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: Other news | Date: Oct 16 2009 | By: ewasolions

The rains are finally here!!! This is the worst drought that most people can remember.  Livestock and wildlife have died in large numbers over the past few months and the river remained dry for most of the year.  It has been desperate and the most difficult period that I can remember during my years in Samburu.

One of the last surviving warthogs died a few weeks ago

Arid landscape

Digging waterholes in the river for the wildlife

A few weeks ago, we began to see signs of rain.  Dark clouds were forming daily and the days were scorching.  It eventually began to rain all around us but never quite reached Samburu.  The Samburu ladies sang in the river, throwing milk and praying for rain to come.  Each day we would look at the river and wonder if today was the last day we would be digging.  This went on for days.

Rains in the distance

Finally on the 10th of October, the river flowed!  This was such an exciting moment.  We had seen signs of rain all around us and knew that the river had to flow soon.  We got word that the river was seen flowing 20 kms upstream from camp and there was a buzz in camp as we knew that we would see the great Ewaso Nyiro River flow very soon.  At 2 am, we heard it! We rushed down to the river at 5:30 am and saw the river flowing – it was amazing to see large volumes of water come past us.

The Kipsing lugga flowed into the Ewaso Nyiro

Clear views of Mount Kenya and the Ewaso Nyiro the day after the river flowed

All signs of rain then vanished and we had clear skies for a few days.  The river was also beginning to disappear again and dropped to low levels.  People were getting very disappointed and some were beginning to lose hope that it would ever rain at all.  But, on the 14th of October at 4:00 pm, it finally began to rain – properly!!! We rushed around camp, packing everything up and throwing stuff into Gypsy (project vehicle) and sat under our shade and watched the rain fall.  It was amazing.  We recorded our very first rainfall amount with our new camp rain gauge.

Rain close to camp

Jeneria, Ewaso Lions scout, excited after feeling rain for the first time in a year

The Ewaso Nyiro flowing on the 15th of  October

A warthog family walk down to the flowing Ewaso Nyiro to have their first drink of water from the river in months

A dikdik drinks from the small waterholes that have filled many of the roads in the reserve

After months and months of dryness and death all around us, everyone is so excited.  I just hope this is not temporary and the rains will continue over the next few months.  It needs to rain pretty much everyday.  Eventually the area will recover and the wildlife and livestock will come back.  Samburu is a stunning area when its green and lush  - its been so long since I have seen it that way and I can’t wait to see what the area will look like in December.

In the meantime, I am heading home to Nairobi very soon.  It has been a long long field season – and a very difficult one because of the conditions here.  We will be packing up camp over the next few days and I will then be in the reserve watching how everything will respond to the new rains, including how lion movements will begin to change after they have spent months and months along the river.

Speaking of the lions; they are doing great and have had an easy time over the past few months.  I’ll be writing about them soon but in the meantime, here is a photo of Nanyiro, that I took a few days ago.

Nanyiro looking great a few days ago

Its raining all around me and I can hear thunder everywhere as I post this blog!

Tags: drought, Ewaso Nyiro, Lions, Livestock, Samburu, wildlife

8 responses so far

Category: Donors | Date: Sep 17 2009 | By: ewasolions

Dear Michael, Heather and Katherine,

Thank you SO much for your donations to Ewaso Lions.   Things are currently very difficult in the Samburu region -  see my previous blog on the drought.  Your donations will really help us enormously with continuing our conservation efforts.

Thank you again.

With my best wishes from Samburu,

Shivani & the rest of the team

Here is one of our new cubs in Buffalo Springs

Tags: Conservation, drought, Ewaso Nyiro, Lions, Samburu

No responses yet

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: Other news | Date: Mar 12 2009 | By: ewasolions

A few weeks ago, whilst we were in camp we heard that a bull elephant had died about 1 km away.  This big bull is a known individual, called Esidai, and has been studied for many years by the Save the Elephants researchers.

I used to see him often here in West Gate, hanging out with other big bulls.  The bulls like this area; there is plenty of shade, food and water.  When the bulls come into musth, they leave the area and head for the reserves, where they look for females to mate with.

Esidai fell on the river bank and died a few hours later.  We went to see him, together with the researchers from Save the Elephants.  The cause of death could not be established and to this date, we do not know what happened to him.  There were no visible wounds on him.  This is now the second elephant to have died in the area for unknown reasons.

Esidai’s death attracted a lot of interest from the local people

Researchers from Save the Elephants measure his tusks and take various samples

I have gone back a few times to see Esidai after his tusks were removed by the Kenya Wildlife Service.  The hyenas have eaten a small part of him and dragged his trunk to the middle of the river.  But he is pretty much still there, sloped on the river bank…

Esidai - A great loss to West Gate

These are tough times for the residents of Samburu. The local communities, their livestock and the wildlife are struggling now.  The area is terribly dry and there is not much food remaining.  The Ewaso Nyiro river has been dry for months now and elephants are digging into the dry river bed for water, helping the other animals too.

We are all hoping for rain soon.  We did have a huge thunderstorm last night.  I hope this is the beginning of the much awaited for and desperately needed rains…

Tags: elephants, Ewaso Nyiro, hyenas, Samburu, Save the Elephants, West Gate Community Conservancy

3 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 | 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, 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: Other news | Date: Jan 11 2009 | By: ewasolions

A few days ago, I was in camp mid-morning when I received a radio message from the community scouts informing me that an elephant was dying and had lay down.  Two days prior to this I had seen a young female elephant looking very thin in the Conservation Area of West Gate Conservancy.  Her 2.5 year old calf was with her at the time and was happily feeding whilst her mother stood in the sun without moving, looking very thin and unwell.

Sick female elephant a few days before dying

I couldn’t help but think that maybe this was that very same young female who was dying.   I had alerted Save the Elephants a few days before that and their researchers came out to look for the female.  The female was not found then and the urgent radio message about the dying elephant was received the following day.

I rushed out of camp and headed towards the end of the Conservation Area.  After communicating with the community scouts about the elephant’s location and the scouts whereabouts, we drove into the dry river bed of the Ewaso Nyiro River.  I left Gypsy here and we proceeded on foot and crossed the river.

The female was laying down about 30 metres away from the river bank.  Her calf stood by her, wandering into the bushes at times to feed.  This was indeed the very same female I had seen a few days ago.

We sat with the elephant for sometime waiting for the security personnel and Save the Elephants researchers to arrive. The scene attracted many Samburu warriors who were herding their livestock and bathing in the river.  They were curious to know what had happened to this poor elephant and also worried about what would happen to her calf.

Warriors watch the elephant

The young female didn’t move much but we knew she was alive because each time many flies irritated her eyes, she would blink slowly to remove them. She was very thin and her face was sunken in.  It was unclear as to what had affected this elephant to make her so sick before she lay down to die.

The sick female

By 4 pm,  the scouts and researchers arrived.  They decided to wait a while to see if the female would eventually stand up.  She could not be approached too close because of her young calf and we did not want to scare the calf away.

Calf stays with dying mother

I left after 6 hours of watching this poor female.  The community scouts stayed with her during the entire night.  I arrived back at the scene at 6 am and the scouts informed me that the elephant had died during the night. We could hear the calf somewhere in the bushes nearby but I didn’t see her.

During the day, the rangers and security personnel arrived to remove her tusks.  I returned in the evening but still had no sighting of the calf.  I visited the carcass again the following morning and found hyena tracks all around her but strangely, the hyenas did not touch her.  I will be heading back there later today and will keep you posted.

It was unclear as to what killed this elephant.  No obvious wounds were seen and she most likely died of an illness.  Her calf has not been seen since then.  It is my hope that she joined other elephants who were in the vicinity of the area.

Tags: calf, Community, Douglas-Hamilton, elephants, Ewaso Nyiro, hyenas, Samburu, Save the Elephants

7 responses so far