Ewaso Lions

Category: Team | Date: May 20 2009 | By: ewasolions

I am very excited to let you know that I am the recipient of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) Africa Section Young Women Conservation Biologist of the Year award!

More information that was announced recently is below:

Young Women Conservation Biologists Award
won by Kenyan Lion Researcher Shivani Bhalla

The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) Africa Section Young Women Conservation Biologists Awards Panel has unanimously selected Shivani Bhalla as the winner of this year’s Young Women Conservation Biologists Award – the third year that the award has been presented.

In addition to Ms. Bhalla’s academic excellence, her breadth and depth of activities in the conservation and community awareness arenas was second to none.  Dr Phoebe Barnard (SCB Africa Section Award Panel Chair 2007 and 2009) said that “We in Africa are really fortunate to have conservation biologists with such passion and energy in our midst.”

Ms. Bhalla is currently attaining her PhD through the University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology.  Working with pastoralists in Samburu, Northern Kenya, Ms. Bhalla is working to reduce livestock loss to predators, tracks lions movements in and out of the protected areas (Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba National Reserves), and monitors habitat changes and prey numbers. Africa’s lion population has been dramatically reduced in recent years primarily from habitat reduction and human-lion conflict. Ms. Bhalla states, “If local communities are not engaged as part of the solution, lions will disappear from the landscape.”

The Award certificate will be presented at the 2009 SCB meeting, to be held in Beijing from 11-16 July, 2009. This year’s mainstream SCB awardees (for the SCB LaRoe and Distinguished Service Awards) include Joel Berger, George Schaller and Kamal Bawa, and Shivani will be attending the conference to receive her award personally.

The 2007 winner of the YWCB Award was Margaret Aanyu, freshwater biologist from Uganda, and the 2008 winner was Kristal Maze, chief director of biodiversity planning and mainstreaming from South Africa.

Click here:

http://www.conbio.org/2009/awards

Tags: Kenya, Lion, Samburu, Society for Conservation Biology

9 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