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Why Collar Lions?

By Hannah Campbell

Lions are a critical part of the African ecosystem, keeping herbivore numbers under control. If the herbivore population is not regulated, the increase of competition among them could cause some to go extinct, and reduce biodiversity. They also play a part in keeping herds healthy and strong by preying on the weakest members. Lions also effect the behaviour of prey species that in turn change the spatial pressure on plants, which can influence other species and even water systems – known as a trophic cascade.

Lioness after a successful hunt. © Phil Carter.

Unfortunately, lions are in trouble. The ever increasing human population both threatens lion habitat and means lions are continuously pushed into closer contact with people, which increases the risk of human-wildlife conflict and the killing of lions in relation for killing livestock.

Lion Landscapes, Loisaba Conservancy, and TNC Africa are working with communities to reduce conflict between humans and lions by protecting livestock from attacks by lions and protecting lions from attacks by people. © Ami Vitali.

Our partner, Lion Landscapes, is working towards mitigating human-lion conflict by collaring lions in partnership with KWS. Specialised lion GPS collars are deployed and managed in order to provide livestock owners with real time lion movement data via a mobile app, developed by Save The Elephants. This is part of on-going research into how lions use human-dominated landscapes at different stages of their lives, and helps people keep their livestock away from lions or increase vigilance and guarding effort when lions are nearby. Collars also show when lions move into areas where risk of conflict is high, which gives Lion Rangers a chance to act quickly to prevent livestock form being attacked by lions and resulting retaliation. Altogether, information from collars reduces attacks on livestock and retaliatory killing of lions.

Loisaba’s Lion Rangers ready to respond to any incidences of human-wildlife conflict. © Ami Vitali.

 

Not all lions are collared, so how does Lion Landscapes choose which to collar?

There are three main reasons a particular lion is collared:

1. Monitoring Prides

Lions are unusual in that they are the only social cat. They live in groups known as prides that consist of mothers, daughters, sisters and one or more adult breeding males, with the young males being pushed out when they reach sexual maturity to ensure species diversity.

Lion Landscapes aims to collar the oldest lioness in each distinct pride, in order to monitor the prides movements and inform livestock owners when they are close to particular bomas (corals where cattle are kept at night). The most mature female lion is likely to be the leader of the group, and is also the individual at most risk of getting to an age where she becomes a “problem” lion (see below).

Imara (left), collared at Loisaba on 19th December 2019 with a member of her pride. © Jim Koenigsaecker.

 

2. Monitoring Young Males

When young males leave their maternal prides, they are not yet strong or experienced enough to take on older males to win a pride of their own. While avoiding the territories of more experienced males, they are often pushed into areas with less prey and more people and livestock, meaning they are then at greater risk of being killed either to prevent livestock loss or in retaliation.

In January 2020, Lion Landscapes collared one of five young adult males here at Loisaba in order to monitor their progress, and to help out if they get themselves into trouble!

Felix (left), collared at Loisaba on 18th January 2020 with one of his brothers. © Hannah Campbell.

 

3. Monitoring “Problem” Lions

There are occasions when lions become problematic, and repeatedly target livestock rather than wild prey. These “problem” lions are usually older or weaker individuals that are less able to hunt for themselves. Livestock prove much easier prey than zebra or antelope when hunting alone, so these lions are in much more danger of being killed in retaliation.

These lions are collared in order for them to be directly monitored, and maps of their locations sent to livestock owners. This means livestock owners are always on high alert when the lion is near and ready to prevent livestock predation. Research suggests that if you make it hard for a lion to kill livestock, and their attempts repeatedly fail, then they are less likely to try again and can eventually give up hunting livestock in favour of wild prey.

Narok, collared at Loisaba in February 2018. Narok was originally collared to keep track of her prides movements, but now cannot keep up with the pride during hunts. This means she is at more risk of coming into conflict with humans, so her movements are closely monitored.  © Hannah Campbell.

 

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March 2020 Updates

Conservation and Wildlife Security

In partnership with The Peregrine Fund and Lion Landscapes, Loisaba hosted a Community Coexistence Training course at Loisaba for members of the surrounding communities. The training is designed to teach communities about the dangers and negative effects of poisoning to humans and their livestock, whilst providing individuals with the skills and knowledge to better protect their livestock and to therefore reduce retaliation killing of carnivores.

36 people from Koija, Kirimon and Il Motiok received the training. These communities were targeted as they experience high levels of human-carnivore conflict due to living adjacent to wildlife conservancies and ranches.

The training is part of the Coexistence Co-op, which is a partnership between Lion Landscapes and The Peregrine Find to reduce livestock lost to large carnivores, and stop the resultant use of highly toxic pesticides to kill ‘problem’ carnivores, and that indiscriminately poison critically endangered vultures.

Photos of the Month

Most liked Instagram photo:

Elephant © Hannah Campbell

Most liked Facebook photo:

Reticulated Giraffe © Peter Ekidor

 

Best Caption:

@gabriellafrancesca94: ‘I told you to stop and ask for directions Hank, now we’re going to be late!’

If you have any photos from your stay at Loisaba that you would like featuring on our social media, please email them stating how you would like it to be credited to Hannah at [email protected]!

 

 

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International Women’s Day 2020

By Hannah Campbell

For a long time, conservation had been a male dominated field. But things are changing. At Loisaba, we have been and continue to be intentional in ensuring female representation across all of our programmes. From security to community outreach, the ladies at Loisaba are shaping a better future for wildlife and people.

For International Woman’s Day this year, we are looking at looking at some of the stories of the women who are critical to our work…

Doreen Ongeri, Accountant

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

“I’m a strong lady and have come a long way. I have two daughters who are in school and I am proud that I pay their school fees single handily. I have made sure that they work hard and value money but will not limit them – they should be able to do whatever they want to do! I love working at Loisaba as it has enabled me to further my education, and has meant that I am working in a field that I trained in.”

Do you feel like women have disadvantages in Kenya?

“Today there are many women in high positions, and more girls are going to school. However, you still hear of issues of men wanting to take advantage of women in the workplace and many communities that still favour boys going to school over girls. The responsibility of taking care of children is also often left with the mother, so she has to now balance education and work with looking after a family.”

What are the problems that women face?

“Many families think that girls should not go to school, and therefore invest more in their son’s education. There are also expectations that there are certain jobs for men and for women such as housekeeping, teaching, nursing and secretary work, which often limits women. There are also some issues with young ladies getting pregnant too young and being expected to get married and look after the children, rather than furthering their education. I think there needs to be more investment in sexual education for children at school.”

What can women achieve if given the chance?

“A lot! Anything a man can do, so can a woman!”

What message would you like to send other women?

“You should never be intimidated by anyone. The world has changed from thinking women should be housewives, make the most of it and do great things. You can be anyone you want to be, and soar heights!”

Milly Kwatoya, Loisaba Community Trust (Scholarships + Community Support)

Tell us a little about yourself.

“My name is Milly and I am from Western Kenya. I currently work with Lori DeNooyer helping with the Loisaba Community Trust community outreach programme.”

How did you start to work at Loisaba?

“I started work at Loisaba in 2006 working in the shop. I worked there for six years before starting to help in the office with operations, accounts and reservations. While working in the office, I started working at Lorok Ltd. with Lori DeNooyer – helping with scholarships for children in the local area along with other community projects.”

How Important Is Education for girls?

“Education is the background of everything. Ever since I started at Loisaba, I have always been interested in meeting the girls in the communities and encouraging them to be excited about education so they have a better chance of getting a job. It’s very different to Western Kenya where education for girls is more common. It is very fulfilling to see the girls that have been through the Loisaba Community Trust scholarship program prosper!”

What are the problems that women face in communities around Loisaba?

“Women are often expected to stay in the households and therefore parents don’t see the need to send daughters to school, meaning they do not get the same opportunities as their brothers would. FGM is also still practised here – after the ceremony they are expected to get married and have children rather than stay in school.”

How is Loisaba Community Trust helping girls and women in the community?

“I am proud to say that more girls are attending secondary school with the help of our scholarships. We also run an anti-FGM programme where young girls and parents go through training to demonstrate the dangers of the practise, and offer an alternate rite of passage. We are also planning to organise a walk to raise awareness of the dangers of FGM and encourage more members of the community to attend our workshop and ceremony. We support women in the communities too with a beadwork programme, which helps to empower them by giving them a source of income. During my work in the communities, I have seen parents attitudes change towards both sending girls to school and to perceptions of FGM – which is huge job satisfaction!”

 What message would you like to send other women?

“Keep doing what you are doing, as long as you’re happy!” 

Noryn Nabira, HR and Accounts

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

“My name is Nabira and I am a Christian Luhya from Western Kenya. I studied Economics and History at university as I am good at maths and feel economics opens up many opportunities. I am now pursuing a post-graduate diploma in HR management.”

How did you start to work at Loisaba Conservancy?

“I started work at Loisaba in February 2018. I wanted to work here as I am passionate about conservation, and agree with the mission to protect and enhance critical wildlife diversity, abundance and habitat in the Loisaba landscape while supporting neighbouring communities.”

What are the problems that women face in communities? Have you had to overcome any of these?

“Many women are not educated, and therefore it is hard for them to have an income to sustain themselves. It has meant that women are much more depended on men. There are also many practises such as FGM whereby young girls are taken out of school to marry young which is a challenge. Where I am from in Western Kenya there are fewer issues and girls are encouraged to go to school. In the communities around Loisaba however, the community is still very much pastoral and the girls are expected to look after the households. The work Loisaba does in the communities with Anti-FGM and scholarships is extremely important for women!”

What message would you like to send other women?

“Women should embrace education. Perceptions are changing, people are moving and you need to make sure you don’t get left behind!”

Linet Akinyi Mukoma, Security Control Room

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

“My name is Linet and I come from Busia County in Western Kenya. I like traveling, especially to the beach. I love Diani – it is a good place to visit when you feel stressed as the atmosphere is so relaxing! I also have a son who is turning 8 in May. I would like my son to grow up knowing that women are not weak vessels. A woman is capable and strong, and he should not look down upon women.”

What is your role at Loisaba Conservancy?

“I am a radio operator – my work is to gather information from all over the conservancy concerning wildlife and security threats. I enjoy my work because it connects me to different people and I learn more about the wildlife. I am passionate about wildlife conservation, especially the work in partnership with Lion Landscapes in order to reduce retaliation killing of lions.”

What are the problems that women face in your community?

“Women in some communities are seen to be inferior to men – they don’t have speech. They are considered as weak vessels and their place is the kitchen. Women are not seen as independent.”

What can women achieve if given the chance?

“Women can achieve a lot! They can be leaders, they are capable of doing everything in careers, in education, even work in security like me which is usually considered a man’s job.”

What message would you like to send other women?

“I would like to tell other women to not look down on themselves. They should believe they can do anything and be independent!”

Susan Lentaam, Assistant Conservation Officer

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

“My name is Susan, I’m from Wamba (Samburu East) – a very remote area. I went to school in Isiolo which was 150km from my home. There were no roads so it used to take me 3 days to walk to school, starting at 9 years old. My father was very supportive of my education and ensured I went to school, even though it was sad my parents could not attend any of the parents days and end of term events due to the distance and the fact he could not leave his cattle.”

What is your role at Loisaba Conservancy?

“I work as the assistant conservation officer, focusing on SMART (our monitoring and reporting tool that our security rangers use) and Lion Monitoring in partnership with Lion Landscapes. The most interesting thing about my job has been learning about lion behaviour and how to identify individuals. This is done by taking photos of the whisker spots on each side of the face, as each lion has a unique pattern. Ear notches are also recorded as well as any other distinguishing features to help with the ID.”

What are the problems that women face in your community? Have you had to overcome any of these?

“There is often poor attendance of girls in schools due to early marriages and harmful cultural practises like FGM. There is also discrimination especially in jobs. People think that there are jobs that women are not supposed to do as they are thought of as weak. Sometimes people think women are not good at fieldwork, such as monitoring of lions, as it is tiring work. I want to prove those people that they are wrong and women can do many jobs! Luckily my father was very supportive, so the main problem I had was the distance from school. However, my uncles did not approve of my father’s decision to send me to school and said I should get married instead. My father said “you have to be strong and brave like a lion!” and I am very grateful to him.

What can women achieve if given the chance?

“Women can do a lot of things, even in leadership roles. If a women is given a chance to lead an organisation or community they can achieve a lot as they have the best interests of the people at heart.”

What message would you like to send other women?

“Support others, and be brave like a lion!”

Kaltuma Dabaso, Clinical Health Officer

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

“My name is Kaltuma and I am from Isiolo county. I come from a humble background and have always been pushed to work for the better.”

How did you become involved with the clinic at Loisaba Conservancy?

“I have always loved to help people in need, and was excited by the chance to help the communities around Loisaba when the position became vacant. Loisaba has given me the opportunity to help people through outreaches and other projects. This brings a special joy being able to interact and improve peoples lives. Working at Loisaba has also helped me grow through trainings, using different ways to teach important messages to communities.”

How important is promoting women in society using the clinic?

“By helping with the community dispensary, community trainings and holding mobile outreach clinics, we have managed to positively impact women in need and bring changes such as stopping FGM, educating women and encouraging them to attend antenatal and postnatal clinics, providing family planning and improving women’s general health.”

What challenges have you witnessed for women in the communities around Loisaba?

“Early marriage and lack of women empowerment with men making most decisions regarding family planning and FGM. Health facilities are also often too far for them to access for services such as antenatal clinic and other medical services. Women also partake in strenuous activities such as carrying water, firewood and building manyattas during pregnancy which can be very risky to both mother and baby.”

What message would you like to send other women?

“They have power and strength to bring change in society. We have important roles in the family and communities!”

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Baotree – Engaging Communities in Conservation

By Hannah Campbell

Imagine waking up to find that you had lost your job and your life’s savings all in one night. You’d understandably hate whatever was responsible for your loss, and may even go out of your way to destroy it.

This is how a herder feels when he loses his entire herd of goats to a leopard or other predator attack during the night. As tourists and conservationists, we see these animals as magnificent cats that should be protected from extinction, but to the pastoralist communities that surround Loisaba, they are simply a huge risk to their livelihoods.

For the conservation of wildlife to be successful, it is vital that the people these species share their habitat with are also committed to their survival, and see a benefit and value to their existence.

A new coexistence model known as Baotree was recently trialed here at Loisaba, in partnership with Lion Landscapes. Designed and led by Dimitri Syrris, Baotree aims to provide local communities with a mechanism to actively earn community development goals, through carrying out conservation-based activities, thus engaging in the protection of their environment and their livelihoods. This approach keeps the responsibility for natural resource management firmly within the communities, whilst supporting and catalyzing the development of conservation-based activities.

“It is critical that, for conservation of wildlife and associated biodiversity to be successful, the custodians of existing ecosystems that support the magnitude of biodiversity required for the survival of large carnivores and other mega-fauna can benefit directly from that conservation. Loisaba Conservancy seeks to scale the impact of wildlife, livestock and community coexistence. What is needed is an inclusive approach that will promote diversity and achieve a credible, measurable result.” – Dimitri Syrris

The model works by assigning conservation tasks known as ‘gigs’ to communities, such as reporting a lion sighting to assist with research and strengthening their boma to help reduce human wildlife conflict. Each of these gigs is rewarded with a conservation currency, “bao-points”, which are then exchanged for a community benefit. The more important the gig for conservation, the more bao-points earned!

Invasive Species Removal

During the trail, the following steps were carried out:

  • The Baotree concept was presented to the chief, chairman and community members of Koija
  • Priority needs were agreed with the community members
  • Baotree community volunteers were identified and provided with a unique Baotree ID, registered to their community
  • In collaboration with Loisaba Conservancy and Lion Landscapes, the Baotree gigs were designed to support localised conservation efforts
  • Baotree printed a list of gigs that the community could complete in order to earn Bao-points (each gig had a specified evidence requirement) – the value of each gig was not shared with the community during this pilot to ensure there was no skew re which gigs were completed
  • The Bao-crew reported the gigs via phone call, which were then validated by members of Loisaba staff
  • On completion of the Baotree pilot, a community meeting was held to signify the end of the test period, and to discuss implementing the community project goals.

List of Community Gigs and associated Bao-Points

The pilot was a great success, with Koija community earning a total of 2,732 Bao-points after completing 125 gigs. Information from community meetings and a recent survey showed that within these communities, the men would like to see their livestock better protected and the women would like a better understanding of healthcare.

Installation of a predator proof boma

Baotree allowed the installation of 15 predator-proof bomas, along with a five day healthcare training workshop that covered prevention of disease, basic first aid, nutrition and health and the dangers of drug abuse.

Healthcare workshop

Dimitri is currently working on the next steps, with the success of the pilot pushing him forward.  A core focus is on scaling the solution through a technology facilitation platform –  where all stakeholders within conservation, communities and the international world will have a positive return on impact.  Dimitri is a strong believer in Baotree and his vision for coexistence to be key in unlocking a new type of digital independence within the African continent.

Follow Baotree on Instagram and Facebook for updates!

Baotree founder, Dimitri Syrris, with Baotree participants

 

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January 2020 Updates

By Hannah Campbell

Conservation & Wildlife Security

Loisaba’s JCB Back-hoe clearing Opuntia. © Horris Wanyama

Removal of the invasive species Opuntia engelmannii is ongoing, with over 100 acres of heavily infested area cleared since the team started in the last week of September.

Endangered Grevy’s zebra at Loisaba standing with a herd of common zebra. Photo © Phoebe Belcher

Today is international zebra day! This month, teams at Loisaba participated in the Great Grevy’s Rally in an attempt to calculate the current population size of this endangered species. Our SMART patrols have estimated that Loisaba is home to 30-40 of these zebras, and we look forward to hearing the results from the survey later this year!

Community

On the 16th and 17th, Loisaba’s Community Development and Clinical Officers, Paul and Kaltuma, partnered with CHAT to hold an outreach clinic at KMC, one of Loisaba’s neighbouring communities. This was predominantly aimed at women and included check-ups, treatment of minor illnesses and information on family planning.

Research

Felix after being fitted with a collar. © Hannah Campbell

On the 18th, Lion Landscapes collared one of five young adult lions at Loisaba; brothers who have just left their maternal pride. This is part of on-going research into how lions use human-dominated landscapes at different stages of their lives. The Iridium collar will allow the Lion Rangers to monitor their progress, and help out if they get themselves in trouble. Felix is doing well, and can be heard (along with his brothers) most nights at Loisaba!

Photos of the Month

Most liked Instagram Photo:

© Murad Habib

 

Most liked Facebook Photo:

© Ross Mastrovich

If you have any photos from your stay at Loisaba that you would like featuring on our social media, please email them stating how you would like it to be credited to us at [email protected]!

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Loisaba’s ‘BioBins’ – Hyenas and Vultures

© Phil Carter

By Hannah Campbell

Here at Loisaba, we use our BioDigester and Community Cooker to convert waste to energy. Disposing of waste is important, as it reduces risk of various diseases as well as ensuring cleanliness in the workplace.

Out in the bush, a similar process of converting waste to energy is happening with the help of animals known as scavengers, which consume decaying biomass to use as energy. Scavengers – sometimes referred to as ‘bio-bins’ – play an important role the food web and exist in a range of sizes, from beetles to bears. They keep an ecosystem free of the bodies of dead animals (carrion), as well as any infectious materials that could become a health hazard to other animals. Scavengers break down this organic material and recycle it into the ecosystem as nutrients.

Hyenas

© Phil Carter

While hyenas are one of Africa’s top predators while working together in a group, they are also able to scavenge older kills due to their strong stomach acid and ability to digest bone. Their jaws (which are among the strongest in relation to size of any other mammal) and digestive tract allow them to process and obtain nutrients from flesh, skin and bones. The only parts of prey not fully digested are hair, horns and hooves which are regurgitated in the form of pellets. The high mineral content of the bones makes their droppings a highly visible, chalky white.

Vultures

© Hannah Campbell

Vultures are the most specialised scavenging bird species and survive on carrion alone. Their excellent eyesight allows them to locate carrion up to six kilometres away while soaring high over the landscape. Vultures usually have no feathers on their head and neck, which prevents pieces of carrion (which can carry toxic bacteria) from sticking to and infecting the bird. Like hyenas, they also have a highly acidic stomach which kills any bacteria that is consumed with the meat.

If vultures disappeared from the landscape, the rotting meat would be consumed by disease-causing agents and carriers, causing a serious health risk to other animals as well as humans. Ecosystem services provided by wildlife and vultures in particular will be impossible or enormously costly to replace once they are lost. It has been estimated that a single living vulture is worth USD 11,000 due to the scavenging services they provide.

Critically endangered African white-backed vulture at Loisaba. © Tui De Roy

Worryingly, six of Africa’s 11 vulture species are now at a high risk of extinction. Four are now Critically Endangered, while two more have been added to the Endangered list.

Six vulture species can be found here at Loisaba; the palm-nut vulture (LC), the Egyptian vulture (EN), the lappet-faced vulture (EN), and the critically endangered hooded, African white-backed and Rüppell’s griffon vultures.

The biggest threat to vulture species is poison, which occurs when people try to eradicate predators such as lions, leopards and hyenas in order to protect their livestock by leaving poisoned cows out as bait.

Critically endangered Rüppell’s griffon vulture at Loisaba. © Hannah Campbell

We are helping to reduce the poisoning threat to vultures and other carnivores by supporting Lion Landscapes and The Peregrine Fund in offering ‘co-existence’ training to the communities surrounding Loisaba. The training is designed to teach communities about the dangers and negative effects of poisoning to humans and their livestock, whilst providing individuals with the skills and knowledge to better protect their livestock and to therefore reduce retaliation killing.

The training is part of the Coexistence Co-op, which is a partnership between Lion Landscapes and The Peregrine Find to reduce livestock lost to large carnivores, and stop the resultant use of highly toxic pesticides to kill ‘problem’ carnivores, and that indiscriminately poison critically endangered vultures.

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2019 Highlights

By Hannah Campbell

As we reach the end of 2019, we would like to invite you to celebrate some of our key achievements over the past 12 months with us…

Zero Poaching

Loisaba’s K9 Unit out on patrol. © Alastair Boyd

Due to the increase in investment, National Police Reserve status and additional training programmes, poaching incidents at Loisaba have been reduced to zero, with no major security incident occurring in the conservancy this year.

Two Lionesses Collared

Collared lion at Loisaba Conservancy. © Hannah Campbell

In May 2019, another lioness was collared at Loisaba to allow the real-time tracking of the pride using an app, with a chip in the collar activating alarms that are attached to bomas. This ensures guards are on high alert when the lions are around!

In November, this lioness unfortunately sustained a serious injury to her leg, thought to be sustained by a zebra kick. After examination by a vet from Kenya Wildlife Services, it was concluded that recovery would not be possible and the difficult decision to euthanise her was made.

On the 19th December, a further lioness was collared to continue the important coexistence work of Lion Landscapes. Read more about how initiatives at Loisaba are addressing issues with human-wildlife conflict here.

Five Giraffes Fitted with GPS Tracking Devices

Reticulated giraffe GPS tagging operation. © San Diego Zoo Global

In the single largest GPS satellite tagging of giraffe in history, 28 solar powered GPS satellite tracking units were fitted to endangered reticulated giraffe in northern Kenya from 27th August – 5th September this year (five of which at Loisaba). This exercise was carried out in order to better understand their spatial movements and habitat use in the wild. Read more here.

Black Leopards Scientifically Recorded at Loisaba

Black leopard caught on camera trap at Loisaba Conservancy. © San Diego Zoo Global

In February this year, San Diego Zoo Global released a paper confirming the presence of melanistic leopards in Laikipia, with observations on five different dates and five different camera locations. Read more here.

Request for Loisaba to Become an Eastern Black Rhino Sanctuary Sent to KWS

Memory of Black Rhinos at Loisaba. © Down to Earth Films & Kathy Campbell

Loisaba has recently sent an application to Kenya Wildlife Services requesting permission to become a Rhino Sanctuary. Black rhinos were last seen on the property in the early 70’s, and it is our aim to make Loisaba a permanent home for rhinos again. Read more here.

Invasive Species Removal

JCB backhoe digging a pit for the invasive cactus. © Hannah Campbell

With the help of a generous donation through The Nature Conservancy, we have been able to purchase a JCB backhoe in order to help with the removal of the invasive cactus, Opuntia engelmannii. This investment has made a significant improvement to the efficiency of controlling the species, enabling removal of the cactus at over five times the rate of the previous method. The dug up cactus is now also being used to provide cooking fuel for our anti-poaching unit – read more here.

Community Engagement

© Ami Vitale

During 2019, 47 students have been supported through education, including full payment of school fees, books, uniform, school supplies, transport and school trips. The Loisaba team meets with all sponsored students every term to provide advice and support for their studies. We continue to hold education days at our Conservation Centre, hosting 18-20 students per event. The children take part in exercises demonstrating the importance of food webs and conservation of all species and basic mammal ecology.

Since 2017, Loisaba’s Community Liaison Officer has been visiting Ewaso Dispensary every Monday with our Clinical Health Officer who attends to patients, as well as restocking the dispensary with medication provided by the government. In addition to this, medical outreach clinics are held monthly in communities that have little access to medical care. Over 1,500 patients were treated in 2019. Read more here.

Thank you!

Whether you’ve been to stay at one of Elewana’s lodges here at Loisaba, supported us with a generous donation or simply followed our work on social media, you are a valued part of Loisaba’s network.

If you would like to support our work further, visit www.loisaba.com/donate.

Thank you for your support. Here’s to a successful 2020!

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Lion Conservation: How You Can Help!

By Hannah Campbell

Lions are in trouble. Their population in Africa is estimated to have almost halved in the past 20 years, with as few as 20,000 estimated to be remaining across the entire continent. This is largely due to habitat loss and degradation, having lost 90% of their historic range. Other factors include reduction in prey, human-lion conflict, lack of incentives for communities to tolerate lions leading to a negative perception and ineffective lion population management.

© Hannah Campbell

In an effort to improve predator population monitoring, the Kenyan government, together with numerous NGO’s, are currently undertaking a comprehensive nation-wide lion survey using a standardised method called Spatially Explicit Capture Recapture Method. This involves teams regularly patrolling the conservancy and recording locations of lion sightings, as well as taking ID photographs, in order to estimate population size. Any other predators that are sighted are also recorded, with particular interest in cheetah and wild dog populations and distribution.

© Taro Croze

Loisaba is part of the 77,595km2 area that is being intensively surveyed to provide accurate estimates of lion numbers in all potential ‘source’ populations. Working closely with our partner Lion Landscapes, our conservation department has been trained on the standardised methodology in order to individually identify any lions that are sighted.

Map to show the areas that the lion census is taking place.

A further 580,367km2 will be surveyed through over 3,500 interviews with local experts. The results of these interviews will be analysed to assess the distribution of large carnivores throughout the country.

Guests staying at Elewana Collection’s Loisaba Lodo Springs, Loisaba Tented Camp and Loisaba Star Beds can help participate in this survey by reporting any sightings of lions, cheetahs or wild dogs to our conservation team.

© Taro Croze

Any photos that are taken of these predators are also useful! If you are staying at Loisaba and would like to contribute towards the database, please see the below guide for taking ID photos of the lions. The team will need to be able to distinguish between individuals, so focusing on one lion is best. If you manage to take all necessary photos of that individual, take a photo of the sky or ground as an indicator that you are now photographing another individual. Photos, along with the date, time and location (ask your guide for help with this if your camera does not have a built in GPS) can then be sent to [email protected].

Guide for lion ID photos.

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Coexisting for Conservation

By Hannah Campbell

Here in Northern Kenya, the traditional lifestyle and livelihood practised by the local Maasai and Samburu people is nomadic pastoralism. This involves moving from place to place, following patterns of rainfall in search of fresh pasture and water for their cattle, camels, sheep and goats. This lifestyle has been practised since their arrival in Kenya in the 15th century, but lately it has risen to an increase in both human-predator conflict and competition with other grazers for resources. With the human population continuing to expand and shifts in settlement and grazing patterns, it is becoming more and more important for humans and wildlife to share habitat, and to coexist peacefully.

Sakakei Naiptari moves his cows out of the boma before they milk them and take them out for grazing at Loisaba. © Ami Vitale

Loisaba Conservancy is at the forefront of livestock and conservation land management, and believes wildlife and livestock can and need to coexist. Loisaba has livestock, but instead of negatively impacting wildlife, the careful management of cattle grazing and the construction of dams at Loisaba has meant that there is a good, consistent supply of food and water for wildlife. This has created a haven for endangered species such as the African wild dog and Grevy’s zebra, as well as large numbers of elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard and cheetah.

In partnership with San Diego Zoo Global and Lion Landscapes, Loisaba also helps mitigate human-wildlife conflict that arises in the surrounding communities due to predators killing livestock:

San Diego Zoo Global

As part of San Diego Zoo Global’s Leopard Research Program, a Boma Monitoring Study is being carried out in Loisaba’s neighbouring communities in order to examine the carnivores that visit livestock bomas, and understand what may differentiate between an encounter and an attack at a boma site. Some bomas (carefully chosen by members of the community) have been supplied with subsidised materials such as wire and predator deterrent lights, in order to identify the best tools for mitigation, and contribute towards human-wildlife coexistence rather than conflict.

One of the giraffes fitted with a GPS tracking unit. © Hannah Campbell

San Diego Zoo Global’s Reticulated Giraffe Program, the Twiga Walinzi Initiative, is also looking into livestock interactions. In June 2017, 11 GPS tracking devices were fitted onto giraffes in order to provide insight into the movement of giraffe as well as possible movement corridors and preferred habitat. To further understand the interactions between giraffe and livestock, tracking devices were also placed on some of the cattle, camels and goats at Loisaba. This movement data, when combined with the giraffe movement data, will give a comprehensive oversight on the movements of livestock herds in relation to reticulated giraffe and how livestock are potentially impacting giraffe movement.

Map to show giraffe and livestock movement data.

Lion Landscapes

Lion Landscapes’ “Collaring for Coexistence” initiative is using technology to help lions live alongside people and livestock. Specialised lion GPS collars are deployed and managed in order to provide livestock owners with real time lion movement data via a mobile app, developed by Save The Elephants. This helps people keep their livestock away from lions in an area, and therefore reduces attacks on livestock and retaliation killing. The collars are also equipped with a chip that sets off an alarm when in close contact with Savannah Tracking’s Boma Shield System – the harmless deterrents used (lights and alarms) often stop a lion attacking, and ensure that the night watchmen are awake and ready to chase it away.

Narok – one of Loisaba’s collared lionesses. © Hannah Campbell

Six members of Loisaba’s Rapid Response Team have also been trained and equipped to respond effectively to incidences of human-carnivore conflict, following agreed best practises for lion conservation. This Lion Ranger training from the Peregrine Fund included information on how to respond to wildlife poisoning incidents, in order to prevent further wildlife losses and minimising risk to human and livestock health.

Two of the Loisaba Lion Rangers helping to track the Victoria pride.

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Citizen Science Initiative

Loisaba Conservancy is a hub for applied conservation research in the north Kenya landscape.  Our research partners San Diego Zoo, Space for Giants and Lion Landscapes are constantly on the lookout for high quality images that can be used to identify specific individuals. As a result, Space for Giants and San Diego Zoo have developed a project to engage guests at Elewana’s luxury Loisaba Star Beds and Loisaba Tented Camp in a Citizen Science Initiative.

For the past year Loisaba has been using the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) to monitor wildlife numbers throughout the conservancy. Data is collected using an app called Cybertracker and analysed using SMART to show wildlife encounters and human activities across the conservancy.

Grevy’s zebra © Amos Chege

As part of the new Citizen Science Initiative, every game drive vehicle will be equipped with a tablet installed with the simple data collection model. This will allow guests to record sightings for seven key species of wildlife; elephants, leopards, lions, giraffes, Grevy’s zebras, cheetahs and wild dogs during their game drives. Every sighting is automatically geotagged meaning that the data can be easily mapped after the drive. This data will then contribute meaningfully to the research objectives of each of the respective research partners at Loisaba.

© Amos Chege

For example, locations and images of leopards taken by guests will allow SDZG researchers to identify individual leopards and track populations and their status through time. SDZG researchers use remote cameras to identify leopards by their unique coat patterns. Each leopard has a distinct set of rosettes, much in the same way a fingerprint is unique to every human. Researchers use these coat patterns on each flank of the leopard to verify their identification.

The pilot project has been tested on Loisaba Conservancy over the past few months with the brilliant Elewana guides having been trained on the data collection app by our Conservation Officer, Chege Amos.

Loisaba is at the forefront of adaptive management through scientifically informed decisions that will help inform appropriate rangeland management, and with endangered species conservation. This Citizen Science Initiative will encourage guests to become budding scientists contributing meaningfully to ongoing research projectsand management of Loisaba’s wildlife, which is in line with our management plans.

By: Izzy Parsons

© Hannah Campbell

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