The Warrior Women Fighting to Save Endangered Lions in Kenya

By Hannah McNeish

Many Samburu women in Kenya’s north had come to fear lions, but now they’re taking up the conservation cause – and demanding the same training and opportunities as men.

The Mama Simba program has provided participants with an education and a new mission: preserving endangered lions.Ewaso Lions

NAIROBI, KENYA – There is a legend in the Samburu culture of northern Kenya: All animals belong to women, but some were released into the wild many years ago and never came back.

But in recent times, the matriarchal owners of these animals have shied away from their role, fearing or even hating some of their charges, like the lions they would come across on walks to fetch firewood and water, while the Samburu men, known often as warriors, were out herding livestock.

Now a group of Samburu women have tapped back into their maternal pride to become lion defenders, their own warriors in a culture where women’s roles rarely exceed domestic chores. The women’s interest was piqued after seeing men being trained to fight for lions by conservation organization Ewaso Lions. Despite some initial apprehension, the women now doggedly campaign for a program called Mama Simba.

“The women kept approaching Ewaso Lions, coming to camp practically every day saying ‘We’ve seen the warriors doing this. We feel that we could do just as good a job if only someone gave us the opportunity,’ so that was the start of Mama Simba,” Heather Gurd, conservation manager at Ewaso Lions, said.

Mama Simba participants set up their own school, which operates four days a week. (Tyrell Bernardini)

The Mama Simba program started in 2013 by taking more than 30 women from Sasaab village in the Westgate Community Conservancy on safari drives to learn about the environment. Staff then set up a school to educate a small group of women who had never been taught to write even their names.

The women are trained in conservation, including the importance of litter-gathering, how to reinforce bomas – thorny stick-walled enclosures where they keep cattle – to stop predators coming and how to identify and report the tracks of predators. The loss of cattle often leads to conflicts between communities, so women are also taught how to resolve disputes peacefully.

“We’ve seen the warriors doing this. We feel that we could do just as good a job if only someone gave us the opportunity.”

But the weekly lessons held in the village preschool were soon not enough for such determined students.

“They were so passionate about learning that they decided to build their own bush school, so they now have that just on the outskirts of their village which means they can now go four times a week,” Gurd said.

One Mama Simba recruit, Munteli Lalparasaroi, in her 20s, has gone from complete illiteracy to training other women to defend lions. From having barely left her home area, she has crisscrossed Kenya to learn more about conservation in areas such as the Maasai Mara and Lake Victoria.

“Before I was asleep but now I have been educated,” she said. “I am the most lucky Samburu woman to board an airplane, which the Samburu before thought was only for those who went to school.”

Munteli is even more thrilled about learning to drive, because it allows her to spread her conservation message further and make more women lion-loving warriors. “Now I can drive and before I never thought this was possible. It’s like I’m dreaming,” she said.

One of Ewaso’s aims is to change people’s beliefs that lions and other carnivores are a menace and that wildlife belongs to tourists and the government. She wants to replace these attitudes with a sense of local pride in wildlife. “People are learning that wildlife is a good natural resource and that everybody needs to be responsible,” Munteli said.

With only an estimated 50 lions remaining in the Samburu-Isiolo ecosystem, women are a great asset for monitoring the population, because they often hear about lions’ whereabouts from other women in the community while men are off herding.

“Having these ladies increases our network of informants about lions, because all the ladies will report back to us if they see tracks around their village or on their way to town they come across lions or they hear from others in the community that there has been a conflict incident,” Gurd said.

From being shut out of conversations outside the home and therefore conservation, the 19 educated and trained Mama Simbas have earned women a say at meetings and a greater level of respect in the community.

“Girls are learning they have a voice in the community as human beings. The ladies can also take part in leadership and governance. Ladies are getting enlightened,” Munteli said.

“They were very shy at the start of the program and we’ve seen a real change in their confidence and the enthusiasm they have,” Gurd said.

She has seen women become spokespeople for lion conservation, passing their ideas on to their children who in turn tell warriors not to kill lions for cultural, ecological, economic or environmental reasons.

When not monitoring lions, the women make and sell beaded figurines or use other craft skills learned in the program to support their families during the dry season, when men migrate with livestock.

“I have learnt a good number of business ideas and can now make money of my own, which is not something that is done so much by any Samburu women,” Munteli said.

But that doesn’t mean that she and the other women aren’t still pushing to know and do more. “I have not yet reached my expectations because I want to ask more and stay with Ewaso Lions so I can read and write very well,” Munteli said.

 

The original article for the New Humanitarian can be found here: https://deeply.thenewhumanitarian.org/womensadvancement/articles/2017/06/05/the-warrior-women-fighting-to-save-endangered-lions-in-kenya

 

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By Vanessa Serrao

Editor Elaina Kimes

Published February 23, 2017[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]SAMBURU, KENYA – The Samburu tribe of central Kenya has lived with wildlife for centuries, though not always peacefully.

Dependent on livestock for meat, milk, and income, the Samburu have protected their herds from lions with brutal force.

However, as African lion numbers have plummeted—only about 20,000 animals remain in the wild—one warrior is leading the fight to save the big cats.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In 2010, one Samburu warrior, Jeneria Lekilelei, founded Warrior Watch to encourage Samburu men to conserve lions. Since then, the local lion population has risen from 11 animals to 50 today. Warrior Watch is part of Ewaso Lions, a group fighting to ensure a future for Kenya’s lion population. By promoting co-existence between people and wildlife, Ewaso Lions uses scientific research and community-based outreach programs to formulate strategies for long-term lion conservation.

National Geographic talked to Lekilelei, whose work is funded by National Geographic, to learn how the Samburu are harnessing the same skills used in the past to hunt lions to protect them.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] What inspired you to start Warrior Watch?

When I was a boy, I thought I’d be killing lions when I grew up. My father was a warrior when he was young. In the 1950s, there used to be so many lion prides in this area. I met [National Geographic Explorer] Shivani Bhalla, who showed me the declining lion population, and it inspired me to start Warrior Watch.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What are the duties of the Warrior Watch?

We brought a class of warriors who used to kill lions and made them the ambassadors of lions. They spread the word to change their attitudes toward conservation. One of their activities is to go out early in the morning, before the livestock are released for grazing, and [use their tracking skills to see] where the lions are. They then bring that message back to the community so that the [people and their animals] can avoid those areas.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]How do you track the lions?

We often look for hyena tracks, since they depend on lions for food. The lions might have killed something and the hyenas will go there. We look in the sky for vultures, who will give you a sign where the lions have been. We search for primates such as baboons, monkeys, and herbivores that are making a lot of noise; if they make a lot of noise you know a predator is most likely there.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]How did you change people’s perception of lions?

My community members, in the beginning, hated it. Lions killed our livestock, people didn’t want them in this area. If we know the lions are in the area, we go back and spread the awareness within the community so that they’re aware, they’re more vigilant, they look over their livestock properly, and they know exactly where the lions are so that they can avoid that area. I explained to them that if we lose a cow, we can’t get it back, and if we kill a lion, we lose two animals.

Today, people are proud to support my work in lion conservation. Even if they’re not involved in our project, people still call me on phone and say, ‘We found the lions tracks here, where do you think those lions are? They have preyed on our livestock today.’ They have stopped killing the lions when they see them.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What do you now love about lions?

They’re social like humans, they live together, they share everything together. We see these lions from the time they’re born, as little cubs, we see them grow up and we grow attached to them. We give individual lions unique names. When a lioness gives birth, you will see her walking with her cubs, roaring and introducing them to the rest of the pride. The pride comes and licks the cubs so they know each other.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Does it make you proud to see a lion grow up and go off on their own?

I really enjoy seeing them grow to adulthood, I feel that I’ve played a role in saving them. If we hadn’t protected them, they would have been killed, poisoned, speared, or shot. When I haven’t seen them in a long time I get scared, I worry that they could have been killed. I feel so relieved and so happy when I see them come back. Any time I lose a lion, it’s like losing a member of my family. If there are no lions in Samburu, then there is no more life.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Source:  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/lions-warriors-samburu-kenya[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Samburu Warriors Are Safeguarding Kenya’s Lions

By Kari Mutu

Community-based program engages pastoralists in conservation work to reduce human-wildlife conflicts.

Among the Samburu people, a pastoral tribe of north-central Kenya, warriors have traditionally hunted lions to prove their bravery or to protect their cattle, which form the basis of wealth and social rank in the community. But for nine years now, Jeneria Lekilelei, a Samburu warrior, has been doing the opposite, working to protect lions from being killed by his own people.

Lekilelei, 27, dropped out of high school many years ago for lack of funds. Most of his adolescent years were spent herding the cattle within the Westgate Conservancy, a community-owned group ranch that boarders the semi-arid Samburu National Reserve. In 2008, when he was 19, he joined Ewaso Lions, a conservation group based in the Conservancy, as a field data collector. At the time, he knew nothing about lions and found the idea of protecting the large carnivores shocking.

Founded in 2007 by conservation biologist Shivani Bhalla, Ewaso Lions works to protect Kenya’s wildlife by involving communities in solutions that promote peaceful coexistence between people and wild animals. The organization fills a critical need in the country: According to Ewaso, Africa’s lion population has declined by some 90 percent over the past 75 years, primarily due to loss of habitat and human-animal conflict. In Kenya, there are fewer than 2,000 lions left.

Bhalla quickly realized that understanding lion movements throughout the park, and beyond, was essential to the conservation work. “We’d see lions, then they’d disappear. Clearly, they were going outside the park,” Bhalla says. “I realized we need[ed] to be living outside and understanding whether lions and people can actually live together.” In need of more information in order to create solutions for protecting lions, she shifted her focus from the park to surrounding community lands and recruited three young Samburu men to assist her, including Lekilelei.

In the first year working for Ewaso Lions, Lekilelei quietly recorded general field information about the ecology and different kinds of animals in the area surrounding Samburu and hardly spoke a word to Bhalla. In his second year, he accompanied her on a research trip to the Shaba National Reserve, an even drier and more rugged region of Samburu. For a week, he sat on a vehicle roof under the scorching sun searching for lions. Undeterred by the heat or rough conditions, he was animated by the work, and not long after the trip, Bhalla offered him a job as a lion scout, to track their numbers, movements, and cases of human-wildlife conflict. He seized the opportunity and has never looked back.

To expand Ewaso Lion’s fieldwork program, Lekilelei came up with the idea of recruiting more Samburu warriors. Nobody, after all, knows the landscape better than they do.

In 2010, the organization expanded further by establishing Warrior Watch, a program of twenty-odd Samburu youth engaged as ambassadors for wildlife. The additional warriors were trained on how to identify individual lions, monitor problem animals, collect data, and conduct wildlife surveillance through GPS, camera traps, vehicle patrols, and old-fashioned tracking.

Dressed in their traditional attire and beaded jewellery, the expanded team of warriors conduct bush patrols every day, liaise with herders, carry out anti-poaching work, and spread conservation awareness in what has become an extension of their traditional role as guardians of the community.

Because harm to livestock is a major source of human-wildlife conflicts in the region, Warrior Watch responds quickly to predation events to speak with the affected people, avert retaliatory killings, and help recover missing animals. Responders also support families to improve their animal husbandry practices and minimize the risk of wildlife attacks. In return, the warriors receive stipends, meals, and basic education since many of them did not complete school.

photo by Tyrel Bernardini: Samburu warriors receive lessons in reading and writing, along with stipends and meals, for thier work with Ewaso Lions.

The warriors have developed a special bond with the lions of Samburu. One of their favorites is a 16-year old lioness called Nashipai. Unfortunately, Nashipai has a penchant for attacking domestic animals. “She’s got no teeth. I think that’s why she is going after easier prey,” explains Bhalla. “But … [the warriors have] saved her hundreds of times. Every time someone wants to kill her, they are there.”

Over the years Lekilelei and Bhalla have come to realize that the future of lions depends on changing the attitudes of those who only come into contact with wildlife following attacks on their cows and goats. “My community was killing [lions] for lack of understanding. All they want to do is to reduce a problem to their livestock,” explains Lekilelei, now the field operations and community manager for Ewaso Lions. “Warriors want to hold onto their culture by killing a lion, that’s what is in their minds,” he adds.

Consequently, Lekilelei sees his role as that of educating the community and preserving the Samburu culture in ways that protect wildlife and their habitats. “You tell them that there are only like 10 lions in the whole of Samburu area, that lions are going to be extinct if we can’t conserve,” he explains.

In his new role, he participates in discussions with the local elders who are the decision-makers of the community. The elders often reminisce about the disappearance of rhino in Samburu because of hunting and poaching in the 1970s and 1980s. They would not wish to see lions go the same way. Lekilelei and the Ewaso team also interact with women and children who have historically been left out of the conservation discussion.

Ewaso Lions has expanded since 2007, and is now working in the Kalama, Nakuprat Gotu, and Ol Donyiro Community Conservancies of Samburu as well as Westgate, an area covering over 5,000 square kilometres and home to the third largest population of lions in the country.

The large study area allows the organization to explore the connectivity between different regions in the wider Samburu ecosystem and how lions disperse through existing corridors, information that can help inform conservation work. Lions will habitually migrate to find ideal conditions for food and water. Unfortunately, human development, new roads, and new settlements coming into marginal areas are cutting off traditional migration routes for lions and other wildlife. “The main thing is to make sure the corridors are kept open,” Bhalla says.

photo courtesy of Ewaso Lions: A lion in Samburu National Reserve.

Lion numbers in the region have increased since Ewaso Lions began its work in 2007.

As the organization has grown, Westgate has served as a sort of laboratory for Ewaso Lions to test different conservation program with the local community. Since the start of their work nine years ago, Bhalla estimates that the lion population has grown from 11 individuals to around 50 animals moving in and out of Westgate, and that numbers are stable at present. She is confident that the Westgate lions are safe for now because of successful wildlife management models based on community partnerships.

Just last year they heard lions roaring in Westgate conservancy for the first time, a rare occurrence outside of state parks. “That’s a sign that they feel safe. It’s exciting for us that even a lion can sense that there’s a change out here,” said Bhalla.

Nevertheless, challenges do remain, such as the building of national infrastructure in Samburu County. During years of drought, nomadic people from other areas frequently move into Samburu lands in search of pasture. “They come from far away where conservation hasn’t reached and people still practice killing of lions,” explains Lekilelei.

The future plan for Ewaso Lions is to replicate the Westgate model elsewhere and to engage with other communities living in lion habitats in order to build up tolerance for wildlife.

“I am very proud to see how we have changed the whole face of the community towards conservation,” says Bhalla. “Warriors who were hunters or killers of lions have become conservationists.”

 

The original article posted to the Earth Island Journal can be accessed here: https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/samburu_warriors_are_safeguarding_kenyas_lions

 

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]June 19, 2015

Morans, the warrior age-class of the Samburu tribe, traditionally play a central role in protecting their communities and livestock from external threats, including predation by lions and other large carnivores. Yet, these young men represent one of the most neglected groups in conservation decision-making in northern Kenya. As a moran himself, Jeneria Lekilelei, Ewaso Lions’ Field Operations & Community Manager, saw that the only way to succeed in protecting lions would be to engage his own age-set; encourage and inspire them to be ambassadors to keep lions safe. In 2010, Ewaso Lions’ flagship program – Warrior Watch – was born.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“Warriors are the eyes and ears in the bush and involving them is key to the conservation and security of [my] region’s wildlife and people.” — Jeneria Lekilelei[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Warrior Watch encourages morans to become engaged in conservation, advocating for peaceful coexistence with carnivores. Their involvement in mitigating human-carnivore conflict is a natural extension of their role as providers of security – be it teaching herders good husbandry practices or discussing the value of lions amongst peers. Similarly, the time they normally spend patrolling in the field has been easily adapted to incorporate data collection and wildlife security duties.

One of our Warriors’ key roles is to monitor individual lions and inform livestock herders when they are in the vicinity, encouraging them to move their herds on to a different area. The idea being that this will help reduce the number of livestock lost to carnivores and, in turn, the potential for retaliatory attacks on lions.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7960″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Excitingly, last December, after an absence of nearly two years, lions returned to an area of Westgate Conservancy known as the Core Conservation Area. This is an area set aside for wildlife by the community and one that has since become a safe refuge for carnivores. Provided there is sufficient prey here, conflict with the local communities is reduced; with carnivores spending more time in the Core Area, away from nearby villages.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7961″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Naramat resting by the Ewaso Nyiro river within Westgate Conservancy’s Conservation Area (Photo by Jeneria Lekilelei)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Livestock encroachment does, however, remain an issue and our warriors are constantly patrolling the area to ensure that livestock stay across the river and away from this safe habitat.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Having taken up residence within the Core Area in December, pregnant lioness Naramat and her 2 year old her old son, Lentim, remained in the area until April. With the arrival of the rains, however, Naramat headed off towards the hills and away from the safe refuge of the Core Area. Unfortunately, she headed into a part of the Conservancy where there are many settlements and lots of camels. Concerned for her welfare, several of our Warriors and Scouts set up a temporary camp close to her location. Each day the warriors followed her tracks on foot to ensure she remained safe – they even discovered a small hole where she had been hiding.

Thanks to the dedication of our Warriors, Naramat, Lentim and many more lions remain safe for another day. In fact, we are pleased to report that, whilst out tracking Naramat, the Warriors discovered that she had actually given birth to two cubs!

Written by Heather Gurd – Conservation and Research Manager, Ewaso Lions[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7962″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Letoiye scans the Samburu landscape for signs of lions. (Photo by Tyrel J. Bernardini)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Source: https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2015/06/19/inspiring-warriors-to-conserve-lions-in-kenya/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]December 17, 2014

Meet Jeneria Lekilelei, a young Samburu warrior who comes from the Sasaab area in Westgate Community Conservancy, Samburu, Kenya. Jeneria started working with Ewaso Lions in 2008 as a Lion Scout and has since taken a substantial leadership role in his current position as Field Operations and Community Manager. Jeneria is a wildlife hero and true ambassador for lions, wildlife and conservation in Kenya. In this two part series, Jeneria tells us his story.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7970″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Jeneria Lekilelei, Ewaso Lions Field Operations and Community Manager. Photo by Tony Allport.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]You come from Sasaab village here in Westgate Conservancy. Can you describe what it was like growing up here as a child/young moran (warrior)?

When I was a young boy, I used to herd livestock. Conservation was so unknown to me. I didn’t care about wildlife. I grew up looking after goats, sheep and cows. I would leave the village every day to look after them and wildlife would chase me.

My family is very big, as my father had three wives. My mother had eight children, my stepmother has seven children, and my other stepmother has two children, so it is a very big family.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Has wildlife conservation always been important to you?

Wildlife used to be important to me only because we ate its meat. When I was young, my father would kill a gerenuk and we would eat. As a boy, I would kill dik diks and eat them. I didn’t know about conservation, we didn’t have conservancies, and no one was doing conservation work. Wildlife caused huge problems, killing livestock. Elephants would kill goats and humans if they came across them.

I hated lions so much before. They were not meaningful in my area and only caused problems. Lions still cause problems with livestock now, but I also realize that they give us a lot of benefits. If we have lions here, it is like having gold in this area.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When did you start to develop an interest in conservation, and did anything in particular spark this interest?

Joining the Ewaso Lions team and getting involved in conservation is what changed me. Because of my culture I hated lions because they killed my livestock, but then I changed. Before Ewaso Lions was here, there was no education in the village, which was a problem. Going on safaris to other places where there is conservation also helped me learn.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Traditionally, the role of a warrior – such as yourself – has been to protect your community and livestock from harm. Since lion predation is a significant cause of livestock loss, why have you chosen to support lion conservation in this area?

Before Ewaso Lions, when I knew nothing about lions, I would have said that I hated all predators because of the loss they caused me. With the education that I got from Ewaso Lions, I saw how people could live with predators.

I look at Samburu as part of a bigger picture now. Before, Samburu was my world and I only thought of myself. I didn’t see any benefit from lions to myself alone. Now, I think widely and about what is happening at a larger level. From a conservation point of view, because the number of lions in Kenya is so low, I have seen that there is a reason for me to protect lions. I couldn’t have taught others from my generation if I didn’t know anything about lions. Lions have created benefits for everyone. Children go to school, and many of them would be sitting at home instead. My warriors who had never been to school now know how to read and write. This is because of lions. It is also good for our project to tell people how few lions we have so that my community wants to work harder at keeping the few lions that we do have alive for cultural reasons.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What role do lions play in the Samburu culture?

It is a very important animal. We believe that if lions are present, there will be no bad droughts. When lions roar in the early morning, we think this is a sign of rain and there will be no drought. Nothing else will give us hope during a drought except a lion’s roar.

We believe we came from the same place as wildlife. Some families belong to the Elephant Family, and some families belong to the Lion Family, called “Lparasoro.” A lion roaring sounds like “L-PA-ra-soro”. Those from the lion family cannot kill lions.

It is a very important animal in our culture due to all the ceremonies we have in our lives. I also believe without lions, there would be no circumcision ceremonies for the warriors. What would happen if we didn’t have lions during our ceremonies?

Also in my culture, if livestock is killed by lions, it means good luck. We should not be stressed if we lose one to lions. The good luck means we will get more livestock in the future. If we have four cows for example, we say one is for a predator, one is for a trench, like if a cow falls in a trench and breaks the leg and dies. One is yours, one is to give to someone like a relative who may not have one. This means if either one of these happened, you should not get angry because it is part of your beliefs.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7971″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Lions are very important in Samburu cultural practices. Photo by Ewaso Lions.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As a warrior you would kill lions to prove your manhood. What has changed now? Do warriors still kill lions for cultural reasons?

Because of education, we don’t kill lions like we did before. Kenya Wildlife Service now brings us skins that they already have to use during cultural ceremonies. People are now seeing the benefit of lions so they won’t kill them, and the warriors have seen that they don’t have to kill lions to show their strength.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What do you see as critical to the success of conservation efforts in this area?

Conservation works when we involve and educate the community. I believe that the major challenge for me was lack of education and not understanding the value for having wildlife. It is important to involve all the different demographic groups within the area to show them successful conservation, to show them wildlife positively, and to give them close-up wildlife experiences so they can understand and love wildlife. Many people will tolerate lions, but I believe some will actually love lions. I was a community member like them and now I love lions. Hopefully a quarter or half the population will love lions like I do.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]How did you get involved with Ewaso Lions?

I was hired as a Scout in 2008. I went to work early in the morning wearing my green uniform and boots. I really disliked this work. I didn’t like wearing a uniform and felt that it kept me from succeeding in my work by pulling me out from my warrior class. I was unable to interact with my peers because they didn’t see me as a warrior, just as a Scout. I really wanted to become a field person. I didn’t know this at first, but as soon as I came to do fieldwork, I discovered this is really what I wanted to do in my life. I wanted to look for lions and sit with them all day.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Was there a key moment that made you realize that you wanted a change?

One day Shivani took me to Shaba National Reserve, where I had never been before. Seeing this new place and then finally finding lions in Shaba made me more then excited. The work was very hard: standing all day in the back of the bouncing vehicle looking in every single bush. Finally, we found the lions. It made the whole time I was standing feel like nothing. All of a sudden I was not tired. That really clicked in my mind and realized I wanted to be in the field with lions.

We also went to the Maasai Mara and saw a place where the Maasai live. Seeing a population of 100 hyenas and 30 lions in one place was a very good moment for me. I could come back and tell my community, “You guys are joking when you see one lion. Mara has 30 lions in one place”. That was very good.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7972″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Jeneria (center) got trained several years ago to use radio telemetry to track collared lions. Photo by Ewaso Lions.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What does your role as Ewaso Lions Field Operations and Community Manager involve? Could you describe a typical day in the life of Jeneria?

My day-to-day role is to do lion monitoring. This is my favorite work. I locate the lions within our study area and then sit in the vehicle next to them. I like to understand their movements so we can control conflict with humans. Understanding lions’ movements can keep them from being killed by the community. I also work with my warrior team to coordinate their work based on the movements of the lions.

If there is anything to do with the community that is related to the lions it becomes another job of mine. I deal with conflict, hold meetings and much more.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4578″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Jeneria and his field team monitoring lions in Samburu. Photo by Ewaso Lions.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What do you find is the most rewarding aspect of your work?

Being passionate about lions when I sit with them is very rewarding. I feel like lions are my friends or relatives. I didn’t think I would become like that. Even when I am home and not in the field I am asking about the lions on my phone. I am also very proud of Ewaso Lions, especially seeing how the warriors on our team speak in front of the community about conservation and change people’s views about lions. This is something I did not believe I could achieve.

What do you find is the most challenging aspect of your work?

Dealing with [human-lion] conflict issues is the most challenging thing ever. You have to make sure you are there at the right place at the right time, before people go after the lions and kill them. Or you have to go to a meeting and talk to very angry people who have lost many livestock to lions. People want to kill me then because of their anger. During the drought, it is also difficult to see livestock and wildlife dying. I feel the real struggles of livestock and people.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7973″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Jeneria (white shirt) helps set up Lion Lights to protect cows from lion attacks, which reduces the likelihood of retaliatory killing. Photo by Ewaso Lions.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What has been your proudest moment since you started working for Ewaso Lions in 2008?

I am very proud of myself for identifying individual lions and knowing them all. I am so proud to see how I can go to the community and they will listen to me. Before, I was a random warrior running around and no one would listen to me. Now I can change people’s attitudes towards lions. I am proud of how far I have come. I am also so proud to see how many people I have changed – people who hate lions, who now don’t hate them. Calming down a very angry person and convincing them not to kill a lion makes me happy. I am also proud how we involve all the demographic groups – from not only warriors, but also elders, mamas and kids.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Source: https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2014/12/17/from-goat-herding-to-lion-conservation-the-story-of-a-samburu-warrior-part-1/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Empowering local communities in Kenya to conserve lions

December 1, 2014

The African lion is a powerful flagship species synonymous with African rangelands; yet across the continent, lions and other great carnivores are disappearing at an unprecedented rate. Kenya is no exception to this grave trend, with the national population estimated at fewer than 2,000 individuals.

Here, like elsewhere in Africa, habitat loss and conflict with people rank amongst the most significant threats to lions. Rapid human population growth and encroachment into wildlife habitats have increased the incidence of human-lion interaction and conflict over recent decades. Conflicts, which can culminate in retaliatory persecution of lions, are often most pronounced amongst pastoralist communities for whom livestock depredation presents a significant actual—as well as perceived—risk to people’s livelihoods.

With anthropogenic threats central to the decline of the African lion, and with over 65% of lion range outside of formal protection (www.panthera.org), many believe that the success of carnivore conservation hinges on the involvement of local people. This is reflective of a broader shift in the conservation paradigm, where historical, largely top-down approaches that once disenfranchised local communities have been replaced by more integrated solutions that recognise local needs and empower communities to manage their natural resources and become more effective stewards of their environment.

In the Greater Ewaso Nyiro ecosystem of northern Kenya, the conservation organisation Ewaso Lions is working with Samburu communities, a semi-nomadic pastoralist ethnic group, to develop creative solutions to conserve lions and mitigate human-carnivore conflict. In this article, we present examples from Ewaso Lions’ portfolio of outreach activities, which are purposefully rooted in traditional cultural practices and are designed to build capacity and harness local expertise.

Warrior Watch

Nashipai in Samburu

Morans, the warrior age-class of the Samburu tribe, traditionally play a central role in protecting their communities and livestock from external threats, including predation by lions and other large carnivores. Yet, these young men represent one of the most neglected groups in conservation management and decision-making in northern Kenya. Recognising this gap, Ewaso Lions Field and Community Manager and Samburu moran, Jeneria Lekilelei, came up with the idea for the Warrior Watch programme. Being a moran himself, he realised that his age class could potentially be the best ambassadors for conservation as they spend most of their time in wilderness areas. Jeneria described how “Warriors are the eyes and ears in the bush and involving them is key to the conservation and security of region’s wildlife and people”. Launched in 2010, Warrior Watch, therefore, encourages morans to become active wildlife ambassadors and to improve community awareness and tolerance for lions and other carnivores.

The programme intentionally builds on morans’ traditional protection role by increasing their capacity to mitigate human-carnivore conflict. Morans reinforce livestock enclosures, teach herders good husbandry and communicate the message about the value of lions to their peers. Equally, through the incorporation of a participatory monitoring scheme, Warrior Watch leverages morans’ wide-ranging presence in wildlife areas to monitor threatened species and record conflict incidents, ensuring the collection of information that is critical to successful conservation monitoring and research over a far greater geographical scale than could be achieved by Ewaso Lions’ staff alone. To fulfil their role, Warrior Watch participants receive ongoing training in wildlife ecology and conservation, conflict mitigation techniques and basic data collection (including the use of GPS devices). Although provided with small food stipends, it is education which forms the principal incentive for participation, with many of these formerly non-literate morans now able to read and write and, vitally, to complete their own wildlife monitoring and conflict reports.

Despite the programme targeting only a small sub-section of the population (15 morans across 3 conservancies) and offering negligible financial rewards, an evaluation conducted in 2012 revealed how Warrior Watch had already gained widespread community support and significantly influenced local attitudes towards, and tolerance of, predators within the two year period following its launch. As so few morans are directly engaged in the programme, effective dissemination has been critical to this success, with participants sharing their knowledge and skills widely amongst other morans and members of their community.

The evaluation further revealed how Warrior Watch has been instrumental in empowering the moran demographic both politically (by increasing participation in conservation and associated decision-making) and socially (by enhancing respect for morans and building social capital). This empowerment, coupled with an increased understanding of the importance of carnivores and knowledge of wildlife-friendly conflict reduction strategies, is believed to have galvanised community support in the absence of significant monetary incentives. Although a formal evaluation of the ecological impacts of Warrior Watch has not been undertaken, in 2013 alone, Warrior Watch morans prevented lions from being killed on eight separate occasions, emphasising the conservation potential of this programme.

Wazee Watch

Samburu wazee (elders) are respected leaders who, in contrast to the moran demographic, are traditionally recognised as central decision-makers with a great capacity to influence change within their communities. Accordingly, the practices and decisions made by the wazee have a greater likelihood of being adopted than those enacted by other groups.

Despite the Warrior Watch programme’s success in mitigating incidents of human-carnivore conflict, limited communication across the wazee and moran demographics has hindered effective collaboration between the two groups. Jeneria, recognising this shortfall, felt that engaging the elders would be critical to continued conservation success within the area. Wazee Watch was, therefore, launched in July 2013 to capitalise on elders’ influence within communities and to provide a platform for intergenerational discussions about wildlife. Ewaso Lions meets with the eight wazee every two months to discuss challenges in conservation and often to seek assistance from the elders in various forums, related to security or conservation. The wazee also strive to reinforce the conservation message, representing Ewaso Lions at community meetings and supporting Warrior Watch morans in their efforts to diffuse potential conflict situations and to educate the community on the importance of carnivores. Consequently, the programme has the potential to further increase social capital, as warriors and elders unite to achieve this shared conservation goal.

Mama Simba

As is common amongst pastoralist communities, gender roles within Samburu society are strongly marked, with women typically assuming responsibility for the household and not participating in decision-making at the community level. By virtue of their role fetching firewood and water, building and maintaining the homestead (manyatta) and tending to livestock (especially goats), they are central users and managers of natural resources and also frequently come into contact with wildlife.

Moreover, whilst elders and warriors are away with cattle, especially during the dry season, women often remain within the village. Consequently, they must deal with human-carnivore conflict first-hand should a predator attack livestock inside their village at night. Yet, Samburu women—like morans—have rarely been actively included in conservation activities in northern Kenya.

The Mama Simba (‘mother of lions’) programme was launched in September 2013 within Westgate Community Conservancy to harness women’s enthusiasm to participate in conservation and to fulfill their requests for education. Mama Simba equips women, who have limited exposure to conservation issues, with the knowledge and skills needed to reduce their environmental impact, effectively conserve wildlife and ultimately improve livelihoods.

Firstly, the programme delivers workshops informing women of the importance of conservation and sustainable practices and offers hands-on training in the identification of wildlife (including identification of carnivore tracks). Secondly, as part of a wider initiative entitled Boma Watch, it works with women to enhance livestock protection within the manyatta, encouraging reinforcement of livestock enclosure (bomas) with thornbush to restrict entry by carnivores, and enlisting their support to test and monitor experimental deterrents, such as ‘Lion lights’. Thirdly, the programme offers an alternative source of income, by commissioning the women—renowned for their exceptional beadwork skills—to make authentic beaded lion figurines. Ewaso Lions purchases these handicrafts directly from the women who make them, before selling them at international forums.
Finally, through Mama Simba’s educational arm, the programme teaches women to read and write. Acquiring literacy not only facilitates their participation in conservation-based activities but also empowers women in other aspects of their life, including their beadwork, food and livestock trade businesses. Anecdotal evidence further suggests that the women feel a strong sense of ownership and pride in the work they do as part of the Mama Simba programme and are now afforded a greater say within their communities. It is anticipated that the Mama Simba programme will be evaluated in the future using an evaluation toolkit created for the project.

Lion Kids Camp

Children attending one of the Lions Kids Camps.

Despite living in close proximity to world-famous National Parks and Reserves, children in rural Kenya are rarely afforded the opportunity to observe wildlife at close range and to experience what attracts numerous tourists to their country each year. Instead, children’s perceptions of wildlife are shaped by largely negative interactions: for example, an elephant chasing a woman as she fetches firewood, a donkey mauled by hyenas, or the remains of a camel following an attack by lions. Since attitudes formed early in life tend to persist, environmental education aimed at children has great potential for fostering values and behaviours that support long-term conservation objectives and the development of a new generation of wildlife ambassadors.

The Lion Kids Camp is a four-day residential camp hosted by Ewaso Lions in collaboration with The Safari Collection tourist company. After securing their place in the camp through a creative arts competition, children from local primary schools are taken on game drives and bird walks, shown how to use binoculars and cameras; they listen to lectures from local conservation groups and perform in a wildlife conservation-themed drama competition.

An independent evaluation found that the inaugural Lion Kids Camp had not only provided children with a positive and enjoyable experience of wildlife but had significantly improved children’s knowledge of wildlife and conservation issues, the greatest change observed in those children with a lower baseline level of environmental education. Encouragingly, in the questionnaire surveys that followed the camp, all the children agreed that they would be sad if there were no lions in Samburu. Using the results of the evaluation, subsequent camps will continue to nurture our future rangers, wardens, tour guides and field officers.

Lion Watch

Lions and other large carnivores are a major lure to tourists, with thousands of visitors heading to the National Reserves and Community Conservancies which comprises Ewaso Lions study area each year. In order to better engage the tourism industry in lion conservation and effectively exploit the knowledge and presence of safari guides and their clients, Ewaso Lions launched its citizen science project, Lion Watch, in April 2013.

Through Lion Watch, 20 professional guides and rangers, the majority of whom hail from local communities, have received advanced training in the identification and ecology of the region’s lion population and learnt how to monitor the species using identification cards, aging books and a specially designed smartphone app. The programme thus serves a dual function: firstly, it greatly increases the spatial scale of lion monitoring as guides record lion sightings during game drives and secondly, it promotes a richer tourism experience for visitors, who are also encouraged to upload their own photos to an online database. To date, more than 500 lion sightings have been recorded by guides within Samburu and Isiolo Counties, with this vital data contributing to evidence-based conservation decision-making.

Conclusion

Ultimately, Ewaso Lions believes that by integrating decisions and information from the local people who share the landscape with lions into conservation, we are better equipped to understand and conserve the lion population. As our programmes illustrate, current knowledge of lion conflict and movement on the ground can lead to effective community-owned solutions to human-carnivore conflict. In addition, our programmes support the idea that local incentives for conservation are multi-dimensional and the success of community-based conservation need not necessarily rely upon financial instruments. Instead, our approach recognises the importance of political and social benefits in the form of increased equity and empowerment and encourages local ownership of wildlife conservation practices. We firmly believe that this approach has helped galvanise community support for conservation and, in turn, ensured that the lion population within our study area is now stable and has increased to its highest number in a dozen years.