MWCT Celebrates World Lion Day 2014!

The Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust joins the rest of the world in celebrating World Lion Day on August 10, 2014! 

As we are all unfortunately aware, the global lion population is decreasing rapidly across the continent of Africa. Throughout Kenya, communities and organization are working incredibly hard to mitigate issues and increase protection of such an iconic species to the country, and its' people. It was made very clear to Campi ya Kanzi and MWCT that their help is continually needed to ensure that lions will be in existence for generations to come!

The Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust is finding dedicated ways to contribute to a holistic strategy in addressing increasing threats to such a vulnerable and crucial keystone species.

Specific increasing pressures are growing on the lion population, particularly on community owned Maasai land, the case for the lions resident of Kuku Group Ranch in southern Kenya, where MWCT is operating its' efforts. As the human population grows worldwide and in Kenya, lions are threatened by habitat fragmantation from human development; lack of natural prey base on the particular community land due to migrant movements to National Parks; and direct prosecution - such as the traditional ritual of lion hunting in Maasai warrior culture.

MWCT is holistically approaching these above threats through various means. By protecting vital habitats through the creation of conservancies (tourism partner Campi ya Kanzi is located entirely in its' own conservancy), combating issues like poaching with strategic anti-poaching teams and patrols, hiring and positioning wildlife monitors across the Group Ranch (particularly young Maasai moran Simba Scouts acting to keep an eye on the lions), providing environmental education outreaches to communities, as well as pioneering a wildlife compensation program, Wildlife Pays, to combat retaliation of predation on traditional livestock.

MWCT and Campi ya Kanzi are proud to say that these above strategies have continued to incentivize the Kuku Group Ranch community to appreciate wilderness with thriving wildlife as a resource to them. The lion population on the Group Ranch is a very healthy 38! We have collared 5 lions on the Ranch, allowing us to further actively protect and monitor their continued activities.

Conservation Program Update - Quarterly Success

Our Conservation Team has compiled its' quarterly successes and accomplishments to share with you on our blog! Enjoy reading up on the following tremendous accomplishments from the past couple of months!

Community Rangers:

A deceased elephant was found by 2 school boys herding goats. The school boys immediately informed MWCT Community Rangers about the elephant. The rangers went to the site and found a fresh carcass of an elephant with its tusks still present. MWCT Rangers removed the tusks and handed it over to KWS in Komboyo. After a post mortem was completed, it was determined the death was due to a poisoned spear, which suggests poaching. MWCT Rangers are now investigating the incident!

Our Rangers were informed by a community member from Inkisanjani about poachers planning to poach wildlife on Kuku Group Ranch. The rangers managed to successfully set an ambush and captured 2 of the 3 poachers and impounded 2 motorbikes and bushmeat.

Map of Kuku Group Ranch indicating the patrol effort and areas covered by the different ranger sectors during their security foot patrols from April to June 2014

Lion Monitoring & Simba Scouts:

During this quarter, a detailed lion population survey was conducted! The current estimated resident lion population on Kuku Group Ranch is 32 (14 adults and 18 sub-adults/cubs)!

Namunyak in the company of two adult lionesses and cubs

Of these, 5 lions are collared. These lions are monitored closely by the Simba Scouts on a daily basis. In the event that one of these lions moves into an area close to livestock or bomas, the Simba Scouts will warn the community and herders to watch out and avoid these areas in order to prevent conflict which may lead to the retaliatory killing of lions! A wonderful tool for us!

Lion movement of the 2 GPS collared lion (Yellow = Namunyak; Pink = Neluai)

Wildlife Pays:

Our Wildlife Pays Program this quarter was very busy! A total of 259 incidents of livestock predation were recorded; most incidents being due to hyena, followed by cheetah and then jackal. The total value of the payout was 1,552,400 Ksh.

Number of heads of livestock killed per wildlife species in this past quarter

Community Outreach:

Wildlife Pays Outreach - In these meetings, MWCT's program coordinators spoke to the community about the benefits that MWCT is giving to the community, and their role in protecting their natural resources and wildlife in turn!

MWCT and Campi ya Kanzi Staff Meeting - A meeting with all of the staff of both organizations was held at the beginning of June. During this meeting, the achievements of 2013 were announced and future MWCT projects and goals were discussed

Environmental Education Outreach in Inkisanjani and Olkaria - MWCT Outreach Officer, Joseph Lairumbe, went to Inkisanjani and Olkari Primary School to give an environmental education lesson (Know Your Wildlife) to the school children. These lessons were attended by 200 and 250 pupils respectively! The children greatly enjoyed learning about wildlife - and they were encouraged to protect the wildlife and other natural resources in their area

Moran Chief Initiation Ceremony - On the 3rd of May, Peter ole Sombol, was initiated as the leader of the Maasai warrior age-set from the Iltilal Manyatta. MWCT Program Coordinators and Management attended the ceremony and had a brief meeting with the new chief after the ceremony. Peter is in full support of conservation and the work of MWCT and is motivated to teach and encourage his fellow warriors about the value of wildlife and wildlife protection of Kuku Group Ranch!

MWCT and Campi ya Kanzi staff

Conservation Program Update - Lion Collaring Update

It was a quiet and crisp morning, end of June as the Simba Scouts headed out on foot at daybreak to track lions. They heard the roaring the night before and were determined to find them. The pressure was on since the previous collaring attempt in April, where we went out for three full nights, and without being successful. This time we had to succeed!

Tracking the lions!

It was not long before the Simba Scouts found fresh tracks of 7 lions! They followed these tracks for a couple of kilometres up to a dense thicket in an area known as Eluai, just south of Iltilal village. The Simba Scouts decided to look around the thicket to see if there were any lion tracks coming out of the thicket. After searching for a while, and not finding any tracks apart from the ones heading into the thicket, they concluded that the lions must still be inside, resting. Lions often use dense thickets or lava forest patches on Kuku Group Ranch as a refuge during daytime to avoid contact (that may lead to potential conflict) with people and their livestock.

Conservation Coordinators Lana and Dirk work to hang the carcass in the tree

After receiving this information the plan was clear... conduct a calling station that evening in the vicinity of the thicket.

The vet busy preparing for the long night of collaring

At 4 pm, the collaring team headed out to scout the area and to prepare for the nights calling station. As the last rays of the sun disappeared behind Kilimanjaro, we started with the nights operation, starting with the distressed call of a warthog (pig squeal). Soon after, the silhouette of a lioness appeared... followed by another... and another... and another! Until all 7 lions (2 adult females and 5 sub-adult cubs) were there sitting and watching us curiously from behind a bush a couple of metres away! Our hearts started beating with anticipation as we waited for the vet to get into position to dart one of the adult females. A few minutes went by (which felt like hours) and then the call of the vet came over the radio telling us that he cannot get a clear shot on either of the two adult females from his position as they were obstructed by the bush. He did not want to take a chance and miss as this can only scare them off, so he decided to rather wait patiently for them to come closer to where the carcass was hanging in a tree next to his car.

To our disappointment, the lions lost interest and moved away! However, they stayed in the vicinity. We watched them through the night vision equipment playing and grooming one another. After some time we changed the sound to that of a buffalo calf in distress. This triggered again the interest of the lions and they made several attempts to approach us. After about 2 hours, one of the lionesses stood up and came directly to where the carcass was! It was perfect, and right next to the car of the vet!

Working to fix the collar and take measurements of the newly collared lion!

We are very delighted to introduce to you our newest member of the Kuku lion family - Neluai! Named after the area Eluai where she was collared! She is approximately 5 years old and in excellent condition. She has, since the collaring, visited our waterhole at CCRC several times and has been seen frequently with her group. Recently she has been spotted alone at our waterhole with a big male lion. We suspect Neluai to be mating with him!

Watch this space for more exciting news on our collared lions!

Neluai and a large male visit the water hole at CCRC

She is doing well! 

Conservation Program Update - Singila Update

Earlier last month, the school of the Kanzi Academy went on an school outing early morning game drive. An incredibly fortunate game drive brought them to spot 2 lionesses and 4 cubs, with help of their Campi ya Kanzi guide Parashi. 

When they came closer to the lions, they noticed that one lioness was collared and assumed it to be Namunyak. 

A sleepy Singila

Parashi informed the Conservation Team and the Simba Scouts and we went immediately out to the area suspecting it to be a different lion, as Namunyak does not usually come into that area where the lions were reported to be seen. 

We were happy happy to see her healthy and well!

Luckily enough the lions were still around, and after more than 6 months without any good observations the old lioness, Singila appeared with her new companion. The cubs had unfortunately moved into the lava rocks and were no longer visible. 

Singila is the oldest collared female lion on Kuku Group Ranch. She is approximately 11 years old, which is quite extraordinary for a lion on community land. Female lions generally live longer than male lions (as males will often be involved in territorial fights that can be fatal).

She is a well known resident of Kuku Group Ranch; it is quite extraordinary for a female lion to coexist on community land for this length of time. She is quite a well-behaved lion, and it has been wonderful to have had her around for so long.

Singila has successfully raised a few litters during her time on the Group Ranch. She has been collared twice so far, once in 2008, and once in 2011. She is recognizable by her unusual and unique "folded" left ear (seen in the photo below). We were so excited to see her recently, as it has been quite some time! We hope to continue to have more updates about this healthy lioness.

Lion Project Update - Namunyak Sighting!

On Thursday April 17, the MWCT Conservation Team had an amazing interaction with Namunyak (collared in December 2013), and her companions. She was seen with two other grown females, and three cubs. 

Namunyak looking very healthy - she has gained a little bit of weight since the collaring!

It was pouring rain, and the lions seemed very relaxed and at ease. They were also yawning quite frequently, so we think they must have had a late night out hunting! Enjoy the photos and a short video below!

The three cubs and one of the adult females

Being quite photogenic! 

Namunyak lounging

Numunyak and a yawning cub

A very sleepy Namunyak! 

Conservation Program Update - April Lion Collaring

Earlier last week, the Conservation Program set out on their second lion collaring expedition! The purpose of this exercise was to replace the collars of the 2 male lions collared in early December 2013. Unfortunately, these collars had stopped transmitting the GPS function to track the lions location - so the team received new collars, and scheduled the week to locate these lions using the telemetry capabilities (pictured below) and replace their collars with the properly functioning ones. 

MWCT Simba Scouts using the telemetry tracking device to locate the lions prior to the collaring exercise

The team was out for 3 full nights last week. The first night two big males approached the car, but they were much too far away for the vet to dart them. The second night had four lions approaching the cars (two males and 2 females). They also did not come close to the car! 

On the final night, no lions showed up (only an elephant and a ton of hyenas and jackal), although they did hear some roaring in the distance. 

The positioned car, camouflaged, ready to begin the calling station

So unfortunately, it had been three long days and nights without success. However, we think that the reasoning of this was due to the very bright moon, and the animals did not dare to come close. It was nearly a full moon so it was very bright at night - the lions could not only see the team more clearly, but were aware that the team could also see them due to the light, so they were very cautious in coming closer, despite our calling station and effort to camouflage the cars! 

Working to camouflage the vehicles!

Fortunately, the vet has agreed to come back for another 3 days at the end of May. The moon will not be as bright during this time, so we are incredibly hopeful for positive results as these functioning collars are incredibly crucial for our efforts to protect this incredibly vital lion population in Kuku Group Ranch! 

One of the aspects of tracking lions deep in the wilderness - punctured tires! 

Conservation Program Update - January Simba Scout Meeting

On Monday this week, the monthly Simba Scout meeting was held at the Chyulu Conservation and Research Center here on Kuku Group Ranch. The purpose of this meeting was not only to check in on the progress and work of the Simba Scouts, but to recap the achievements that were accomplished in 2013, and to give a presentation to these MWCT employees on the Chyulu Hills REDD+ Carbon Project. 

Joseph Lairumbe (above), MWCT's Conservation Outreach Officer, has been speaking and giving a presentation to many groups of community members of Kuku Group Ranch to inform them of this project, the importance of the project, and the benefits that it can produce for the community. The now informed Simba Scouts will be essential stakeholders in the acceptance of this project across Kuku Group Ranch, as they will effectively be able to communicate to their community members about the aims of the project, and the benefits it can produce.

Simba Scouts show off their new Chyulu Hills REDD+ Project t-shirts! 

To cap off the meeting, Conservation Managers, Lana and Dirk presented the Simba Scout Achievements for the year 2013. They included:

- Effectively tracking lions

- Taking their job very seriously by analyzing data sheets, even at home

- Encouraging community contribution to the lion project

- Training of 2 new Simba Scouts - whom have also improved their reading and writing skills tremendously

- Successful collaring of 3 lions

- Improvement of attendance to monthly meetings

- Monthly distance (walking) improvements

Lana & Dirk discuss 2013 Simba Scout achievements 

Lion Collaring Expedition - Day Two

The Conservation Team shares the next days' events in the lion collaring process!

The lion collaring operation continues onto day two! We decided to still push for the collaring of the lone female lion close to the Campi ya Kanzi airstrip. During the day time, Dr. Poghon collected night vision equipment from the rhino sanctuary in Tsavo West National Park to avoid the use of spotlights that might put off lions and increase our capability to detect lions. We help the first call up close to the airstrip, but now in an area with a few more shrubs to cover the visibility of the two vehicles. We decided to no longer use the sounds of feeding hyenas as it attracts too many spotted hyenas, which may in turn intimidate a lone young lioness to come.

Just before dark, shortly after we started playing the sound of the pig squeal, the lioness suddenly appeared and walked around the cars, but then quickly disappeared again into the bush. Everyone including the vet was caught by surprise as we did not expect the lion to react so quickly. Unfortunately the vet did not manage to dart the lion before it disappeared out of range. The lioness was very cautious and stayed on the periphery for almost two hours sitting and looking at us, but not daring to come close.

In a desperate attempt, the vehicle started and the vet tried to move towards the lioness. Unfortunately the lioness sensed danger and disappeared into the darkness not to return again.

Although a bit disappointed that we did not manage to collar the lioness, our hopes raised as there was a lion in the area attracted by our calling station.

Later that night we spotted three pairs of red eyes along the road on our way to the next call up site, and so decided to do another calling station close to the Campi ya Kanzi lodge. During this calling station, spotted hyenas showed up, and a leopard!

Four hours later we moved to our last location of the night near Longido. After a few hours without seeing any predators and again a lot of rain, we decided to stop.

Surely the next night we would have better luck...

Lion Collaring Expedition - Day One

Continued description of the intricate lion collaring process that occurred just recently. This is what happened on Day 1!

In the morning before the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) vet arrived, MWCT rangers discovered zebra carcass close to the Chyulu Conservation and Research Center (CCRC). It was not killed by predators, but died of natural cause and it looked like perfect lion bait. In the late afternoon, when the KWS vet arrived, he inspected the carcass and rejected it, as it might have died from anthrax - a dangerous but common disease among wildlife in Kenya.

On the first night of the collaring operation, we went to the airstrip of Campi ya Kanzi and played sounds of warthogs, buffalos in distress, and feeding hyenas to attract lions within the vicinity. Except for over 10 spotted hyenas and a pair of black-backed jackals, no lions showed up (although we were pretty certain they were in the area as there had been regular sightings by Simba Scouts and Campi ya Kanzi personnel). There can be many reasons for a lion not responding to a calling station. When lions are full after feeding on a carcass, it is likely that they will not respond to a buffalo calf or a warthog in distress. Furthermore, lions can move large distances during one night (more than 15 km) and resting places can be different every day. After 4 hours of calling, we decided to relocate to a new position.

This map indicated the locations of the calling stations.
The yellow circles indicate calling station positions without lion sightings. The pins indicate the positions where fresh lion tracks were found; blue pins vare verified observations by conservation managers; organs pins are Simba Scout lion observations; green pins are community observations; and red pins indicate location of livestock predation incident by lions

The second position was closer to the seasonal river. Again, drooling spotted hyenas came running towards the sound, expecting a nice meal. After 4 hours of calling, there was still no sign of any lions. We decided to try our last location near Longido to attract some of the lions that have visited the waterhole at Campi ya Kanzi the previous week. During this call up, heavy rains set in and after an hour it was decided to call it a day and go back to camp. The rains prevented the sounds from travelling a big distance and the visibility became constrained.

After this first night, we realized that the task to collar lions on Kuku Group Ranch is by no means an easy one...

Stay tuned to the blog for what happened next!

Lion Collaring Expedition - Preparation

As you may have read previously, MWCT planned to collar 4 new lions on Kuku Group Ranch with iridium satellite GPS collars to learn more about lion behaviour on community land and ensure a better protection of lions. These collars allow us to see lion movement on the group ranch in real time and enable the Simba Scouts to check more often on the lion's well-being and diet.

We have compiled the story of this extensive process that took place at the end of November. We are very happy to share day-by-day, the excitement, frustration, failures, and successes of this process with you on the blog!

At the end of October, the new GPS collars were picked up in South Africa. After the collars arrived at MWCT headquarters the appointment for the lion collaring was made as soon as possible with the KWS vet, who would assist us during the collaring operation. The vet was only available from the 25th - 29th of November.

This meant that our team needed to collar the 4 lions in the middle of the rainy season in only 4 days - not an easy task! Other lion researchers said suggested scheduling 8 days to collar the 4 lions on this community group ranch, as these lions are more elusive and difficult to track compared to lions in protected areas such as national parks. We immediately realized the challenge ahead of us was a great one, and began extensive planning to maximize knowledge on the lion presence on the group ranch prior to collaring.

Simba Scouts were hard at work during the preparation for this collaring

In the weeks prior to this process, vast areas were scanned for lion tracks and Maasai herders in the field were asked about lion prescence. Lions on community land such as this are generally very shy and cunning and hide away in lava flows and dense bush during the day - making tracking extremely difficult!

Searching for lion prints is difficult in the rainy season as they frequently get washed away

Prior to the arrival of the vet, we created a clear plan on where to collar the lions. We aimed for 3 lionesses and 1 male. We set up call-up locations (sound playbacks that attracts predators i.e. sound of a buffalo calf in distress, pig squeal, sound of hyenas on a carcass, and the roaring of a territorial male) in 3 locations on the group ranch. These locations were at least 2 kilometres away from seasonal bomas to prevent these luring lions incidentally towards the cattle bomas.

And then the collaring expedition begins.... Stay tuned to the blog for the next story soon!

Conservation Program Update - New Lion Collars

Kuku Group Ranch, 1133 squared kilometres of communally owned Maasailand, is situated in the heart of the Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya, and acts as a critical wildlife corridor between Amboseli National Park, Tsavo National Park, and the Chyulu Hills National Park. It is crucial for maintaining healthy populations of wildlife and preserving ecological processes.

On Kuku Group Ranch, lion-livestock conflict is considered to be one of the most important threats to the lion population. The increase in human population density results in an increased frequency of contact between people, their cattle and lions. This causes intense lion-livestock conflict that consequently leads to the retaliatory killing of lions. 

The main objective of the MWCT Lion Project is to study the lion's social structure, its' home range and movements, habitat use and diet on the community land. Four new lions will be collared with GPS satellite collars and the diet will be determined using the GPS clusters method. The behaviour and movement of lions in respect to human settlements, water points and livestock will be investigated. More detailed information could help us find ways to more effectively mitigate the human - lion conflict and help us conserve this lion population in Maasailand. 

Lion conflict with people and their livestock has been a serious cause of lion population decline, especially in Maasailand, and therefore it is critical that local communities living with lions are incorporated into lion conservation measures. The Maasai communities who share their land with lions are critical stakeholders in ensuring their long term conservation and MWCT is working with the community to reduce the costs of living with wildlife, while demonstrating benefits derived from lions and other wildlife. This in turn can improve the lives of Maasai people and can be a key contributing factor to ensuring the long term survival of lions in Maasailand.

MWCT Simba Scouts with the four new lion collars!

MWCT has just recently obtained these four new lions collars. The collaring exercise has been planned for the end of November (weather permitting of course).

We would like to extend a word of thanks to the sponsors of these four new lion collars - Apple Inc. via Shari Overstreet (a CyK guest) whom agreed to have CyK conservation feeds and the matched dollars by Apple Inc. put towards the purchasing of these collars; as well as all guests of Campi ya Kanzi as their daily paid conservation fee significantly contributes to the successful outcome of this Lion Project.

Furthermore, through MWCT's crucial eco-tourism partner, Campi ya Kanzi, MWCT is able to utilize surcharges on visitors to CyK to fund Wildlife Pays, a program that compensates livestock herders for losses to wildlife predation. This occurs through a rigorous system of certification and monitoring of best practices. Maasai livestock owners are paid quarterly for value of losses in exchange for full protection of predators throughout the Group Ranch.

The Campi ya Kanzi conservation fee paid by guests significantly cover the annual compensation costs, establishing a sustainable model of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) around the protection of wildlife, and further emphasizing the importance of the relationship between Campi ya Kanzi and the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.