It saddens us to announce that two lion cubs died early Thursday morning in Buffalo Springs National Reserve in northern Kenya. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) vets have taken the bodies of the one and a half year-old cubs to Nairobi for testing to confirm the cause of death.
It is thought that the lions, belonging to the Ngare Mara Pride, may have been poisoned.
The Ewaso Lions team, together with KWS and Buffalo Springs National Reserve authorities, were present at the scene during the day. Jeneria was later able to locate the rest of the pride close by and we are relieved to report that the other three cubs and their mothers are fine.
Update 29 July: As of the 29th, the remaining cubs and their mothers are well. The cubs spent two full days hiding in a warthog hole, where they were closely guarded and watched over by Jeneria and Letoiye. They finally emerged, and our Field Team was able to assess their condition. Although very nervous, the cubs were well fed and looked stable.
The following day, the cubs were sighted close to their mothers – all looking healthy. After six days closely monitoring the lions, our team has returned to camp exhausted and saddened by the loss of the two cubs but relieved that the remaining pride members are fine.
Meanwhile, we are awaiting results from KWS to confirm the cause of death of the two cubs.
Update: The results confirmed that the lions died from ingesting a toxic pesticide. This is the first recorded instance of a lion being killed by poison in our area. We are taking this matter very seriously and will work hard to make sure this threat is addressed.
