewaso Lions scouts) joined by myself formed the team.  I am so fortunate to have such a fantastic team to work with and we have had many memorable moments this year.

The Ewaso Lions team

-  The lion population has changed during the year.  Nashipai and the rest of the pride gave me many worrying moments by disappearing for weeks but then coming back eventually.  A new female Naibor was seen in Samburu including a few new females in Ngare Mara.  Nashipai, Nabo and Uni were the most commonly seen lionesses and I spent an interesting afternoon in October watching Nabo attempt killing a waterbuck.

Nashipai and Nabo - the two sisters

- The best news of the year was when Nashipai and Nabo gave birth to cubs and we now have 5 healthy cubs roaming the reserve with their mothers.  I saw the cubs recently upon return to the reserve and will blog about this soon.  Samburu did not have cubs for more than 2 years so this is very exciting!

Nashipai’s two cubs in October

- It was really exciting to see lions in the conservation area of West Gate.  I was fortunate to have 4 sightings of these wild “Real Lions“.   But it was pretty scary when these 3 new males entered the reserve when the cubs were very small and Nabo had to fight them off. They have now become resident and the females are doing a great job keeping the cubs away.

Lguret watching me from the bushes

- We set up the Ewaso Lions (Echo Lima) camp in West Gate Conservancy and spent a few months there.  It was a fantastic set up and we had some great experiences.  It is located in the heart of the conservancy and we use this as a base to find lions, work with the communities, and much more.  We have recently moved back there and will be there until the middle of February 2009.  It is great to be back!

Mess tent in the camp

- We’ve had 2 staff weddings this year - Jeremiah and Raph both got married in 2008 and the weddings were colourful, fun and vibrant.

Joseph and Jeneria dance at Raph’s wedding

-  Sadly, there was a bad event that took place during the year as well. I got robbed in August but thanks to the fantastic efforts of the entire EL team, the thief was found and my money was recovered. I learned a lot from this experience.  Also, my hard drive crashed on my computer in September and I lost many photos and valuable information.  I definitely learned from this lesson too!

- The rains finally arrived in October after a very dry year where people, their livestock and the wildlife really suffered.  However it only rained for under 3 weeks and the area is already beginning to dry up.  We hope that there will be some more rain before the next rains which are due in April.

Koitogor Hill, in the heart of Samburu, becomes green after the first rains in October

-  I started the Ewaso Lions tree project in February this year.  To date more than 70 trees have been planted in schools, villages, community areas and in our camp.  It has been very successful and I am thrilled to report that we have had a more than 80% tree survival rate.  We intend to expand the tree project next year within more villages.

Students from Attan Primary plant their tree

-  We had a few carnivore deaths during the year.  One male lion was killed by another during a fight in October.  Also, a zebra killed a cheetah in June which was very fascinating and we spent many hours guarding this dead cheetah from scavengers. A striped hyena was also found dead in March but the cause of death was not established.

Performing the necropsy on the cheetah

-  We were in the news this year!  The project had 2 articles published  -in the Daily Nation and also the East African.

-  I began showing wildlife films in West Gate to the local communities. This was a huge success and I hope to continue with more wildlife film showing in 2009.  The showing of films is so important and it is a great way to spread important conservation messages to the local communities. Many of them have never seen these animals properly nor a video before.

Wildlife video projected on Gypsy

- Thanks to donations, I was able to purchase a fantastic vehicle - Gypsy!  This car has been the best thing I have ever bought.  She is extremely tough in the bush, never gets stuck and has gone through very difficult terrain.  She has transported sick people to hospitals, wedding parties to villages and I have been able to monitor all the lions and move within the communities.  Gypsy is one of the only vehicles in West Gate and the communities and wildlife scouts depend on her greatly to assist with emergencies that may arise.

Driving Gypsy through West Gate

So, as you can see, its been a really good year and we could not have achieved what we have done without your support and donations.  We look forward to your continued support,  interest and enthusiasm in the Ewaso Lion Project in 2009.

Ashe Oleng!

 Shivani

Tags: Africa, Conservation, environment, Ewaso Nyiro, Kenya, Lions, Samburu, trees, wildlife

4 responses so far

Category: Other news | Date: Dec 22 2008 | By: ewasolions

Hello all,

I have just arrived back in Samburu after spending time overseas and also at home in Nairobi.  I have many stories for you, but first wanted to send out a little note to everyone to thank you for reading the Ewaso Lions blog this year and also for your comments and questions.  Your interest and enthusiasm in Ewaso Lions keeps the project alive and I look forward to sharing more news and exciting adventures in 2009.

A special thanks to everyone who made donations to the project.  Every single amount donated goes a long way in securing a future for lions in this part of Northern Kenya.  A heartfelt thanks to you all.

With our best wishes from sunny Samburu,

The Ewaso Lions Team

(Photo taken at Raphael’s recent wedding)

From left to right: Shivani, Raph, Jeneria, Ricila, Francis, Joseph, Letoole, Jeremiah

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