Meet the Team

Dr. Shivani Bhalla

Born and raised in Kenya, Shivani believes the key to lion conservation is working in partnership with local communities. She founded Ewaso Lions in 2007 to promote coexistence between carnivores and people.

Shivani’s commitment to Kenya’s lions has earned her a 2014 Whitley Award, the 2013 Rabinowitz-Kaplan Prize for the Next Generation in Wild Cat Conservation, the ‘Africa’s Young Women Conservation Biologist of 2009′ award by the Society of Conservation Biology, the Virginia McKenna Award for Compassionate Conservation from the Born Free Foundation, and she has been named an Emerging Explorer by National Geographic.

She is a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, African Lion Working Group, Kenya’s Large Carnivore Taskforce and a founding member of the Pride Lion Conservation Alliance. Shivani is a Special Advisor for Women for the Environment (WE) Africa and also on the Steering Committee for the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (EWCL) Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Justice group. Shivani has a BSc. in Environmental Science from Lancaster University, received her MSc. in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from Edinburgh Napier University and was awarded her DPhil in Zoology from Oxford University in 2017.

Previously, she has worked for the Kenya Wildlife Service and Save The Elephants. Shivani moved to Samburu in 2002 and lives in the Ewaso Lions Camp in Westgate Conservancy.

Jeneria Lekilelei

Jeneria joined Ewaso Lions in 2008 at the young age of 19 years old. At that time, he spoke limited English and saw lions only as killers of goats and cows. Since then, Jeneria has been promoted from Lion Scout to Field Assistant to Field Operations and Community Manager and in 2019 was promoted to Director of Community Conservation. As anyone can attest, Jeneria’s knowledge of lion identification, ability to transform conflict, and vast relational skills are key to Ewaso Lions’ functioning.

In 2015, Jeneria won the Conservation Hero Award, the Wildlife Warrior Award from the Houston Zoo, won the inaugural Africa’s Ranger Award from the Paradise Foundation in 2018; he was a finalist for the Tusk Conservation Awards in 2019 and he was awarded the Explorers Club – 50 Explorers Awards and Top 100 Young African Conservation Leaders in 2021. It was Jeneria who conceived the Warrior Watch programme in 2010 and has since been responsible for engaging dozens of Samburu warriors in lion conservation. “Lions are in my bloodstream now,” he says. Jeneria and his team of warriors were featured in National Geographic in 2017 and Citizen TV in 2019.

Arzina Bhanjee

Arzina is the most meticulous accounting expert Ewaso Lions could have asked for. She has an MBA degree with specialisation in Information Technology from the University of Dalhousie (Halifax) in Canada, and helped get all of the organisation’s systems off the ground, putting Ewaso Lions on firm footing. She has valuable experience in Finance, IT and project management in both Kenya and Canada. Arzina’s story is one of determination and resilience, beating the odds to be a cornerstone of Ewaso Lions.

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Toby Otieno

Toby was born and raised in Western Kenya on the outskirts of Kisumu City. As a child, he never knew about ‘conservation’ as a career or way of life. Still, he was fascinated enough with wildlife to sneak out of school to visit a nearby wildlife sanctuary. Watching wildlife there is where his interest began.

Over the years Toby has vast research and field experience ranging from small mammals to large mammals. He started out as a volunteer intern (for over 4 years) at the National Museums of Kenya, Mammalogy Department, before proceeding to Mpala Research Centre as Research Project Field Manager and as a graduate student. Toby holds a BSc. in Wildlife Management and Conservation from the University of Nairobi, and an MSc in Wildlife Management from Karatina University.

Toby joined Ewaso Lions 6 years ago as a Research Manager where he took the lead role in all monitoring activities and research programme management in order to provide data to support our Ewaso Lions mission in ensuring our community-led conservation programmes and research activities are connected to promote continued co-existence between people and wildlife. Currently, Toby is the Director of Impact and Operations where he takes a lead role in our operations and research activities.

Thomas Ekiru

Thomas is a Turkana man from the Ngare Mara region in Isiolo County. Thomas monitors lions in the area, collects data on human-wildlife conflict, engages with communities and supervises the Ngare Mara Conservation Group together with others. Thomas excels at calming tensions when local community members lose their livestock and works with community members to reduce conflict. Thomas also is a key participant in all stakeholder meetings that take place in his home area including discussions on wildlife corridors across the region. Thomas is assisted by Samuel Lokitela who also comes from the Ngare Mara region.

Laikos Letupukwa

Letupukwa has transitioned from Camp Cook (he was our cook for 5 years!) to Research Officer and now to a Regional Coordinator, where he coordinates his team in lion monitoring and patrols and data entry. His data collection responsibilities include conducting transects, recording wildlife sightings through patrols, sociological data surveys including local communities’ attitudes and perceptions towards lions, human-carnivore conflict data, settlement and livestock mapping, and more. Letupukwa did not have any background in research but his passion for learning, enthusiasm, and the support he receives from Toby, have helped develop his knowledge and research skills in which he now excels at. He comes from Ngilai, Wamba in Samburu County and has been working with us since 2011.

Lkirana Lerimara

Lerimara previously helped build our camp in Samburu and was trained by Letupukwa in cooking. He has since moved from being our camp cook to become the camp caretaker. He is a fantastic handy-man to have around camp and takes pride in taking care of the entire camp. Kura and Nanyori can often be found in his company. Lerimara comes from Sasaab village in Westgate Conservancy.

Francis, Jeremiah, & Lenakae

Ewaso Lions rangers help monitor lions and other wildlife within our study area, and keep local communities informed on carnivore movements so as to avoid conflict. The rangers patrol their respective areas collecting data on lion sightings and tracks, wild prey, and incidents of conflict with livestock. Francis Lendorop hails from the Sukuroi area; Jackson Lenakae is from Naisunyai and Jeremiah Letoole comes from West Gate village. Their main role is to support the research aspects of our work by collecting specific data needed to answer research questions and monitor long-term population trends.

Mparasaroi & Munteli

Mparasaroi Lemantaan & Munteli Lalparasaroi have been the driving force behind our Mama Simba (“mother of lions”) programme. The ladies, who both come from Sasaab village, were eager to get involved in conservation and approached us asking for training and education, leading to the creation of the Mama Simba programme. In 2016, following the expansion of Mama Simba into three new areas, the ladies took on a new role as Mama Simba Coordinators. They are now responsible for training and mentoring all the Mama Simba ladies, as well as supporting our management team in the development of the programme especially with regard to conservation workshops, wildlife safaris, the beadwork enterprise and the “bush school”. Over the years, these two ladies have become incredible spokeswomen for lions and are excited to engage even more Samburu women in conservation now that Munteli drives in the region.

Evelyn Oduor

Evelyn is the epitome of being organised and caring. With a diploma certificate in Business Administration from Kenya Institute of Business Management, she has learnt to anticipate everyone’s needs, juggle everything from taking minutes to shopping for car parts to stationery and purchasing all our food, always with a playful smile on her face. Evelyn comes with a wealth of experience in administration and management from her days at British American Tobacco and Pipal Limited.

Evanson Kariuki

Everyone describes Evanson as a hands-on and an all-in kind of person, always willing to lend a helping hand and literally do the heavy lifting to get projects off the ground. While he was hired as the Conservation Programmes Assistant, he has quickly risen to officer level, overseeing the Mama Simba programme, running our Lion Kids Camp and mentoring students through the The Jeremy Lucas Education Fund (JLEF). Evanson has a Masters in Wildlife Management and worked in the Maasai Mara in various capacities, no stranger to the conservation and tourism world.

Sarah Chiles

Sarah Chiles specialises in environmental governance with the aim of harmonizing grey and green infrastructure (built and ecological infrastructure) in economic growth corridors in Africa. She has five years’ experience in East Africa working on conservation strategies and programs for areas of high biodiversity value experiencing significant investment in agriculture and infrastructure. These include the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT), the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor in northern Kenya, the Tanga-Musoma Railway corridor in the Maasai Steppe of northern Tanzania, and the Northern Economic Growth Corridor in southern Kenya.

She has further experience in landscape-level planning in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. She is a member of the International Association of Impact Assessment and has co-facilitated training on environmental assessment in Kenya. She is also co-author of Growing Our Reach – An Intergenerational Leadership Toolkit for Conservation, and is passionate about optimising African organisations to support young conservation professionals. Sarah is South African and has lived and worked in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and the UK. She has further experience in landscape-level planning in Uganda, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.

Landscape Infrastructure Advisor (Ewaso Lions and Grevy’s Zebra Trust)

Semees Lempagaani

Lempagaani joined Ewaso Lions in 2017 as a security guard. He comes from Sukuroi village in Westgate Conservancy. He is quiet and methodical, and as was found to have a flair for cooking, which has transitioned him into a new role of Assistant Camp cook and now he is the Camp cook. Lempagaani can be found baking bread at 4am and preparing special meals for the field team or anyone else in need of his services, always in a calm and sincere way. He keeps the clean kitchen at all times and takes pride in all the meals he prepares for the team.

Warriors

The warriors come from seven conservancies where we work. They include;

1. Lkenes Lekalkuli
2. Lpanini Lemarle
3. Rutanai Lekamario
4. Lekoomet Solomon
5. Loitemu Lekiliamo
6. Rumari Lolchuragi
7. Josphat Lesiil

Samuel Lokitela

Samuel is a Turkana man from the Ngare Mara region in Isiolo County, who went to school and was raised in Ol Donyiro. Samuel works with Thomas and together, they monitor lion in the area, collect data on human-wildlife conflict, and engage with communities. Samuel was one of the key trainees to head up our adult literacy programme and has since been teaching classes in his region opening up a whole new avenue for us to a talk to people about coexistence in a practical way.

Stephen Sanang’i

Stephen is a young man from Mukogodo Maasai in Lekurruki conservancy. He works within the Lekurruki landscape conducting daily patrols, collecting data on wildlife and monitoring lion movement. He also works with the community by reporting and resolving lion conflict cases when they occur and attends community meetings and talks about lions. Stephen works with neighboring conservancies that include: Il Ngwesi, Leparua and Nanapisho to protect wildlife corridors that connect the conservancies.

Joseph Jisana

Jisana is from the ll Laikipiak Maasai ‘People of wildlife’ based in ll Ngwesi conservancy in Isiolo County. As the assistant regional coordinator, Jisana monitors lions in the area, collects data on human-wildlife conflict and engages with communities on conservation issues. He represents Ewaso Lions in stakeholder and partner organisations meetings that take place in his home area. He monitors lions that come from Ewaso Lions’ study area and informs partners on the same. Jisana loves his job and is happy to help his community in promoting coexistence with lions.

Mama Simba

They all hail from 4 villages in Westgate Conservancy. They include;

1. 1. Siriano Lopeta
   2.  Namagin Lengurde
   3. Nakini Lelengeju
   4. Njukunye Leringato
   5. Lucia Lekalkuli
   6. Nilima Lenaisulaa
   7. Mpiriwan Leremore
   8. Rebecca Lenangetai
   9. Naliapu Lelengeju
   10. Reune Letabare
   11. Makaton Lolpuranai
   12. Apese Lekonte
   13. Nantare Lenakae
   14. Njamison Lelenkeju

Moses Lesumante

Moses has taken up the job of camp cook with a keen interest to learn and improve his culinary skills through hands on training from the camp manager. He is eager to create new meals that will uplift the taste buds of the team at camp through continuous coaching.

Lkasian Leringato

Lkasian was a young boy we met in 2017 when he attended our Lion Kids Camp (LKC). He enjoyed his experience so much that he changed his name and applied again to come to another LKC the following year! We identified him as a clear leader and someone that had huge potential in conservation. We kept a close eye on Lkasian, brimming with pride when he was the first herding child ever to take up the microphone at our big 10-year celebration. From late last year, we were there to witness the cross over from boy to warrior. It was a real honour and privilege. Lkasian now spends time in camp- singing as a warrior, putting on his daily ochre- whilst being mentored by the team everyday. He is now going out for lion patrols in the landscape and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Ndume Lebasha

Lebasha has a hidden talent for fixing things.  After recognising his talent, he was ready to take on new challenges and after spending months training to be a mechanic in Nanyuki, he passed his test and became our camp mechanic and driver where he helped fix our vehicles. For years, Lebasha served as the key warrior in Kalama Conservancy, he is a master tracker and spotter. These skills have enabled him to join our Lion Governors team and we are delighted that he can now fully utilise his skills and talents.

Painoti Letabare

Painoti hails from Westgate Conservancy and has joined the Ewaso Lions team as the Mama Simba teacher where she is coordinating our Mama Simba programme literacy activities in concert with Evanson, Munteli and Mparasaroi. Painoti recently finished her studies at Chester Teachers Training College where she pursued a certificate course in Primary Teacher Education (P1). She studied at Kisima High School and Lpus Leluai Primary School where she was the top girl in the school and Kisima High School. During her free time, Painoti loves reading and telling stories. We are excited to have Painoti join the team and scale the Mama Simba programme to greater heights.

Elijah Lengaina

Elijah has joined us as our Camp Manager and Head Chef. Eli as commonly referred by the team leads with a calm and to-do attitude. He is responsible for overall camp administration and efficient operations management within the camp. He is keen on ensuring that hygiene, safety and sanitation standards are adhered to. Elijah is passionate about excellent service and has a flair for making Italian food. He is keen on mentorship and training the kitchen team on best kitchen management practices.

Solomon Lenasalia

Solomon Lenasalia hails from Ol Donyiro Conservancy in Isiolo County. This tall, shy young man from humble beginnings is one of our former sponsored students under Ewaso Lions’ Jeremy Lucas Education Fund (JLEF). He is currently leading the Kura’s Pride project, that addresses the challenges communities and domestic dogs face in the Samburu landscape. Solomon has been involved in many activities at Ewaso Lions including dog surveys by collecting baseline data before the launch of Kura Pride, dog vaccinations, and post vaccination surveys within Westgate Conservancy.

He has also been involved in conducting transect surveys recording wildlife and livestock sightings, manyatta mapping, wildlife rescue among others. He was singled out as an outstanding facilitator by the Africa Educational Trust who trained our team on adult literacy in 2019. With all this under his belt, Solomon is a true role model for the other students under the JLEF sponsorship programme and for his entire community.

Kura

Kura – meaning “Vote” in Kiswahili – turned up in our camp on the day of Kenya’s National Elections in 2013. The pup was lost, limping, and had clearly been walking through the night searching for some safety. He is a permanent camp member. He loves and follows Jeneria everywhere, and sleeps on one of his 8 beds around camp. He has become very protective of us all and has warned us of poisonous snakes, leopards nearby, and loudly announces any visitor to camp.

Nanyori

Nanyori joined our team in July 2017. Jeneria rescued her from a village where the owners were struggling to feed her. It took a while for Kura to accept Nanyori but he did and both dogs now play together every evening on their favourite sand pile. Nanyori loves everyone, is very social and can be found running behind Kura often or sleeping under Evanson’s or Lerimara’s feet.

Matthew Muruana

Matthew joined Ewaso Lions in 2022 as the Research & Impact Manager where he uses Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) and Survey 123 to collect data on lion-human conflicts and to conduct lion monitoring. He also collects and analyses data on the interactions between biodiversity and infrastructure and how this impacts wildlife.

Matthew has vast research experience from working with Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) as a Programme Officer to using conservation technology tools such as GiraffeSpotter and Wild-ID to conduct photographic mark-recapture surveys on giraffe populations in the Central and Western region. He holds a B. Sc. in Range Management from the University of Nairobi and is currently completing his M.A. in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management from the University of Nairobi.

John Lekalaile

 John was born and raised in the Westgate Community Conservancy in Samburu. He holds a diploma in  Cooperatives Management from the Cooperative University of Kenya. During his attachment period at Westgate Community Conservancy, he developed a passion for wildlife conservation which saw him apply for an internship at Ewaso Lions.

 John started working as a Research Assistant at Ewaso Lions in 2021 and despite having a different background, he developed his research skills. Currently, he works as our Research and Impact Coordinator where collects and analyses data on human-lion conflicts, lion monitoring and sightings from the data he receives from our lion patrol team. He also creates awareness about lion corridors and dispersal areas which enables the community to consider these areas during their dry season settlement plans. John is a very resourceful member due to his skills in conflict mitigation and resolution. He is able to calm down the community whenever they have lost their livestock to lions.