Frequently Asked Questions

Especially in arid areas, the range of a single lion can stretch up to 500km2. Lions are territorial, so if we were only to focus on the lions living in parks/reserves, we will be left with islands of very small inviable populations of lions. More importantly though, it is crucial for us to remember that these protected areas are a very recent construct in Africa’s long history, where people and wildlife have always lived together. In Kenya, over 90% of parks/reserves are not fenced, ensuring animals can roam freely through the landscape. 70% of wildlife live outside of national parks/reserves, and in the rest of Africa, 60% of lion range lies outside of these protected areas. Hope for lions is in coexistence, and we have proved that even as human occupied landscapes continue to thrive, it is possible to live alongside wildlife.

There are three major sticking points: one is about ownership – whose lions are these? Ewaso Lions is working to restore the culture of ownership so that people feel that the lions are theirs. Their heritage, and wildlife that they are to protect and benefit from. If a charity comes to set up a compensation scheme, they are signaling the exact opposite – that the lions belong to the charity. They will therefore have no ownership of the wildlife they live with, and are comfortable to live with the lions only as long as they are compensated.

This brings us to the second challenge: what happens when the money runs out? We’ve seen compensation schemes that crumbled and the population of the wildlife crashing with this model – people killing carnivores at a much faster rate, because the animal was simply a commodity to them. It’s a very complex issue, but having seen the impacts, we prefer to build long term coexistence, systems that allow people and wildlife to share the space more effectively.

Thirdly and most importantly in our context, culturally, Samburu people don’t believe in compensation. When we started our project we asked this question, and were told that if we did do compensation, it would be going against what they believe in. Culturally, if a lion takes one cow, that cow belonged to God. You are not supposed to receive compensation for something that did not belong to you.

Warriors save lions in two ways. First, they form a network of trackers, looking for lions, often, as they herd their own livestock. When they find lion tracks, they are experts at following them and knowing how close the lions are, and in what direction and how old the tracks are. They then inform all the other herders around to avoid that area, ensuring lions don’t get a chance to prey on livestock. In the unfortunate event that a lion does make off with someone’s cow or goat, warriors go to empathize with the person, often sitting for hours talking to the people affected, reminding them about their cultural beliefs and calming tempers. Warriors also speak to livestock owners about ways to reduce conflict from happening again.

Samburu women have always had a voice in society. But more often than not, when it counted, this voice was not always heard. Through the Mama Simba programme, the only traditional Samburu woman to drive has emerged, breaking the bounds of what was thought possible for a woman. This has started a conversation that has allowed women to be heard more, and to speak more, on their own behalf and on behalf of wildlife and women now feel that the “impossible is now possible.”

Herding children are an unreached demographic in the region, often overlooked by their peers because it is more prestigious to go to school than to look after the family wealth. Yet these children are extremely significant in our eyes in their own right, because they are out with livestock everyday, sharing the landscape with wildlife. If these children do not know how to navigate the landscape effectively, everyone loses. If they don’t practice bunching their herds for example, they are likely to experience an attack by a carnivore while their animals stray in the bushes, and the knock-on effect is that they will hate carnivores in the future. If they don’t learn to plan their herding route, they will degrade the landscape for their livestock, and for wild herbivores, compounding the problem at a landscape level. Our warriors who are herders themselves are the best people to teach young people the best methods, securing the landscape and making herding children conservationists today.

Lions, Grevy’s zebra and other wildlife in northern Kenya are due to face unprecedented impacts of linear infrastructure due to the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor, which will cut across the region over the next decade. Preempting the development of LAPSSET, Ewaso Lions and the Grevy’s Zebra Trust initiated a Biodiversity and Infrastructure Programme in January 2018, with the aim of addressing the landscape-level needs of species at the nexus of mega infrastructure. Infrastructure development has caused untold harm in other parts of Kenya and in the world. But it does not have to be that way. We sincerely believe that with a collaborative approach and the tools and expertise at our disposal, this project could be held up as a global example of best practice where wildlife and social needs are genuinely considered and provided for.

Ewaso Lions is not taking interns in our Samburu camp. Due to capacity issues, as well as insecurity that plagues the region from time to time, we have taken the decision to suspend our programme. Once in a while, we may advertise for interns to help in our Nairobi office. These requests will be advertised on our website.

We love to have our friends and supporters visit us in Samburu. Mostly we encourage visitors to stay at nearby lodges and camps that can offer them a comfortable stay. Whilst we hope to spend as much time with our friends as possible, there are often occasions when this may not be possible. For example, we have often faced emergencies (floods, locusts, disease outbreaks, conflict etc.) and attending to such emergencies will always remain our priority.

We recognize that often visitors have paid a huge amount to visit Samburu however we need  to state that seeing us may not be possible if emergencies or crises arise. We are so grateful for your understanding and encourage you to not book your Samburu Safari with the sole expectation of spending time with our team or visiting our camp. We hate letting you down so we hope you can understand our position.

Thank you!

 

Ewaso Lions management.

We welcome donations that would help our Camp and Lion Kids Camp, such as materials for our wildlife games, solar lights, torches and water bottles. We are also happy to receive small amounts of office supplies for our day to day work and small size stainless steel travel mugs. We also would love dog toys and healthy dog treats for Kura and Nanyori. Of great benefit to us would be First Aid supplies. A conversation before you arrive would be good to discuss what we might need most in terms of tourniquets, burn medication, repellents, sting meds etc.

On materials such as stationery to help nearby schools, we prefer people channeling funds directly to them, rather than in-kind materials as each school has different needs, and ultimately we believe the government should step in to assume its full mandate in providing these.

Conservation can’t continue to be a fringe activity and it needs to be embedded in everyone’s lives. Have a look at what you do well and see how you can help conservation through your own skills. This doesn’t need to just be for Ewaso Lions – it can be for conservation in general. For example, if you are good at marketing, you can talk about lions and the threats they face or help raise funds for us through other methods.

Use your skills in your own life, in your own away, in your own space.

Conservation to us, and we hope to you, isn’t just about wild animals in far away mystical places – it’s about your memories, your culture, the nature around you and in the world, and how you fit into it. It is part of you, and when you put it into your story, it comes alive.

Your friends may not care deeply about lions…. and that’s ok. But they probably care about women, children, culture, tech or education. Ewaso Lions has something interesting for everyone, so you have lots of angles to use!

If you are unable to donate- perhaps you know someone who may be able to! Introduce us to them – we would love that.