Ewaso Lions

Category: Community | Date: Nov 12 2009 | By: ewasolions

Our first Kenyan Kids on Safari trip in Samburu was a huge success followed by another one with human-wildlife conflict expert, Nina Fascione.  We recently took 11 school kids out on another drive in Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves.  Sasaab Lodge kindly provided their large vehicle and guide, Innocent, for the drive.  The children come from Lpus Leluai Primary School in West Gate.  Johnson the Headmaster struggled yet again to choose the kids however students that took part in the Simba Stories competition were all selected.  I was amazed at how some of them had drawn fantastic pictures of lions, yet had never seen a lion.

The game drive was fantastic.   I had driven around for 2 days prior to the student drive and had not seen lions or any of the cats.  But this time, we were soo lucky!  About half an hour into the drive, we saw Lguret, the collared maneless male lion.  Soon after that we bumped into more of the lions from the Koitogor Pride - Nashipai and her cubs.  And about 10 minutes after that, the students got to see a leopard!  The kids were thrilled!  They had 4 small digital cameras to use and take photos with - I will be giving them copies of their photos soon so they can remember their experience.  They watched and learned about the big cats.  At the end of the day, they even sat an exam which had questions on some of the topics they were taught.  The kids did great and it was clear that they had benefited tremendously from the drive.  One of the students, Samson, said to me “Now I will find it much easier to draw lions”.

Jeremiah and Legenas watch giraffes in the distance

James watches Lguret sleeping under a tree

Legenas and Jeremiah learn how to take photos

Watching a leopard

Group photo - some very happy kids!

Here are some of the photos that the students took themselves:

A male gerenuk browses

Lguret, the maneless male

Leopard sleeping on an Acacia tree

Jeremiah had this to say after his safari:

“I say thank you for the great tour we had with you yesterday.  I was very happy to use cameras and binoculars and to see many animals like lions, giraffes, gerenuk, and much more.  Thank you also for the biscuits and milk you brought us!  I learned so much from your tour and I was so excited because it was the first time for me to see the above animals. It was so enjoyable”.

Cynthia had this to say:

“We were 5 boys and 5 girls when we went on a drive.  We started seeing animals when we entered the park.  One of the animals I saw was a lion and it was interesting because we were told his name was “Lguret”.  I was very happy to see so many of these animals.  I wish again one day we will go again and see many others.”

A huge special thanks to Kenyan Kids on Safari for donating the cameras and starting this programme and to Sasaab Lodge for being so enthusiastic about the drive and providing their vehicle.  I am really looking forward to more drives with the students  -hopefully over Xmas!

Tags: Leopard, Lions, Samburu, School, Simba, wildlife

2 responses so far

Category: Community | Date: Nov 09 2009 | By: ewasolions

This blog post somehow got lost and although it took place a few months ago, it is still very relevant and links in well with Part 2 which is coming soon!

Visiting renowned human-wildlife conflict expert from the US, Nina Fascione and her husband Steve Kendrot and I, decided to take 6 students from Lpus Leluai Primary School in West Gate, on a game drive in Samburu National Reserve.   The headmaster Johnson selected 3 boys and 3 girls who he said deserved a special treat for doing really well academically.  I am glad Johnson made the selection  -I would have really struggled to chose the children  -hoping to take them all!

We entered Samburu and after about 20 minutes or so, we began to see giraffe, tons of elephants close-up and were fortunate to see one of the Samburu lionesses, walk in the middle of the Ewaso Nyiro River.  The students were thrilled.  For most of them, they have never really seen animals close-up.  They may have seen the tail of a lion disappearing when they were young children herding livestock, or elephants running away from villages.  This time, the students got to see the animal’s behaviour and what they actually look like.

Edward and Moses learn how to use a camera with Ricila’s help

We stopped at about 10 am for some chai (tea) and a break.  I also gave the students a talk on the lions of Samburu - why they are important and the need to conserve them.  I also showed them how each one is identified individually and we went through the various lion IDs of the reserve.  The students had many questions.  One good question was had the numbers of lions changed over the years in the area.  Our question and answer session went on for about 30 minutes by which time we headed back.

Explaining about the importance of wildlife

Showing the students lion IDs with Steve’s help

The students were really excited to have gone out on a game drive with us.  We stopped at the Save the Elephants research camp on the way back and they were given a talk on elephants by the researchers.   It was a fun time for them all and they chatted animatedly all the way back to school and relayed their experiences to the other students.

A few weeks later I happened to be reading some wildlife essays that the students of West Gate had written when I came across one written by Scholastica.  She had written about her experience when she saw a Samburu lioness for the first time!  It was a great essay and a step forward in getting the students to know some of the Ewaso Lions.

Tags: elephants, Ewaso Nyiro, Lioness, Samburu, Save the Elephants, wildlife

One response so far

Category: Community | Date: Nov 02 2009 | By: ewasolions

Ewaso Lions has recently joined hands with Lpus Leluai Primary School in West Gate Community Conservancy.  To increase awareness of the importance of lion conservation, we are working with students and teachers at the school.  Students are requested to write and/or illustrate stories about lions in English/Swahili/Samburu.  The best stories and artwork will be put together and printed in the form of a booklet.  These copies will be distributed locally and internationally to increase awareness of lions.  Using these Simba Stories booklets, funds will also be raised for the school’s educational needs.

All art material has been donated by Shalini Bhalla of SB Management. Lindsay Morency, from Canada, has sponsored editing of the Simba Stories booklet and the Panthera Foundation has sponsored production and printing of some of the booklets.

The students have already begun working on their artwork and have produced some great drawings.  Some of them had never painted before until they received boxes of paints and brushes.

Jeremiah working on his drawing

Samson learning how to paint

Some of the completed drawings

I will send an update on their progress soon!

Tags: artwork, awareness, Community, Conservation, Lions, School, West Gate Conservancy

3 responses so far

Category: Community | Date: Mar 19 2009 | By: ewasolions

I have worked with Lpus Leluai Primary School in West Gate Community Conservancy for many years.  It is a school I believe in greatly which has a lot of potential and some smart kids.  The school struggled for many years with food shortages, strong winds blew the classroom roofs away, lack of teachers and many more problems.

The roofless classrooms

However, over the past year and a half, the school is on its way up!  The new headmaster Johnson is fantastic and has not only revived the school (together with a brilliant volunteer teacher from England, Euan), but he has given it hope once again.  Four new classrooms were built, solar panels put in (this is the only power in the entire area!), and now a new girls dormitory is currently under construction. The children have flooded in from all over the area and unfortunately some have to be turned away because the school has exceeded the maximum number of children they can have.

I have always liked this school and have helped in small ways such as giving posters for their classrooms, donating desks and mattresses (through my previous work with Save the Elephants) and more recently, teaching the students about wildlife and taking them out on game drives.  I am focusing all my efforts on this school now and want to help it as much as possible.

Thanks to a donation from my mum and her friends, Ksh 40,000 was raised (USD 530) for school books for Lpus Leluai.  With the influx of new students, Johnson the headmaster was struggling with the few books they had and often 4 or 5 children would share one book.

But not any more! We have donated enough books for the entire school; Science, Maths, Geography and more.  We visited the school a few weeks ago and donated the books to the school together with some brown wrapping paper to cover and protect them from wear and tear.

Johnson the Headmaster receiving the donated books

Johnson doing an inventory of the books with the deputy headmaster, Raphael

The students and teachers were thrilled!  They said this was the first time that they have ever seen so many books and now the children will be able to study in their own time.

Happy students with their new books

Head boy Edward with his new Science book

Students with their new books

Here is short excerpt of Johnson’s letter to my mum:

“Your support came at a time when our school is experiencing a lot of problems.  Madam, your support is of great importance to us as we try to ensure that the students of Lpus Leluai get enough instructional materials to improve their academic standards.  I once again thank you for the donation of the books and promise we shall take good care of the books to last longer and benefit many children in the future. ” Johnson Lenasalia - Headmaster Lpus Leluai Primary School.  

The school continues to need our help.  The new girls dormitory needs to be furnished, they need more classrooms, more books and stationary for the large number of students and much more!   If you would like to help this school, please do make a donation!

Tags: Community, Conservancy, Lions, School, Students

4 responses so far

Category: Community | Date: Aug 05 2008 | By: ewasolions

In July, I borrowed a mobile film unit to show films to the local communities. I have done this in the past and it was something I have always enjoyed doing. The plan was to show a predators film called “Perfect Mothers, Perfect Predators” to 5 various locations within West Gate.

I started at Kiltamany village on the 10th of July. I first held a baraza (local meeting) with the village elders in the afternoon. We all sat in the Kiltamany lugga and discussed my project. I answered any questions the elders had and this took about an hour or so. In the evening, we tested the film equipment and everything appeared to be working well. We then set up our first bush cinema in the “maendeleo” manyatta, where there was some form of an enclosure. I was concerned about dust and wind on the projector and it was important to find a semi-enclosed place. We tied a white cloth onto some posts which would be the screen.

As soon as I started the generator, people from all over started trickling in. I played the film and it was a huge success. There were close to 200 people who came to watch the film; women, elders, warriors and children too. They loved the scenes of the cheetah running and laughed during the hyena scenes. At the end of the film, I answered a few questions and we then packed up the equipment, and spent the night in the village.

Crowd gathered at Kiltamany

A few days later, I had another baraza with the people of the Sasaab manyatta. This went very well and they were very excited about the project. That night I showed the same predator film to the Sasaab people. This time we tied the white cloth onto Gypsy and sheltered the projector against a small house in the village. Close to 100 people came to watch the film and apart from a few goats causing chaos after they heard lions roaring on the film, it was a huge success.

Leopard scene projected on Gypsy

Sasaab community watching a cheetah scene on Gypsy

Unfortunately I had to return the film unit before I was able to show more films at the 3 remaining locations; Naisunyai, Ngutuk Ongiron and West Gate. However I hope to borrow it again soon to continue showing the films. I hope to eventually buy my own unit one day if I can get some funds. Funds would be required for a projector, DVD player, speakers and a small generator to power the film unit.

The bush cinema and 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. I remember showing a film to a very remote community in Samburu District many years ago. They had never seen any form of moving imagery before and when there was a scene of a cheetah running at full speed, everyone suddenly ran away, leaving my colleague and I surprised and shocked at that had happened but we soon realized that they were running away from the cheetah itself! I could spend days traveling around showing wildlife films and I hope to be able to do so one day! Imagine if I could show everyone Planet Earth?!

3 responses so far

Category: Community | Date: May 22 2008 | By: ewasolions

Phase 4 of the Ewaso Lion Tree Project. Last week I traveled to Attan Primary School, which is South of Buffalo Springs National Reserve. This was the 4th school in the area where trees would be planted. 10 teams were formed with 4 students each. Each team of 4 is responsible for planting, protecting and watering their tree. I provided each student with notebooks and rulers to measure their trees weekly and to write any notes about their tree.

The students began digging their holes. There are goats everywhere in Attan! And whilst digging was going on, the goats even ended up in some of the holes as you can see in the photo below.

Eventually the holes were dug, fertilizer collected from the nearby manyattas (homesteads) and planting began. We had a problem with rocks in some areas and we had to relocate the sites. However, eventually all 10 trees were planted, watered and protected with chicken wire.

To date 51 trees have been planted in the area (4 schools and manyattas). I am really enjoying this project and it has been such fun working with the students on this. After each tree-planting, Raphael gives the students a talk on the importance of trees and why they are crucial to a healthy environment. I visit the schools weekly to see the progress and to check that trees are being watered. So far, out of 51 trees, only 4 have failed. 3 were eaten by goats (who crawled under the chicken wire!) and one was chopped off by a student who was trying to sabotage another student’s growing tree! However, all that has been sorted now and with the support of the school committees, the head-teachers and communities, the trees are doing well.

Please do have a look at the project website field diary for entries on the tree planting in 3 other schools (between January and March 2008). Click here: http://www.ewasolions.org/diary.php

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