Ewaso Lions

We are slowly getting back on our feet here in Samburu and trying to recover from the devastating floods. I will write more soon about my personal experience of being caught in the floods, but for now I wanted to update you on where we are now.

The Save the Elephants research camp is slowly drying out and things are still being recovered from the bushes.  Some tents were pulled out from masses of mud and sand and a few belongings recovered.  The research centre is dry, power is on and the internet is also working.  A temporary camp has been set up with little pup tents on the hill near the camp.  The county council trucks also have arrived with water – finally there is clean water and the washing can begin.

I don’t think these computer disks are going to work so well.

Elephant Watch Camp staff are also working hard at removing all the remains of the camp and are also recovering things buried in mud more than 1 km away!  They have also set up a temporary camp thanks to tents dropped off by the British Army helicopter.

Oria Douglas-Hamilton, owner of Elephant Watch, at one of the destroyed rooms.

We received a generous donation of 1200 kg of maize meal, which arrived yesterday thanks to STE trustee Pete Henderson and the African Wildlife Foundation.  The Red Cross also responded to our appeal and arrived with enough blankets, mosquito nets and cooking utensils for the Samburu rangers and Save the Elephants.

Red Cross representatives (left) handed out supplies.

It is still raining in Samburu.  I did manage to drive to our camp in West Gate a few days ago through a temporary road.  The rain has made the luggas almost impassable but we just made it through.  I checked in with all the guys in camp who are doing well and keeping busy with trying to keep camp dry from the huge amounts of rain we keep getting.  We were fortunate – our camp is located about 1 km away from the river.  However, others were not so fortunate – and we are trying to assist as much as possible.

It is hard to think about next week or even tomorrow at this stage.  We are just thinking of now and planning for the hour.  Samburu Reserve will take many months to recover and I hope it wont be too long before tourists will resume coming here.  I will be doing my first game drive today to see how the reserve has been affected and to see if Pixie, Nabo, their cubs and the rest of the lions are ok.

I used to love to hear the sound of the Ewaso Nyiro River flow… however now when I hear it at night, I begin to panic and worry that it will come up again.

Thank you to Red Cross, AWF, Tropic Air (who were amazing and came to evacuate tourists and drop water just when we really needed it) and so many others who have assisted us.   Many donations are also coming in and we are so grateful for this.  This will go directly to getting Samburu back on its feet once again. Thank you and please share your comments.

The 1,200 kg of maize-meal donated to Ewaso Lions for Samburu flood victims.

More photos showing the wreckage caused by the massive flood in Samburu on March 4.

Samburu National Reserve after the Ewaso Nyiro River burst its banks.

This used to be the Uaso Bridge, a main bridge connecting Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves.

David Daballen of Save The Elephants stands where camp used to be.

The destroyed sign that welcomed visitors to Samburu National Reserve.

A vervet monkey killed in the flood.

The wreckage at Save The Elephants research camp.

Debris lying out to dry at Elephant Watch.

The kitchen of Elephant Watch.

Samburu County Councilors visit the destroyed camp.

A dik dik, like so many, killed in the flood.

One of the destroyed bedrooms at Elephant Watch.

The British Army provided this tent for Elephant Watch staff to have some shelter.

Ewaso Lions is helping provide food and supplies to those who lost their lodges, camps, homes, jobs, and personal possessions in the flood. Please donate to help, or email paul at ewasolions dot org

All donations will go directly to Samburu.

Thank you!

I’ve just received these photos from Shivani who is in the reserve dealing with the aftermath of yesterday’s massive floods in Samburu.

Photos above: Flooding at Save The Elephants camp.

A helicopter helps evacuate people.

Save The Elephants expects the damages to their camp to be in the hundreds of thousands of US dollars.

Shivani with a dying baby waterbuck.

Virtually no wildlife has been seen in the reserve since the floods. Many drowned dik dik have been found. Small and young animals were unable to escape the flash floods or have died of exposure, while many larger animals like elephants have disappeared; presumably they’ve gone up into the hills.

We are very concerned for the lions, several of whom had young cubs and were last seen close to the river. We will keep you updated.

Please help Samburu. We are collecting food and shelter items as well as donations for a relief effort. Many people are now homeless and without food and clean water. To help, please donate through this blog. If you are in Nairobi and want to donate food and other goods, call Paul at 0722454494 or  paul at ewasolions.org  Thank you!

Samburu has been hit by a massive flood which has destroyed six lodges and the Save The Elephants research camp. The wreckage is unbelievable. There have been no reports of casualties and the Ewaso Lions team is ok.

Around 5am this morning, a giant flashflood came down the Ewaso Nyiro river, washing away lodges and camps. Our friends at Elephant Watch and Save The Elephants managed to reach high ground, but the camps were wiped out.

Elsewhere, people were on treetops and roofs waiting for help. The British Army, Tropic Air, and others spent the day evacuating people out of the area.

Our camp is far enough from the river so that it survived. Several people from the reserve, who have nowhere else to go, have come to our camp for the night. I don’t know what will happen next.

What’s especially frightening is that a lot more rain is expected.

The drought was bad, but this is truly devastating. Samburu will need a lot of help. Please keep watching the blog; we’ll post more soon. For more updates, see our Twitter page: http://twitter.com/EwasoLions

One of the lodges in the flooded Ewaso Nyiro river. Photo by Heritage Hotels Kenya.

Samburu is so beautiful as I write this.  Although the initial rains in October stopped for 4 weeks and everything began to dry up in November, we were fortunate to receive about 5 days of rain in early December.  The land has transformed.  It is so green, grass is everywhere and the Ewaso Nyiro River is still flowing.  Impala and oryx are fattening up, elephants have slowly returned to the reserves and lions are moving far and wide in search of prey.  The contrasts are extreme.  From the dust, death and devastation of the year, the brown layer has finally been washed away.

Rain clouds in October

Buffalo Springs National Reserve in October after the first rain

The same view of Buffalo Springs  in December

Samburu, the people, the wildlife and livestock, are all so fortunate to have received this rain.  I hear from my friends and colleagues in the South that they have received no rain at all.  Lets hope that some relief arrives for them.

We are busy setting up camp, locating the lions daily and meeting with the communities.  Christmas is also round the corner and we are getting prepared for that too!

Elephants return to a green Samburu

Healthy oryx watch sleeping lions

More news coming soon!

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!

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…

I was very fortunate yesterday to witness something very special.  I had gone out just before noon to collect some lion scat in Samburu National Reserve, when I drove around the corner and saw a new baby giraffe drop from its mother.  I drove over cautiously, grabbing for my camera.

I watched for 2.5 hours as the newborn opened his eyes, tried to stand after falling more than 10 times, being cleaned and licked by his mother and also welcomed to the world by other female giraffes in the area.  It was a very special scene and definitely one of the highlights of my years in Samburu.  Below are some of the images of this extraordinary event.

The newborn just after its birth

Giraffe baby trying to stand

Giraffe baby falling over as it tries to stand

Baby giraffe wobbly on his feet

Baby giraffe stands for the first time

A male giraffe comes to check out mother and baby

Mother cleans baby

Another female welcomes the newborn

Mother licks baby

Needless to say, I forgot all about collecting the lion scat!  I found both baby and mother again this morning and he’s doing really well.  2 jackals came close to him and he watched as they jumped around and ran away.

Its tough times for young prey at the moment.  The river has been dry for months and there is not much food around.  And lions are everywhere!  This baby survived through his first night surrounded by 3 lions so I think he is a real survivor!

I am off now to go and find the lion scat… I hope its still there!

I am super excited to report that I saw wild dogs on the 21st of February in Samburu National Reserve!  This was the 4th time I have seen wild dogs, but by far this was the best sighting I have had.  Prior to this, I have only seen them at night and dashing across the road.  This time, I was able to have a good look at them and watch them cross the road behind me chasing dikdiks.  There were 7 dogs in total and a few of them were youngish pups.

Wild dogs are endangered and numbers have fallen to only a few thousand in Africa, mainly due to habitat loss and hunting.  Here, the wild dogs use the area to move between Laikipia and Samburu Districts, but it now appears they may be resident somewhere in the area; between the reserve and West Gate Community Conservancy. On the 19th of February, they were in West Gate and I saw them a few days later in Samburu Reserve.

With only a few hundred wild dogs remaining in the Samburu-Laikipia ecosystem (their numbers are increasing), I feel totally privileged to have seen a few of them.

Below are a few photos of some of the dogs that I saw. 

I journeyed to Shaba a few weeks ago for 2 days. It had been many months since I had last visited Shaba and I was really excited to go.

Shaba is a stunning reserve, East of Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves. It is larger than Samburu and Buffalo Springs and has many more swamps and springs to attract wildlife, especially large herds of buffalo. The Ewaso Nyiro flows through it and there are beautiful sites all along the river to visit.

Stunning scenery in Shaba

Another important difference – lions. There are many lions in Shaba but no estimate has been acquired as yet. The lions are also bigger and stay in their prides. And it appears that their main prey is buffalo!

Shaba is also home to big bull elephants, Grevy zebra, tons of buffalo, the big cats and much more. It was also the home of Penny, the leopard, who was raised and released by Joy Adamson in the late 70s.

We drove around for 2 days and I was thrilled to come across 7 lions hunting buffalo. It has been ages since I have seen such a large number of lions together. I managed to get a few ID shots of them and this was the beginning of my Shaba lion identity database.

First lion in Shaba to be identified

This was just a small taster of what’s in store in this dramatic landscape. I hope to spend 3-4 months in Shaba to census the lions and get a detailed understanding of lion ecology in this area. One thing I know for sure is that there are exciting times ahead and I can’t wait.