Ewaso Lions

Category: Ewaso Lions Camp | Date: Oct 29 2009 | By: ewasolions

The Ewaso Lions camp has a new look!   We’ve lived here now for 16 months and it was definitely time for some improvements.  Click here to see what camp looked like in 2008 when we first moved here.

Sasaab Lodge generously donated and constructed a waterproof shade in camp.  Before this, we had a canvas sheet but unfortunately this got torn and destroyed in the sun and strong winds (click here to see blog on this).  This is what we had before:

Ricila trying to tie the torn fly sheet

The carpenters from Sasaab built the frame for the new structure and we had some iron sheets put on top of it, after which we painted it green.  Our next plan is to put “makuti” (thatch) on top of the roof.

Building the frame

Painting the iron sheets green

The completed structure

Our kitchen also has been renovated! Joseph worked hard to make it bigger and higher so we don’t have to crouch any more.

Joseph working on the kitchen

The new and improved kitchen

The bathroom and loo were also renovated.  The walls are more sturdy now thanks to the thatching, although I’ve had to battle with the camels recently as they were trying to eat the makuti thatching!  To remind you what it used to look like:

Bush bathroom in 2008

New bathroom

Lastly, we now have an office in camp! This was my old tent and has now become a store/office. Our old store had fallen apart and thanks to donations from WildlifeDirect blog readers we were able to get newer, more sturdy tents.  We will eventually get  2 desks and chairs put in.  I have a new tent now - its smaller than my old one (now the office) but still very cool and as I recently discovered, it is waterproof!

New office tent and store

A view of camp

A huge thanks to Sasaab lodge management, Madeliene Todd,  Stuart McCullum, Chip Owen, Sammy Leleseita and Brenton H for funds to  help us make camp look so much better!

Tags: Ewaso Lions, Lions, Sasaab

One response so far

Category: Other news | Date: Oct 26 2009 | By: ewasolions

I am sooo excited to report that I have had 2 very special sightings of wild dogs recently! (My first proper sighting of them was in February this year in Samburu Reserve).

The first sighting was on the 9th of September and was about 10 minutes away from camp in the Conservation Area in West Gate Community Conservancy.  The second sighting was on the 13th of October and it was so close to camp!  In September we saw a pack of 7 dogs and in October we saw only 2 dogs, however later on a pack of 12 were reported nearby at the Sasaab lodge.

The wild dogs looked in great shape and sent the guinea-fowl and dikdiks into a frenzy.  I always enjoy seeing them - it is so rare to see the endangered wild dogs and considering they are not really resident in the area, I feel extremely fortunate to have seen them.

Wild dogs on the 9th of September

Pack of 7 move in the Conservation Area

One of the wild dogs seen on the 13th of October with Mt Kenya in the background

Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of this, but on the 4th of September, I was driving at night in Sasaab and at around 8:00 pm, I literally bumped into an aardvark!  This is my first time to see one and funnily enough it was only a few days before that I had mentioned that the one animal I would love to see is an aardvark.  This one walked across the road slowly and gave us a great showing.  It really is the coolest creature to see!  The Samburu people believe that it is very good luck to see an aardvark.  I was thrilled!

Tags: Aardvark, Conservation, Endangered, Samburu, Sasaab, West Gate Community Conservancy, Wild dogs

2 responses so far

Category: Reserves | Date: Oct 22 2009 | By: ewasolions

Samburu is transforming!  Every day the landscape changes colour.  Trees are the greenest they have been this whole year and its amazing to watch the animals come alive.  All the animals seem more energetic and excited with the new greenery and water.  Impalas, oryx, waterbuck and buffalo who managed to survive through the drought are now feasting on the green shoots.  I watched an oryx the other day - in the morning he was in a mini green paradise eating all the grass - 6 hours later he was in the same spot, still eating.  Even the monkeys are happy.  Its such a thrill to see the place come alive this way and so quickly just after a few rain showers.  Below are some photos of some happy drought survivors taken 2 days after the first rain:

Impalas graze with the Samburu sacred mountain, Sabache, in the background

A thin impala finds some new grass 2 days after the first rain

Almost all the buffaloes died in the drought.  Here is one survivor who just managed to stay alive…

A dikdik a few minutes after a rain shower

Happy monkeys

A thin oryx makes the most of the new grass

Numerous waterbuck also died in the drought.  This male made it.

A not so happy lion cub in the rain!

Here are photos taken exactly 1 week after the first rain:

Grass!!!

Lots of grass for the Grevy’s zebra

Finally - some happy warthog!

Tags: Buffalo, drought, Impalas, Monkeys, Samburu, Waterbuck

5 responses so far

Category: Lions | Date: Oct 19 2009 | By: ewasolions

Amidst this terrible drought, the lions have done great!  Together with the other predators, they are probably the only animals to have benefited from the arid conditions.  The Koitogor pride came together a few months ago and started bringing down larger animals - giraffes, buffalo, zebra - which became their main prey.  Nashipai and Nabo’s cubs have grown and often leave their mothers, hunting alone.  I have been fortunate to have a number of great sightings of them; feasting on giraffe, climbing trees, or sleeping and playing out in the open.

Happy, healthy lions

One of the cubs on a fallen Acacia tree

The pride in Ngare Mara have also done well.  The two young females in that area, Jabdu and Korti, have not ventured far from Ngare Mara River and the swamps.  A few weeks ago, Jabdu gave birth!  I saw her the day after she gave birth - she had blood all over her legs and she was quite nervous.  It will be weeks before we see her cubs as she has them hidden well.  Kofafeti and her 2 cubs have also done well over the past few months, and Loirish and Lguret, the 2 resident males, have been moving between the 2 prides.

Jabdu, a day after giving birth

Loirish and Lguret feast on a giraffe

Lastly, Magilani. I have not seen her since August.   There is no sign of her at all. I haven’t seen any tracks or heard of any sightings from either the community or the scouts.  It has been long and I worry about her safety.  With lion numbers in Kenya declining in most areas, each and every individual lion is so important.  I have monitored Magilani for months as she wanders through West Gate Community Conservancy alone.  I hope she is still alive.

The rains have now begun and things will begin to change for the lions and other predators.  They have had an easy year so far, however this will now change as the prey moves away from the Ewaso Nyiro river and into the hills.  The lions will follow and leave the safe confines of the reserves.  I hope they survive this crucial period.

Tags: Cubs, drought, Ewaso Nyiro, Kenya, Lions, predators

3 responses so far

Category: Other news | Date: Oct 16 2009 | By: ewasolions

The rains are finally here!!! This is the worst drought that most people can remember.  Livestock and wildlife have died in large numbers over the past few months and the river remained dry for most of the year.  It has been desperate and the most difficult period that I can remember during my years in Samburu.

One of the last surviving warthogs died a few weeks ago

Arid landscape

Digging waterholes in the river for the wildlife

A few weeks ago, we began to see signs of rain.  Dark clouds were forming daily and the days were scorching.  It eventually began to rain all around us but never quite reached Samburu.  The Samburu ladies sang in the river, throwing milk and praying for rain to come.  Each day we would look at the river and wonder if today was the last day we would be digging.  This went on for days.

Rains in the distance

Finally on the 10th of October, the river flowed!  This was such an exciting moment.  We had seen signs of rain all around us and knew that the river had to flow soon.  We got word that the river was seen flowing 20 kms upstream from camp and there was a buzz in camp as we knew that we would see the great Ewaso Nyiro River flow very soon.  At 2 am, we heard it! We rushed down to the river at 5:30 am and saw the river flowing – it was amazing to see large volumes of water come past us.

The Kipsing lugga flowed into the Ewaso Nyiro

Clear views of Mount Kenya and the Ewaso Nyiro the day after the river flowed

All signs of rain then vanished and we had clear skies for a few days.  The river was also beginning to disappear again and dropped to low levels.  People were getting very disappointed and some were beginning to lose hope that it would ever rain at all.  But, on the 14th of October at 4:00 pm, it finally began to rain – properly!!! We rushed around camp, packing everything up and throwing stuff into Gypsy (project vehicle) and sat under our shade and watched the rain fall.  It was amazing.  We recorded our very first rainfall amount with our new camp rain gauge.

Rain close to camp

Jeneria, Ewaso Lions scout, excited after feeling rain for the first time in a year

The Ewaso Nyiro flowing on the 15th of  October

A warthog family walk down to the flowing Ewaso Nyiro to have their first drink of water from the river in months

A dikdik drinks from the small waterholes that have filled many of the roads in the reserve

After months and months of dryness and death all around us, everyone is so excited.  I just hope this is not temporary and the rains will continue over the next few months.  It needs to rain pretty much everyday.  Eventually the area will recover and the wildlife and livestock will come back.  Samburu is a stunning area when its green and lush  - its been so long since I have seen it that way and I can’t wait to see what the area will look like in December.

In the meantime, I am heading home to Nairobi very soon.  It has been a long long field season – and a very difficult one because of the conditions here.  We will be packing up camp over the next few days and I will then be in the reserve watching how everything will respond to the new rains, including how lion movements will begin to change after they have spent months and months along the river.

Speaking of the lions; they are doing great and have had an easy time over the past few months.  I’ll be writing about them soon but in the meantime, here is a photo of Nanyiro, that I took a few days ago.

Nanyiro looking great a few days ago

Its raining all around me and I can hear thunder everywhere as I post this blog!

Tags: drought, Ewaso Nyiro, Lions, Livestock, Samburu, wildlife

8 responses so far