Ewaso Lions

Category: West Gate Community Conservancy | Date: Mar 22 2009 | By: ewasolions

A few nights ago I woke up at 3 am to hear hyenas all around my tent at the Echo Lima Camp in West Gate Community Conservancy.  They were whooping and running around everywhere. This went on for about an hour and then suddenly stopped.  I went back to sleep and awoke the next morning to discover that 2 donkeys had been killed by the hyenas just on the other side of the camp.

Raphael and I went to look and investigate the conflict incidence.  Basically the 2 donkeys had strayed and were wandering  the area when the hyenas found and attacked them.

Raphael recording the conflict incidence

Remains of the second donkey

Donkeys are often not looked after or herded properly.  They stray and are killed by predators.  Magilani, the lioness, killed a donkey earlier in the year and I suspect that is not the first time she did that.  Donkeys are useful animals here - they are used to transport goods (especially when people are moving homes) and also to carry water.  But, their value is not really regarded and they are often left alone.  During our community meetings, we emphasize the need for better herding practices and how this will reduce livestock loss to predators.

Tags: conflict, Donkeys, hyenas, Lioness, predators, West Gate Community Conservancy

2 responses 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: West Gate Community Conservancy | Date: Mar 15 2009 | By: ewasolions

I moved to West Gate from Samburu National Reserve in May 2008, and set up the Echo Lima (Ewaso Lions) Camp here.  West Gate is a community owned and managed group ranch, where local communities, their livestock and wildlife all live together.  It is a stunning area and is adjacent to Samburu.

View of West Gate

The goal of West Gate is to “… develop a platform for the Samburu pastoralist community living within the Group Ranch to reduce poverty levels through integrated eco-friendly tourist activities and conservation” (taken from the Northern Rangelands Trust website).

Within the conservancy, there is a small Conservation Area.  Every morning and evening I  drive in the area, recording all wildlife that I see along set routes along the river.  The Conservation Area is only 2 years old but wildlife numbers have increased as a result of the dedicated West Gate scouts who put so much time and effort into working here.  It is a small area - but there is much to see.  Over the past few months I have been delighted to record lions, leopard (this is where we saw leopard cannibalism), hyenas and even a caracal!

Scanning the Conservation Area 

More views of the Conservation Area

There are many challenges here though…the area surrounding the Conservation Area has a lot of livestock especially across the river in Isiolo District.  The Conservation Area is under intense pressure from the livestock and local communities who are seeking new pastures especially now with the drought.  The area is a small paradise for wildlife…the bush is thick, there is wild prey, there are plenty of places to hide and it is a place where animals now feel safe.

The West Gate community scouts and the Ewaso Lions team are working hard to ensure that animals continue to feel safe here and are well protected.

There is a special animal who calls this little Conservation Area her home.  Do read my next blog to find out who she is…

Tags: Community, Conservation, hyenas, Leopard, Lions, Livestock, Samburu, West Gate, wildlife

5 responses so far

Category: West Gate Community Conservancy | Date: Mar 04 2009 | By: ewasolions

Exciting news!  Although we hear hyenas almost every night from the Echo Lima Camp in West Gate Community Conservancy, it is always hard to see them and so far we’ve only managed to get quick glimpses at night.  However, finally a few weeks ago we had 2 superb sightings of spotted hyena.

I was driving through the Conservation Area when we saw 5 cross the road in front of us.  A few days later, we saw 7 spotted hyena in the same area!  This is the first time that such a large spotted hyena grouping has been recorded in this area.

(Photo above taken by Steve Kendrot USDA)

Spotted hyenas in West Gate

Hyenas are rarely seen in both the reserves and in West Gate.  Tracks are seen from time to time - mainly striped hyena tracks in Samburu and spotted hyena tracks in West Gate.  They do cause a lot of conflict in West Gate and often raid bomas at night.  We are currently gathering data on the conflict in West Gate between the various predators and livestock.

A few days after the hyena sighting, we were driving along when we came across this little predator…

Caracal feeding on dik dik

I have seen caracal twice before but rarely got a good look.  This caracal had just killed a dik dik when we came across it and he proceeded to feed on the dik dik for close to an hour right in front of us.  It was an amazing sighting and such a beautiful animal to watch.

This seems to be the month for my first proper sightings of these incredible predators; first the hyenas,  followed by the wild dogs and then the caracal!

Tags: caracal, conflict, hyenas, predators, Samburu, Spotted Hyenas, West Gate Community Conservancy

5 responses so far

Category: West Gate Community Conservancy | Date: Mar 02 2009 | By: ewasolions

The community scouts in West Gate Community Conservancy patrol the area daily to keep livestock out of the Conservation Area, monitor and record wildlife species and generally maintain security within the Conservancy.  Ewaso Lions has 3 scouts that are part of the West Gate scouts network.  Often the scouts work and stay out in the field at night.  Recently, they stayed overnight with the young female elephant who died in January and also “Esidai”, a bull elephant who died a few weeks ago (I will blog about him soon).

Jeneria Lekilele (Ewaso Lions scout) herding goats away from the Conservation Area, after they strayed across the river

However, the scouts have struggled to stay out in the field at night due to the mosquitoes and the cold that springs upon them late at night.  We decided to donate one of our small camp tents to assist them with their duties. Stephen, the Head of Security of West Gate, was very grateful and said that now nothing will stop them from protecting the increasing wildlife in the Conservation Area.

Stephen with the tent at the West Gate Headquarters

I felt that the community scouts needed this tent a lot more than we did.  This tent stayed pretty much in my car if/when I happened to get stuck out in the field overnight.  However the reality is that we are short of a tent now. If you are able to make a small donation for us to get one again, we would really appreciate it.  The one we donated to West Gate cost us approximately $6o.

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

One response 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