Ewaso Lions

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: Lions, Reserves | Date: May 19 2009 | By: ewasolions

Hello friends,

I am sorry for the long long silence!  I was in Nairobi all of April, working on data and reports.  I returned to Samburu about 2 weeks ago and have been busy setting up the Echo Lima Camp once again in West Gate Community Conservancy, trying to find the lions, catching up with the Ewaso Lions team and much more.

Sadly, things are not very good here.  The rains have pretty much failed.  Normally when I return to Samburu every May, it is green, the Ewaso Nyiro River is flowing fast, elephants are everywhere, cats are hard to find and all animals are happy and energetic in the lush green vegetation.

This time however, it is a different scene. When I arrived, the river was still dry, elephants were lethargic with numerous calves dying in large numbers, the lions were still in the reserve concentrated along the river and the ground still bare and very very dry.

The Ewaso Nyiro still dry when I returned in early May

The situation in West Gate is no better.  The Samburu people are moving daily in search of rain (its raining around us - just not here), there has been cholera outbreaks in the region with people dying.   Livestock are dying daily and sadly Grevy zebra too.  I was also faced with 3 dead (1 dying) elephants the day we set up the Echo Lima camp.

Amidst this sad news, there is some good news and hope.  It is raining around us and the river finally began to flow after being dry for 5 months!

The Ewaso Nyiro started flowing a few days ago in West Gate Community Conservancy

I had a fantastic sighting of all the lions from the Koitogor Pride in Samburu National Reserve a few days ago.   Nashipai, Nabo and their 5 cubs are looking great and healthy.  The cubs have grown and are almost full size now.  Uni’s 4 cubs have all survived and are also looking healthy.  It is always such a relief to see the lions after being away for a long time.

Nashipai and one of her cubs looking great during the persistent dry season in the reserve

Uni’s cubs looking healthy

There is much more to report on - some good and some bad.  I will be posting many more blogs about everything soon, so stay tuned. Some really exciting news is also on the way….

But in the meantime, where is the rain? We keep hoping it is still on the way…

Tags: elephants, Ewaso Lions, Ewaso Nyiro, Lions, Samburu, West Gate Community Conservancy

2 responses so far

Category: Lions | Date: Mar 26 2009 | By: ewasolions

It was just after 4 pm yesterday when I came across Nabo and Nashipai, the 2 main lionesses from the Koitogor Pride, in the middle of suffocating an adult male impala, in Samburu National Reserve.  Nabo held onto her prey’s throat with her jaws whilst Nashipai started eating.

Two lionesses from Samburu, Nabo and Nashipai, kill an impala

Nashipai only ate for a few minutes, stood up and walked off towards the Ewaso Nyiro River.  She went for a quick drink at a nearby waterhole and then disappeared from sight.  Nabo continued to eat but constantly looked in the direction that Nashipai had disappeared to.

Nashipai leaves to get the cubs

Nabo continues to feed on the impala

About 15 minutes later, I turned around and saw a beautiful scene.  Nashipai had gone to get the 5 cubs (2 cubs are Nashipai’s and 3 are Nabo’s).  They were all walking in the middle of the river heading our way.  They came close and suddenly the cubs saw Nabo eating the impala.  They ran towards her and pounced on top of the impala.

Cubs feast on the impala

All 5 cubs ate and ate together with Nabo whilst Nashipai sat nearby waiting and licking the blood off herself.  They fought over small pieces of meat and played tug-of-war with the bones and legs.

I watched them finish every single piece of the impala for more than 2 hours.  Loirish one of the males eventually showed up. He let them eat for a while before heading to the kill and getting a small share.  Nashipai eventually stood up and picked at some remaining scraps.

Loirish, the resident male in Samburu, watches and waits at a distance

Loirish joins the rest of the pride on the impala kill

Kills are hard to see in Samburu because of the thick bush and the lions here are often hunting at night.  It has been a long time since I have seen a kill.  The lions are doing really well these days.  Most of the other animals are struggling in this drought, but the lions just lay in wait along the river and ambush whatever comes down to drink at the waterhole.

This was a great scene and fantastic to watch the 5 cubs of Samburu tear away at an impala together with Nabo and Loirish.  Nashipai, my favourite lioness, was amazing.  She didn’t each much, left the kill to go and fetch the cubs and even upon return, allowed the cubs to eat.  It was a very special few hours…

Tags: Cubs, drought, Ewaso Nyiro, impala, kill, Lion, Lioness, Samburu

One response so far

Category: Lions, West Gate Community Conservancy | Date: Mar 17 2009 | By: ewasolions

Magilani.  She is a beautiful lioness surviving by herself in the Conservation Area in West Gate Community Conservancy.  Here is her story…

Last year I was fortunate to see my first group of “Real Lions“.  These lions are community lions. They live in community areas and struggle to survive surrounded by people and livestock.  The first 3 “Real Lions” I identified moved over to Samburu National Reserve in September 2008, but one female stayed.

And this is Magilani.  Magilani is a 4 year old female.  Her name means “The clever one” in the local Samburu language.  The community scouts named her during a recent workshop I held with them.  The name suits her perfectly.

Magilani lives alone in the Conservation Area.  I have never seen her with other lions and for a long time I thought she may have cubs that she has hidden in the area which is why she never leaves.  I used to only see her tracks for days, but then finally got a sighting of her in January when she killed a donkey that had strayed into the Conservation Area.  Over weeks, we could only get a glimpse of her coming out of the thick Salvadora persica (toothbrush tree) bushes.  There is a certain gap that she normally emerges through between 6:30 pm and 7:00pm.  It is as if she is almost remote controlled!  I would sit and wait at the gap and sure enough, between that time, her head would pop out.

We would not move.  I would try and balance my camera and be ready for her to get an ID photograph.  Any movement or sound in the car would scare her off.  Often because the light was so poor at this time, I would change the ISO speed on my camera to the maximum, try to be steady (although I’ve always been so excited to see her, my hands would be a bit shaky!) and take some photos, whilst trying to look at her whisker spots at the same time with binoculars - all without moving much!

The first full view we had of Magilani - taken a few weeks ago.  Photo is a bit blurry because of the time of day and I did not want to use a flash to scare her away. 

We figured out in the end that she does not have cubs.  However, she still stays pretty much in the same area.  She feels safe here. But I do wonder how this 4 year old female in her prime is surviving out here by herself.  I have seen tracks of males in the same area a few times but they disappear for days and she stays behind.  She comes out of the thick bushes to hunt in the evening and returns late at night to the same place.

Magilani hiding in the bushes - Photo: Steve Kendrot (USDA)

Recently, we have worried about her because of the livestock pressure in the area.  Although I have not seen her in 2 weeks, I have seen her tracks. We are dedicating a lot of time and effort to the Conservation Area, together with the West Gate Community scouts, to try and ensure that the wildlife continue to feel safe here.

Magilani is really hiding now; coming out very briefly to look for food and then returning.  I hope that I see her soon. By watching her over the next few months, I can learn more about what makes her stay where she is and how she survives alone.  However, I am leaving West Gate within the next week to return to Samburu National Reserve and then to Nairobi. I hope she is still around when I return.

I will keep you posted on this very special female.  She is a community lion and a real survivor…

Tags: Community, Conservancy, Conservation, Lioness, Lions, Samburu, West Gate, wildlife

5 responses so far

Category: Lions | Date: Mar 09 2009 | By: ewasolions

A few days ago I was tracking Lguret, the lion we radio-collared a month ago, when I found him walking in some saltbush plains watching a buffalo in Samburu National Reserve.  He was with his brother Loirish.  They came across a giraffe and showed no interest in him, but then appeared to be very wary of a buffalo that was in the vicinity of the area.

Lguret, the radio-collared lion, ignoring a giraffe and watching a buffalo

Lguret suddenly started moving off quickly and I turned around to see why.  The buffalo was running towards him and Loirish!  The buffalo sped past me and the lions scampered up into Koitogor Hill for safety.  Lguret went one way and Loirish the other.  The buffalo did not give up  -he chased Loirish up some rocks and I lost sight of Lguret as he fled in fear.  The photos below show what happened.

Buffalo chases Lguret

Buffalo gives up on Lguret and looks for Loirish

Buffalo comes back for Lguret after chasing Loirish

The chase continues

Loirish jumps to safety high up on some rocks

This is the second time I have witnessed a serious buffalo-lion chase here in Samburu.  The first was in September when 3 buffalo chased Uni and these very same males.

Tags: Buffalo, Collaring, Giraffe, Lions, Samburu

2 responses so far

Category: Lions | Date: Feb 18 2009 | By: ewasolions

There is great news to report from Samburu!  There are 4 new cubs!  Uni, one of the resident females in Samburu National Reserve, has just come out with her cubs.  I was very fortunate to see her moving her 4 cubs from one thick bushy area to another.  The cubs are just under 8-9 weeks old.

Uni moving one of her cubs

Uni with her cubs

One of the cubs!

Samburu now has 9 cubs; 3 belonging to Nabo, 2 to Nashipai and 4 to Uni.  After a couple of years with no cubs, this is fantastic news for the area and we are all really excited about this.

Tags: Cubs, Ewaso Nyiro, Lions, Samburu, wildlife

6 responses so far

Category: Lions | Date: Feb 16 2009 | By: ewasolions

We have our first radio-collared Ewaso Lion!  On Thursday the 28th of January, I managed to locate Lguret at 6:36 am.  Lguret was one of the Real Lions – a maneless male who I first saw in July 2008 in West Gate Community Conservancy (WGCC) with 2 other males.  The coalition of 3 moved to Samburu National Reserve (SNR) in September 2008 and have been resident in the reserve since then.

Lguret was spotted in the Ewaso Nyiro river with the other male – Loirish.  I stayed with them until the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) vet arrived, Dr Stephen Chege.  The two males did not move much from the dry river-bed and only stood  to drink from a nearby elephant waterhole and to change position each time the sun was on them.

The two males prior to darting

After Dr Chege arrived, we made plans and decisions of how the lion will be darted and from what position.  I drove into the Ewaso Nyiro and Lguret was darted a few minutes later.  Both males jumped up after Lguret was darted and moved up the river-bank into the saltbush.

Driving into the Ewaso Nyiro finding the right position to dart from

Approaching the 2 males (lions are on the right of the photo)

Lguret darted (see dart near shoulder)

Lguret eventually sat down a few minutes later and we were able to come out of the vehicles.  Dr Chege worked on the health of the lion and took necessary samples, Raphael (Ewaso Lions) and David from Save the Elephants worked on attaching the collar whilst I took all the required measurements.  Lguret was down for a bit under an hour.  Rangers from SNR kept an eye on Loirish, the other male and reinforced the security within the area.

Attaching the radio-collar

Taking required measurements

Eventually the antidote was administered and Lguret came fully round under an hour.  We stayed with him to make sure he was in good condition and not affected by the collar and the operation overall.

Lguret recovering well after the radio-collaring

The radio-collaring operation was a success and we now have the first Ewaso Lion collared! This is the first time that movement data from a lion in Samburu is being gathered and this information is crucial for lion conservation and the management of the ecosystem.  I hope that he will move to WGCC and we will be able to learn this key movement between the reserves and the community area.

Many thanks to Paul Thomson for these great photos

Special thanks to the team from Save the Elephants and Paul Thomson from the African Wildlife Foundation for their assistance with the radio-collaring operation.

Tags: Conservation, Ewaso Lions, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Kenya, Lions, Samburu, Save the Elephants, wildlife

6 responses so far

Category: Lions | Date: Feb 14 2009 | By: ewasolions

Hello all!

I am so sorry for not writing in a few weeks.  We have been super busy here in Samburu and it has been non-stop for us.  I have much to report on, but first wanted to share with you some images taken last week of the 5 Samburu cubs in a tree.

I had a great sighting of them.  They played, slept, jumped, watched and generally just hung out in this dead Acacia tree.  3 of the cubs are Nabo’s and 2 of the little ones are Nashipai’s.  All cubs are healthy and doing really well.

The river is totally dry and all prey are congregated along the river.  This is good news for the lions as they wait and ambush their prey almost daily.  However, it is not great news for the rest of the animals and also the people and their livestock.

I also have some great news to share with you, and will write about this soon!  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the images below of the cubs from the Koitogor Pride in Samburu.

Shivani

Tags: Conservation, Kenya, Lions, Samburu, wildlife

5 responses so far

Category: Lions, West Gate Community Conservancy | Date: Jan 16 2009 | By: ewasolions

During my regular monitoring of the Conservation Area in West Gate Conservancy,we saw a Samburu elder in the distance who appeared to be walking around keenly searching for something.

I turned off the engine and we walked towards him asking if there was any problem and the reason he was in the Conservation Area at 6:15 am.  He said that during the night, 15 cows had wandered across the river into the Conservation Area.  Three of those cows had been killed by lions at 5:30 am - not long before we arrived.  He was in the process of looking for the other lost cows.

I alerted the community scouts via the security radio and they soon arrived to assist with looking for the cows and also to investigate the lion killings.  We walked around and the elder showed us the 3 cows that the lions had killed.

Cow killed by lion

It was clear from the tracks and the layout of where the lions had killed the cows, that there were 3 lions who had killed the 3 cows.  They had dragged off most of the first cow and we were unable to find the remains initially. Later on, we found the head and body stashed in a thick bush.   The second cow had been eaten partially, mainly at the rear and it was clear that the lions had eaten most of the third cow.

Ricila, Ewaso Lions tracker, looks at the remains of the eaten bull

Eventually the community scouts and the Samburu elder found the lost cows and they were herded back across the river.  The elder was not happy at all as he had lost approximately Kenya Shillings 100,000 ($1300) as a result of this incidence.   Two of the cows killed also had young calves back in the village and he was concerned about their survival.

The scouts monitored and patrolled the Conservation Area for the rest of the day to ensure that livestock did not wander in again and also to ensure that the lions were protected in this small area.

That evening the elders from the village where the cows had come from, returned to cut up the remains of the cows and roast the meat.  Donkeys arrived late in the night to transport all the meat back to the village.

I returned the following morning and all that remained from this conflict incidence, were many vultures and marabou storks feeding on the few remains of the cows.

Tags: conflict, Conservation, Ewaso Nyiro, Kenya, Lions, Livestock, predators, Samburu, wildlife

8 responses so far

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

I just wanted to remind readers or inform anyone who did not know of this story - Samburu was the home to a very interesting and unusual lioness, called Kamunyak, who adopted a baby oryx antelope in 2001/2002 and continued to do so on 5 other occasions.

I only got to see Kamunyak (meaning “the miracle one” in the local language) once, in December 2002.  She soon disappeared and I spent many months looking for her in 2003, however was unsuccessful.  I hope that wherever she moved off to, she was able to have cubs and live a normal lioness’s life…

For photos and more information of this amazing and unusual story, click here.

Tags: Douglas-Hamilton, Kamunyak, Kenya, Lions, Oryx, Samburu

4 responses so far