Above, Luca's Bull recovering after his close call
As a response to the article posted below and in reference to MWCT’s Simba Project, we thought we should share this story with you…..
Luca is the owner of MWCT partner organization, eco-lodge Campi Ya Kanzi, and the founder of MWCT. While he has often been referred to as “white Maasai,” he is by no means as wealthy as many Maasai within Kuku are in terms of ngombe, or cows, which are incredibly valuable to the pastoral Maasai. Luca keeps just a few cows, who are usually found grazing within the boundaries of Campi ya Kanzi. Two days ago, his biggest bull had a close call with a lion, who tried to have it for lunch. Luckily, the bull was too big and was able to escape the lion with just a few scratches.
This is the first time in 14 years that one of Luca’s own cows has been attacked by a lion, and to us, exemplifies the success of the Simba Project, where we are seeing a significant increase in the number of lion predation incidents. Just this morning, we were informed by our verification officer of a leopard who has been regularly feasting on sheep in one of the nearby villages, but because of the SP, the community has taken no action to harm the leopard.
Had he lost his largest bull, Luca wouldn’t have gone after the lion, spear in hand, but had it been a bull belonging to a local Maasai, without the guaranteed compensation from the SP, we may very well have one less lion in Kuku as a result of poisoning or spearing.
