Ewaso Lions

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: Other news | Date: Sep 09 2009 | By: ewasolions

The drought is continuing. This has been the worst drought that most people can remember. I have been in Samburu for 7 years and I’ve never seen it this bad. People working and living here for more than 30 years say they have never seen it this bad. Here is an update of the current situation.

The last few months have been very difficult in the area. The local people, their livestock and the wildlife have all really struggled to survive during this ongoing persistent drought. The rains totally failed in April and the river has barely flowed this whole year. In most places, the Ewaso Nyiro River is the only source of water and the drying of the river has greatly affected the local people. They struggle to find enough water for their livestock who have begun to die daily. They now need to move further in search of pasture and water including inside wildlife areas. But now even these wildlife areas have reduced to nothing. There is not a blade of grass or vegetation cover. Only dust, sand and soil.

Jeneria, Ewaso Lions scout,  gives water to goats from a dug hole with the Samburu elephants in the background

Unfortunately, due to the lack of water, waterbuck, impala, buffalo, warthog, cattle, donkeys and sheep have begun to die everyday. Large groups of close to 20 warthogs that were around in April and May have now reduced to 1 or 2 warthogs and even they have begun to die. I watched a crocodile die the other day. He had come out of hibernation and literally dropped dead outside his hole. More animals will die over the next few weeks reducing the species numbers and diversity within the area. Pressure on the reserves from livestock will continue. Animals are dying; every week, every day, every minute.

Crocodile dies in the Ewaso Nyiro

Vulterine Guineafowl search for water in the dry Ewaso Nyiro

The animals that are still alive are weak and some barely able to move. They traverse through this arid landscape in search of whatever pasture they can find. We have seen animals walking in the river Ewaso Nyiro in zig zigs searching for water and trying to dig.

A thin warthog struggles to stay alive

I have never experienced such a difficult field period and I apologize to everyone for not having written a blog in so long. We are so busy in the field, trying to help in whatever way possible to ease the pressure of the drought on the local people and the wildlife. Every day we are talking to people to try and ask them to tolerate the predators. The local people are losing everything – livestock to the drought and also all remaining livestock are weak and lethargic and get lost, often becoming prey to the roaming predators. We speak to the herders daily, assisting them to find lost livestock, informing them of predator locations and giving advice on where to graze and where not to graze. We are digging waterholes daily, but even this does not appear to be enough, but we are trying to do as much as possible. Each day I drive around and smell death and see carcasses littered all over the landscape during my drives.

Ewaso Lion Scouts digging in the dry river bed

A waterbuck carcass in the Ewaso landscape

On a positive note, the Ewaso Lions are all doing pretty well. They have not really moved far away from the river over the past few months. As the Ewaso Nyiro is one of the only water sources in the area, the lions lay along the river and wait in ambush for prey to come down to drink from the few waterholes that have been dug. They are doing well currently in this dry season as there is lots of food around. With many animals dying, the lions have plenty to choose from. However, due to the drought and the river drying up, there is more pressure on the reserves from livestock, increasing the human threat to lions and we are working hard to try and monitor all individual lions inside the reserves.

Loirish, Kofafeti and her 2 cubs healthy and happy in July after they fed on a giraffe for a few days

I hope to catch up with writing more blogs soon. In the meantime, I hope you can all bear with me as we get through this difficult period. Please do help anyone working and living in a drought stricken area. We need your help as I am sure my fellow bloggers do who are also working hard to help the situation. You can help by making a donation to allow us to keep going with our efforts in helping the people, their livestock and the wildlife.

It is now the middle of September. Everyone is saying rain is on the way and we also see a few signs of clouds building up. Lets hope the rain comes soon. We need it NOW as things are so desperate. I’ve almost forgotten what the river flowing looks like… but believe me, when it does flow, I will be amongst many in Samburu, celebrating.

Tags: crocodile, drought, elephants, Ewaso Nyiro River, Lions, rains, Samburu, wildlife

8 responses so far

Category: Other news | Date: May 27 2009 | By: ewasolions

Here is another blog from guest blogger Nina Fascione- Click here for 1st blog

One day, Steve and I accompanied Shivani when she gave a presentation to the 25  West Gate Community Community scouts who patrol the conservancy monitoring wildlife, enforcing security in the area, preventing illegal grazing in protected core areas, and sensitizing communities to the importance of wildlife.

Working in the bush can be difficult, and giving a PowerPoint talk presented its own unique set of problems. First, we had to borrow a generator and projector to show the PowerPoint images. However, we quickly realized that the village rotunda where Shivani planned to give her talk was far too light from the bright African sun for the pictures to show on the screen.  So, we gathered shukas (traditional, colorful wraps) and hung them around the rotunda to try to block out the light.  No luck.

Setting up the equipment - projector, screen, generator

We then moved the equipment into a near-by office at the Conservancy Headquarters and covered the windows with blankets.  It worked to block out the light, but quickly became a sauna with so many bodies crammed into such a small and airless place.  Nonetheless we persevered, and Shivani gave her presentation. She focused on conflict with wildlife and led a discussion on how to prevent it.  She also showed images of various wildlife tracks and worked with the scouts to identify the various paw prints.  It was a very productive talk.  Interestingly, the suggestions from the scouts as to what tools might work to prevent conflicts with lions, hyenas and other African predators were identical to the methods used in the United States, such as guard dogs and compensation programs to reimburse for livestock killed by predators. One interesting idea was the suggestion from one scout that they practice “natural selection of livestock” to breed livestock that would be more resistant to predators.

Raphael and Shivani going through tracks of different predators

After lunch, I gave a presentation on my work at Defenders of Wildlife.  I was struck by the similarities with Shivani’s talk: human-wildlife conflicts, habitat loss, the problem of pesticides such as carbofuran hurting the environment in both countries and so on.  The topics were the same, the species different.

Explaining about human-wolf conflict in the US

The scouts were fascinated by my slides of North American wildlife – most of them had never seen images of our animals before.  While they thought that wolves were interesting – we explained they were like wild dogs – they thought that grizzly bears were really cool. I had never had such a rapt audience in my life.  I had also never given a talk where every audience member carried a gun!  It was a little disconcerting but without a doubt the most enjoyable presentation I have ever given.

Scouts listening intently

Upon returning to work back in Washington, DC, it was fun to then give a presentation on the wildlife and people of Samburu to my co-workers, completing the sharing of information across continents.

As someone who has maintained both a personal and professional interest in wildlife conservation for years, I cannot praise Shivani’s work enough. While her main focus is on the lion population in West Gate Community Conservancy and the nearby Samburu National Reserve, Shivani knows that any successful conservation program must be comprehensive, incorporating both biological and sociological components. The relationships she’s building with the Samburu people, along with the outreach and education she provides, will clearly help Northern Kenya’s lions and other wildlife for years to come. I encourage all of you who care about Africa’s predators to support her work. And by all means, plan a visit to see this wonderful country and these magical creatures with your own eyes.  Steve and I were sad to leave Shivani and her staff, and we can’t wait until our next trip!

Tags: Conservation, Kenya, Lions, Samburu, West Gate Community Conservancy, wildlife, Wolf

7 responses so far

Category: Other news | Date: May 25 2009 | By: ewasolions

I was thrilled to have Nina Fascione and her husband Steve Kendrot come and stay with us at the Ewaso Lions camp a while back.  Nina is the Vice President for Field Conservation for Defenders of Wildlife and a renowned human-wildlife conflict expert.  Today we have a special guest blog written by Nina!

After looking for her intently for so long that my eyes strained, I wasn’t actually expecting to see her when we did come upon her. Lekuraiyo, standing next to me with our heads sticking out of the top of the jeep (his head sticking out much farther than mine!), gently tapped me on the shoulder and said “lion.”  And there she was, standing partially hidden in the brush and still as a statue, staring at us without moving a muscle, the better to remain unseen.  In my excitement, I leaned down, punched Shivani on the arm and hissed “lion!”  Shivani was thrilled to see Magilani, the lioness she had been monitoring for several weeks, but not as much as I was, as this was my first wild lion. Indeed, it was my first trip to Africa.  Despite having worked with animals and in the conservation world since 1980, I had never before made this journey to the epitome of wildlife meccas.  My husband Steve, also a wildlife biologist, and I traveled to Northern Kenya to visit Shivani and learn more about her work.

Nina with Francis (Ewaso Lions Scout) and Lekuraiyo (Ewaso Lions tracker) standing in Gypsy

I met Shivani when she became a student in the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (EWCL) class, a leadership training program that I co-founded and teach.

Shivani’s large carnivore conservation resonated with me because it parallels the work I oversee in North America as vice-president for field conservation for Defenders of Wildlife. Defenders has successfully worked to restore wolves, grizzly bears and other endangered species to parts of the United States, and the challenges we encounter while doing so are similar to the challenges Shivani faces in her work studying and protecting lions in Kenya: primarily, conflict with humans, including direct conflict as well as human-caused habitat loss and fragmentation.

Conflicts between humans and wildlife can seem like overwhelming obstacles to successful conservation programs.  In the United States, some ranchers and hunters object to the restoration of large carnivores, as they view them as a threat to their livelihoods.  Defenders has helped ameliorate these conflicts through several successful programs, such as our livestock compensation trust, in which we reimburse ranchers for verified livestock losses to wolves and grizzly bears.

We also maintain a proactive program, through which we work with ranchers to take steps to prevent livestock losses.  Defenders will fund the purchase and implementation of tools to keep wolves and bears away from livestock. These methods include livestock guarding dogs, fencing, employing range riders to monitor livestock and so on.

These programs have gone a long way in preventing conflicts, as well as reducing the animosity some local residents feel toward large carnivores and, presumably, the legal or illegal killing of carnivores. Through the Ewaso Lion project, Shivani is similarly working with local people – the Samburu – to understand the causes of and find solutions to prevent conflict and animosity towards predators and other wildlife in Kenya. For example, Shivani is working with local villages to ensure that bomas, the pens made out of brush where the livestock are housed at night, are strong enough to deter predators.

Biological studies are increasingly demonstrating that predators are essential to a healthy ecosystem. In addition, they bring vital economic benefits to regions through ecotourism. And perhaps most importantly, carnivores provide us with deep-rooted cultural and aesthetic values. Whether working to protect wolves in Yellowstone National Park in the United States or lions in the Samburu ecosystem in Kenya, we should all care about their conservation.

Tags: Africa, Conservation, Ewaso Lions, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Kenya, Lions, Samburu, wildlife

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 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: Donors | Date: Feb 19 2009 | By: ewasolions

Dear Karie,

Thank you so much for your donation to the Ewaso Lion Project.  The donation will go directly towards field costs. Your  support is really appreciated and again, thank you!

With my best wishes,

Shivani

This little cub is one of the latest additions to the Ewaso Lions!

Tags: Conservation, Kenya, Lions, Samburu, 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 | Date: Feb 16 2009 | By: ewasolions

We have our first radio-collared Ewaso Lion!  On Thursday the 28th of January, I managed to locate Lguret at 6:36 am.  Lguret was one of the Real Lions – a maneless male who I first saw in July 2008 in West Gate Community Conservancy (WGCC) with 2 other males.  The coalition of 3 moved to Samburu National Reserve (SNR) in September 2008 and have been resident in the reserve since then.

Lguret was spotted in the Ewaso Nyiro river with the other male – Loirish.  I stayed with them until the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) vet arrived, Dr Stephen Chege.  The two males did not move much from the dry river-bed and only stood  to drink from a nearby elephant waterhole and to change position each time the sun was on them.

The two males prior to darting

After Dr Chege arrived, we made plans and decisions of how the lion will be darted and from what position.  I drove into the Ewaso Nyiro and Lguret was darted a few minutes later.  Both males jumped up after Lguret was darted and moved up the river-bank into the saltbush.

Driving into the Ewaso Nyiro finding the right position to dart from

Approaching the 2 males (lions are on the right of the photo)

Lguret darted (see dart near shoulder)

Lguret eventually sat down a few minutes later and we were able to come out of the vehicles.  Dr Chege worked on the health of the lion and took necessary samples, Raphael (Ewaso Lions) and David from Save the Elephants worked on attaching the collar whilst I took all the required measurements.  Lguret was down for a bit under an hour.  Rangers from SNR kept an eye on Loirish, the other male and reinforced the security within the area.

Attaching the radio-collar

Taking required measurements

Eventually the antidote was administered and Lguret came fully round under an hour.  We stayed with him to make sure he was in good condition and not affected by the collar and the operation overall.

Lguret recovering well after the radio-collaring

The radio-collaring operation was a success and we now have the first Ewaso Lion collared! This is the first time that movement data from a lion in Samburu is being gathered and this information is crucial for lion conservation and the management of the ecosystem.  I hope that he will move to WGCC and we will be able to learn this key movement between the reserves and the community area.

Many thanks to Paul Thomson for these great photos

Special thanks to the team from Save the Elephants and Paul Thomson from the African Wildlife Foundation for their assistance with the radio-collaring operation.

Tags: Conservation, Ewaso Lions, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Kenya, Lions, Samburu, Save the Elephants, wildlife

5 responses so far