Ewaso Lions

Category: West Gate | Date: Jan 25 2009 | By: ewasolions

A few days after the 3 lions killed 3 cows, I was driving in the Conservation Area in West Gate Community Conservancy, when I met the Head of Security patrolling on the main road. He said he had just heard from a herder that a lioness had killed a donkey a few minutes ago.

We drove to the scene approaching slowly so as not to scare away the lioness.  We found her hiding in the bushes very scared and nervous.  She eventually came out and got used to my presence, and then eventually started feeding on the donkey as it got dark.

Lioness nervously hides in the bushes and watches

Lioness coming out slowly. Notice the donkey at the bottom of the photo.  

My first good look at the lioness as she approaches the donkey to start feeding

This was the second incidence in a week where unguarded livestock were killed by lions. Donkeys are rarely herded and are left to move wherever they want.  In this instance, they had wandered across the river into the Conservation Area and one got killed.  The herder across the river with his cows had heard the commotion and crossed over quickly, chasing away the other donkeys.

Tags: conflict, Kenya, Lions, Livestock, Samburu, wildlife

6 responses so far

Category: West Gate | Date: Nov 14 2008 | By: ewasolions

In August, Raphael and Joseph decided to make a permanent base for themselves, especially after the Echo Lima Camp was closed.  They made a traditional Samburu house in West Gate (actually near the gate itself) neighbouring many other homesteads.

Raphael and Joseph’s house on the right with my tent behind it

This has now become a second base for us.  If I am working just for a few days in West Gate, rather then setting up the entire camp, I normally camp here at the outpost, as we now call it.

Raphael and Joseph outside their house

Reading with the warriors

It is a very different life here compared to the Echo Lima Camp.  The goats from the manyattas (villages) move out early mornings and come back at around 4 pm each day.  The cattle have recently come back with the arrival of the rains. We hear children singing every night from their houses, elders sit under trees and talk late into the night, women are often walking down to the river to fetch water and children are running around and playing.  The outpost also gets many visitors daily.  It seems to be a hub for all the warriors in the area and children too.

Kanani, a young girl who lives nearby, often comes to the outpost.  Here she is looking at some photos in a recently published article in the Komba magazine called Predators of Samburu.

Tags: Community, Conservation, Kenya, Lions, Samburu, wildlife

2 responses so far

Category: West Gate | Date: Nov 07 2008 | By: ewasolions

I have just returned from a tough week in the field in West Gate Conservancy.  The rains have finally arrived in Samburu which is great.  I unfortunately chose the wrong time to move back to Echo Lima Camp for a week (its been sunny and blue skies since I left!).

I had scheduled to work at night during this week which meant ground-truthing during the day and driving at night.  During the day, most of the roads were washed away and we came across many road blocks - either elephants had knocked over trees or the Ewaso Nyiro river had brought in lots of debris.  We spent hours clearing away the debris to get through and driving through a lot of water!

Raphael and Ricila clearing away the debris

I am quite excited - I think I have just figured out how to upload my first video onto YouTube and on this blog. Lets hope this works. Click on the video below to see me driving through probably the smallest amount of water during that week.

After that, Gypsy was literally swimming through much more water.  I was especially proud of Gypsy when I was returning to camp one night at 11 pm and had to drive through the Pukur lugga (sand river) which was flowing and the sand was very soft. I walked across to make sure I could do it and decided to give it a go.  I drove through with no problems; sand and water covering the tyres.  I heard the next day that a Landcruiser had got stuck there a few minutes after I had gone through.  Very unfortunate for the Landcruiser, but Go Gypsy!!!  She continues to be a fantastic car for this type of terrain.

The rains were amazing. The Kipsing river was full off water for the first time in months and flowed into the Ewaso Nyiro.  However, unfortunately, our tents are not totally waterproof and every night, rain would leak into them.  One night, I woke to find my back totally wet after rain came through and soaked through the mattress.  We didn’t see sun too much during this week and if there was any sun, the mattresses and blankets would be spread out and our little camp looked like a bush laundromat.

The Ewaso Nyiro River is full

With just a little bit of rain, the Echo Lima Camp and surrounding areas transformed.  It is green everywhere and looks so different to when we left in August.

The Echo Lima camp in October - Gypsy and the tents are in the distance

The hardest part of the week was working at night (I have got very used to sleeping at 8pm!).  One aspect of my research is to estimate the density of lions and hyenas in the community areas, so this required me to work at night.

However, the recent arrival of the rains and using spot lights attracted an enormous number of bugs - the most I have ever seen.  All sorts of flying and crawling bugs and beetles flew into our faces, into the car and however much we tried to cover up, they ended up all over us.  Gypsy currently looks like a bug graveyard.  The beetles seemed to have an interest in my hair and often they would nestle in my hair, only to come crawling out over my face when I returned to camp and was asleep (or trying to sleep) in my tent.  I think I need a genet cat to sit on my head and sieve through my hair picking out the bugs. One thing is for sure - the genet cat would definitely have a feast:)

A rare dry moment  - Francis and I enjoying a cup of tea (trying to keep warm!) whilst out ground-truthing one day

So, although I had the toughest driving experience, was soaked 24-7 and am still removing bugs from my hair, I am glad the rains have finally arrived in Samburu.  It was a long, dry spell and the people, their livestock and the wildlife have really suffered over the past few months.  The cows are returning home, the Ewaso Nyiro is still flowing and it is green everywhere.

The reserve is green once again

Tags: cats, elephants, Ewaso Nyiro, hyenas, Lions, rains, Samburu, wildlife

2 responses so far

Category: West Gate | Date: Oct 04 2008 | By: ewasolions

I closed the Echo Lima camp at the end of August since I would be on safari for much of September and would also be spending some time in Samburu Reserve.

It had been a great few months in this small fly camp in West Gate Community Conservancy and I was sad to pack up and leave. To read more about our experiences and what it was like to live at the Echo Lima Camp, click here.

Packing up camp

Raphael taking inventory

Packing Gypsy

We had a small party the day before leaving and invited all the community members and staff from the nearby lodge who had helped us and been so hospitable during our stay.

Party gathering

Raphael and Joseph give speeches thanking everyone

Ewaso Lions team with the staff from the nearby Sasaab lodge

I will return to West Gate soon as there is still much to do in the conservancy. I am still seeking funds to purchase research canvas tents for the camp and am grateful for any donation that can be made towards this. I will probably set up camp again for another few months early next year. I already can’t wait!

Just before leaving the camp

An empty site

4 responses so far

Category: West Gate | Date: Sep 08 2008 | By: ewasolions

Many of you have asked me what it is like to live at the Ewaso Lions research camp or Echo Lima camp as its known. It has been an amazing few months in this small bush remote camp in the West Gate Community Conservancy and I want to share with you some of our experiences here.

We set up the camp on June 6th. We decided on the location as it was the only flat bit of land we could find which had a few trees and was within close proximity to the nearby Sasaab Lodge staff quarters where we would get water. Our site is open and is at the base of a small rocky hill. On the other side of the hill is the Pukur lugga (sand river) where livestock come to drink during the day and hyenas and lions at night. The views are spectacular as we are surrounded by hills and the Samburu sacred mountain, Ol Lolokwe, is in the distance.

The Pukur lugga near camp

We put up a small mess tent using a canvas sheet and some ropes, a bush kitchen, dug a hole in the ground as a loo, erected some posts for a bathroom and 2 tents for sleeping. We collected dead logs and trees pushed over by elephants to form the posts of the loo, bathroom and kitchen and surrounded them with sack material.

Joseph in the kitchen

The Bathroom

We live in perpetual dust and have had some strong winds over the past few weeks. This is the windiest time of the year and our camp has blown away a few times with the materials surrounding the loo, bathroom and kitchen collapsing. And since the structures are held up by dead trees, everything is always falling over!

We have many animal friends visit our camp on a daily basis. The nearby lodge camels often graze on our site as do donkeys who stray from the Pukur lugga during the day. However they vanished once after they got a whiff of the lion scat near the bush laboratory in camp, and nowadays keep their distance.

We have 2 dik diks that have become so accustomed to our presence that they feed on the Acacia pods in the mess tent whilst we are sitting there! 15 kudus also ran through camp a few days ago which was great to see.

The birdlife is amazing. We have all kinds of hornbills, yellow spotted petronias, various weaver species in camp everyday feeding on the crumbs in the kitchen and near the mess tent.

We also have predators in camp. Hyenas are heard almost on a daily basis and on one occasion 2 hyenas killed a donkey in the Pukur lugga. We’ve also had lions walk through without us knowing it as we saw their tracks in the morning in between my tent and the warriors tent.

Shower and tent area

Big bull elephants love the area. The Kipsing lugga a few kilometers away is one of their favourite resting areas and it is where all the lone bulls come together and hang out in their bachelor groups. Often in the evenings, they leave the Ewaso Nyiro River and move towards the hills feeding well into the night. We have had elephants in camp often at night, and on one occasion 2 huge bulls came and knocked over one of our Acacia trees to the ground. We only had 4 large trees on our site… and now its down to 3.

Unfortunately we also live with termites; a real nightmare to live with! They have been eating away at the loo for a few months now. However much we try to get rid of them, they return. I am worried that they will eat the entire loo and it will collapse at some stage. I may need to get a plastic loo seat soon.

The termite infested loo!

We have many human visitors too during the day. Warriors often walk through camp. Women from the nearby Sasaab village stop by to ask for lifts to West Gate or Archers Post. We chat about the weather, livestock, the village and more. The lodge staff or conservancy scouts and personnel come to say hi often and for a quick cup of chai as we catch up on news within the group ranch. The Echo Lima camp has become a popular spot over the past few months and it has been great meeting new people and getting to know the community.

I am able to power my laptop and charge our phones using a fantastic solar set-up which has worked out really well so far. Thank you so much for your contributions to date towards paying off the loan for the solar system. I still require $200 to complete payments and am grateful for any donation towards this.

Joseph packing away the solar system every evening from the mess tent, which is the shadiest and coolest place in camp

We get water for our camp from the nearby lodge staff quarters. I carry 4 20-litre plastic jerricans in Gypsy and fill them up there. The 4 cans last us about 3 days depending on how many we are in camp. We put 1 jerrican out in the sun for hot water – its amazing how hot it actually gets! Water is scarce in the entire region, and living here has definitely taught me how to use only what is absolutely necessary. It is incredible how quickly one gets used to living off a small bucket of water a day.

Camp tap – a plastic bottle with a hole and covered with duct tape

Meals are simple but wholesome. Our main meal is ugali and dengu (green lentils) which we eat almost every day. I get vegetables once a week from the reserve and this lasts us a few days. We eat a lot of rice too. Joseph recently made bread in a small hole in the ground with some tin foil, coals and pots. It was amazing and the best bush bread I have ever eaten!

The bush oven

Joseph putting the finishing touches on the bread

Bush bread!

We planted 2 umbrella thorn Acacia trees in camp with the intention of planting more. One of our trees was doing really well but sadly we woke up one morning to find it totally eaten. We saw gerenuk tracks all around. The other tree is doing well and we are keeping the dik diks away from it.

Raphael and Joseph plant an Acacia tree in camp

Every morning I leave camp at 5 30 am to drive through the Conservation Area looking for tracks and predators. We are normally back by 8 am by which time Jeneria is ready to leave on his patrol. We then have a radio-call with all the scouts to check that everything is ok before they leave on their patrols and to also see whether anyone heard lions at night or received a report.

I then normally head out again after a quick breakfast of camel milk chai and bush bread. I attend community meetings, conduct recces within the conservancy, map the group ranch, follow the scouts on their routes, visit schools, look for lions or sit in villages and chat to the community about lions. Every day is different and is planned the night before. However, I have learned that it is sometimes best to just head out and see what happens during the day as every day something new and unexpected happens and being flexible is the key to working and living out here. Sometimes planning just doesn’t work!

I normally head back to camp by 3 or 4 pm, have a late lunch and then sit on my laptop doing emails, report writing, funding applications or writing these blogs. By 6 pm, I have a “shower”, we eat dinner by 7 30 and chat and laugh until about 8 or 8 30 and then its off to bed.

Living at the Echo Lima camp is quite an experience. I love every single day of being here. The hot, dusty, windy days with stunning sunsets and starry nights, and working with a great team, has been fantastic and I look forward to new adventures that each day brings.

Heading out on a new adventure…

6 responses so far

Category: West Gate | Date: Jun 12 2008 | By: ewasolions

The Ewaso Lions (known as Echo Lima ) camp has been set up! After doing a lot of running around in Nairobi last week buying solar panels, food, tents and more, I finally made it to Samburu a few days ago. I packed up all my stuff at the elephant research camp where I used to live and drove off to West Gate Conservancy where I would be setting up base for the next few months. After some discussions, a base was established approximately 100 metres away from the staff houses at the stunning Sasaab lodge. We found a suitable site which was relatively flat. Two tents have been put up, one for me and the other for the guys. A little makeshift mess tent as well and a kitchen too pretty much made out of dead trees and branches and a bit of canvas. I am getting water from the staff area of Sasaab Lodge and also they have kindly allowed me to use their internet which is brilliant. The camp is great and already feeling like home!

I have taken a loan out to buy a solar panel, enough to charge my one computer, a rechargeable spot light and a light in the mess tent. Its working really well so far and I am very pleased with the solar set-up. This has all been a learning experience for me and up until a few days ago, I didn’t know how a solar panel, battery, inverter, charge controller all worked! But now I do and its great. I would be so grateful to receive any donations for the solar panel – the entire set-up cost $700.

This will be home for the next 3 months and although it was pretty scary setting this up, I am also excited too. We have heard hyena every night since being here and have seen tracks pretty close to camp. I also went out to drive around and discover West Gate Conservancy and found perfect lion areas where the scouts have been seeing tracks and sightings too. Kudus are around, hyrax everywhere (there is a kopje right next to camp with beautiful views!) and camels too!

My plan for the next few months is to work closely with the scouts, radio-collar some lions and hold some community workshops and also to try and provide an estimate for lion numbers in this community area. Every 2 weeks I will return to Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserve for 2 nights to keep tabs of the resident reserve lions.

Below are a few photos of the camp… on the way to West Gate, unpacking the car, the mess tent, solar set-up, working on my laptop, view of the whole bush camp.

More news from West Gate in the next few days….

9 responses so far