Ewaso Lions

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 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: Other news | Date: Jan 07 2009 | By: ewasolions

I monitor and patrol the Conservation area in West Gate Community Conservancy on a daily basis, recording all sightings of not only predators but wild prey too and even livestock, who at times encroach into this small area in the middle of the conservancy.

A few days ago, during my morning drive, I saw a huge leopard just about to cross the road in front of me. I turned off the engine and waited as the leopard, as most animals in West Gate are, was very nervous. The leopard sat on the road and watched me nervously and it was then that I realized it was actually holding onto something.  It was hard to see what it was but as I tried to get closer the leopard moved off with it.  It was then clear what was being dragged – another leopard.

Male leopard watches me

The leopard dragged the other one across the road holding onto its prey and moved off into the nearby bushes.  It disappeared from sight as it hid in the thick Salvadora bushes on the side of the road.

The leopard dragged its prey and disappeared into the nearby thick bushes

I was confused  -what was going on? Was this a female with her dead young one? Did the lions kill this leopard (3 lions were in the area the previous night) and another leopard found it and was dragging it away? Or did this leopard actually kill this other one?

It became clear that this was indeed a male leopard and not a female one.  A few hours later we returned with the scouts from the conservancy and went into the bushes on foot.  The scouts spotted the dead leopard hidden deep in the Salvadora thicket.  It was a younger male leopard and it had been clearly suffocated by the older leopard.  The killer had eaten a large chunk of the stomach but left the rest.

Remains of the leopard’s prey

The younger leopard had been suffocated

The killer leopard was seen again the following morning in the same area but there were very few remains of the younger dead leopard.

I was and still am pretty shocked.  About a year ago I saw a leopard kill and eat a cheetah in Samburu, but this was the first time I had heard of a leopard killing and eating another leopard.  The reasons are obvious – territoriality, competition.  However, eating it was what shocked me.

The scouts of the conservancy are all intrigued by this occurrence and Stephen, the Head of Security of the conservancy, said “Anything is possible here in West Gate”.

It sure is!

Tags: Africa, Cannibalism, Community, Kenya, Leopards, predators, Prey, Samburu, West Gate, wildlife

17 responses so far