Mara Predator Project

Keep Up To Date

2012-01-17T16:43:00.002+03:00

Apologies to all who have enjoyed reading our blog, but have been without a new post for some time!

We're making some changes to the site and putting our blog on hold for the time being, but we don't intend to leave you in the dark. For all news on the Mara Predator Project, you can follow us on Facebook. If you don't have a Facebook account, we're adding a feed onto our main site so that you can see the latest updates.

Whether you follow us in the field or on Facebook, we hope you'll continue to enjoy reading about our lions until we get our blog up and running again.

Sara

Losing Lispy

2011-04-19T12:15:00.001+03:00

After some more investigation around the Musiara Marsh, I can sadly confirm that Lispy is no longer alive. It has been difficult tracking down all the member of the Marsh Pride, including all the youngsters, but all are now accounted for except Lispy.

On a training session with the guides from Serian Camp, I found Joy from the Three Graces eyeing a herd of impala within the Mara River treeline. She looked thin, and had better step up her hunting – she now has four three-month old cubs to look after, discovered by Nicholas Ratia, our reporting guide from Karen Blixen Camp. With the Marsh Pride clocking up over 20 lions in total – including many boisterous male teenagers – It’s no wonder she’s keeping her little ones at a distance. Matajo and Hasani, her older cubs, are now spending more and more time on their own, but have been welcomed by the main group. They’re certainly too young to be looking after themselves.

Joy with two of her little ones – thanks to Nicholas for a great picture!

Next, we found the majority of the pride resting near the Musiara Marsh Windmill. We counted 15 lions in total – including Clawed and Romeo, the pride males. Clawed is really showing his age, and I don’t know how long this pair can hold their pride. I identified Charm, resting with her three large cubs, one intent on annoying Romeo, who wasn’t best pleased with his play-mate.

This cub had better watch out!

Siena, the third of the Three Graces, was sleeping within the group. Once a clear splinter group, it certainly appears that the trio have been formally accepter back in to the main pride. This is probably somewhat down to the loss of Red earlier last year, and now Lispy – with a large number of demanding cubs and youngsters, there are many mouths to feed. Certainly, many of the pride appeared rather thin.

White Eye and Bibi, the two remaining original Marsh Pride females, were the last adults to be identified by the Serian Camp guides. Jonathan Koikai quickly pointed out the unmistakable female with her missing eye.

White Eye (left), Charm (centre) and Siena (right) are now the pride leaders, together with Bibi (below)

Finally, we tracked down the young females that are Bibi, Lispy, Red and White-Eye’s older cubs. Still youngsters, the four girls were playing with two tortoises that they had found. Although lions can eat everything from mice to elephants, these hard cased critters proved too much for these inexperienced lionesses!

You might want to remove the outer packaging!

So it is now clear that we’ve lost Lispy. As a core female in the Marsh Pride for many years, it is certainly a loss. However, at the ripe age of 13, Lispy has been a successful mother for a decade, and has left behind some formidable descendants. With the reunion of the main pride and the Three Graces, I have little doubt that the Marsh Pride will continue to thrive as the best loved lions of the Masai Mara.

Lispy looks out over her territory of the Musiara Marsh

Sara

Lions of the Olare Orok

2011-04-05T21:23:00.001+03:00

This week I’ve been spending time in the Olare Orok Conservancy (OOC). Lying along the southern border of the Mara North Conservancy and contiguous wit the Masai Mara National Reserve, the OOC is packed full of lions, despite its relatively small size. This month, Mara Plains and Kicheche Bush Camp have welcomed me to the conservancy to see how many lions I can find.

The week started well with a gaggle of young lions – nine of them dozing alongside a small lugga. One handsome young male stood out, together with a smart young female. The group was a real mixed bunch, with large cubs, sub-adults and one older lioness that was babysitting the crowd. We identified them as part of the Ngoyonai Pride who currently have a real stronghold within the conservancy.

Our first find: the Ngoyonai Pride

The following evening, we ventured further north, happening upon yet more Ngoyonai members. A pair of smart lionesses were watching impala nearby a mating pair. The male was one of the pride’s pair who had overthrown the old boys the reign in the OOC, and this ruffian had all the battle scars to show for it. As darkness fell, the couple bellowed across the plains. Roaring is a lion’s way of locating other pride members, and also warning other lions in the area that they’re around.

Ensuring his genes are passed on is top priority for pride males

On day three, I found the other Ngoyonai male, also with his progeny on the agenda. This fellow was resting near the road, but he wasn’t alone. Rounding the bend of a heavily vegetated stream, I was met by a proud mother and her three young cubs. Timid but adventurous, the trio played around (and on!) their patient mother.

You can see why this smart male rules the roost alongside his brother

Mum’s the word

It’s certainly clear that the OOC is a real playground for lions. The Ngoyonai Pride are certainly on top form, with two strong males, plenty of breeding females and a whole host of youngsters, young and old. However, it’s not always been this way – just a few months ago, the Monico Pride reigned supreme. But with not a single Monico member in sight, it’s clear that things have been turned upside down in the OOC lion world.

Keep posted for more introductions to OOC pride members, and a look into why the Ngoyonais have gotten one up on the Monicos.

Sara

Clash of the Titans

2011-03-05T19:22:00.001+03:00

Over the past few months, the male lions of the Mara North Conservancy have been causing chaos in the resident prides.

The culprits are the two gangs of young males – the River Pride males to the North, and the recent rulers, the Cheli and Peacock males, to the south. Originally from Lemek Conservancy, these three impressive lions came out of the blue to assert their dominance over the largest group of breeding females in the conservancy – the Cheli and Peacock Pride. Joshua, Jamal and Akiki overthrew Ajani, Samir and Shambe late lasdt year, but with little between the two trios, and less than a kilometre of no-man’s land between their territories, there’s been a fair number of scraps.

A few nights ago I found the River males at the end of the Cheli and Peacock lugga, deep into Joshua and co.’s territory. They were definitely looking for trouble.

Shambe and Samir

The next morning I went on the hunt for lions. First I found Shambe, idling alongside the main road. At first glance, it didn’t look like anyone else was around, but the zebra soon alerted me to more predators. it was Samir and Ajani, but they weren’t with their brother – they were striding into the Cheli and Peacock males’ territory, and with a purpose.

Roaring as they went and clearly looking for trouble, I drove ahead to see what the deal was. I quickly found Jamal a few hundred metres of the pair. He seemed to be on the run – ahead of him was Joshua, his brother.

Jamal has someone on his tail…

The pair picked up the pace, but suddenly hesitated. The tables had obviously turned, as ahead of his brothers, Akiki ran into the picture. Swinging round to follow, Jamal and Joshua followed suit and turned on the River Males – without Shambe in support, they were down 2 to 3. It was the Cheli and Peacock Males’ turn to bellow now, and defend their territory and females.

Akiki and Joshua pursue the pair…

…roaring as they go. You rarely see a male lion move this fast!

The males quickly scent marked by scuffing urine into the ground – a clear sign to the River males that this territory is taken

It soon became obvious why the trios were tussling. Further down the valley, Siti was watching her males descend. They picked up the pace when they saw her, and followed her into the bushes. I knew that one of the girls had a new litter – could it be Siti?

Siti checks that the approaching males are friendly

Siti was cautious, and for good reason – if the Cheli and Peacock males had let the River Males near Siti, her cubs would have been in grave danger. Having lost her previous two litters to male infanticide, Siti desperately needs these three boys to defend her offspring against intruders.

With her older offspring showing signs of pregnancy, and her sisters Nura and Lilly probably expecting, now could be the turning point of the pride. Can Joshua, Jamal and Akiki watch their girls and help the pride grow? Let’s hope so. But with the River Pride males within throwing distance and on the prowl for new females, they’re not out of the woods yet…

Sara

Still Searching

2011-02-27T15:50:00.001+03:00

It’s been a while since we heard news of the dead lioness within the Marsh Pride, and I’ve been trying to work out her identity. I visited the pride to find out who is still around, and I know many of you are anxious to know who still remains in the pride.

Early yesterday morning, snorting zebra and wildebeest revealed the location of the lions strolling across the plains by the Musiara Airstrip. I counted eleven lions in total – several females and a gaggle of cubs of varying ages.

The Marsh Pride

I started to identify individual lions as they crossed the Bila Shaka lugga to lay up. First I saw Bibi, one of the oldest lionesses. she has the end of her tail missing, whilst years of thickets and cat fights have left her with characteristically tattered ears. She was busy hassling a group of buffalos alongside her sons and nephews.

Bibi winds up the locals

Next to appear was Charm, with her characteristically straight nose, varying from the typical ‘M’ shape at the top of the fleshy part.

Charm led the pride towards trouble

She had led the pride to bigger game in the form of a herd of elephants, who weren’t best pleased with their new playmates. Chaos quickly ensued, with one grumpy teenager chasing the adolescent lions out of the picture. Even the buffalos joined in the chase!

Someone’s not welcome…

Even 11 lions are no match for an angry elephant!

The action over, it was time to find the rest of the pride. Only Bibi and Charm were accounted for. Soon I tracked down White Eye, who was resting with Romeo. There was tension between the couple, and it looked like they were about to mate. Even though White Eye is well over 12 years of age, she’s still a key breeding female in the group. The strength of the pride means that each female is supported with food and help with her litters.

White Eye is still within the core of the pride

Finally, I tracked down Clawed, with his tied, scruffy mane peeking out from behind the thickets. Resting with him was an unknown female. With only some spotting of the nose to identify her, I ruled out that it was Lispy – as an older female, her nose is almost completely black. It also wasn’t Joy – there was no cut in the left side of the nose, no heavy tail tuft, and her coat wasn’t characteristically light. Could it be Siena? Possibly although I couldn’t see her tell-tale floppy ear. I just couldn’t tell.

Clawed’s mystery female

So it appears that the missing female is either Lispy or Joy, or possibly Siena. I’ll certainly have to do more investigating. Hopefully I can enlist the help of neighbouring camps to search out the missing lionesses.

Even if Lispy is dead, she has made a huge contribution to the Marsh Pride. Ousted on several occasions, she hung in to finally be reaccepted into the pride. As an old female, she has raised numerous healthy cubs and protected the pride from takeovers.

I’ll let you know if I find out more – the search isn’t over!

Sara

White Eye’s Fate and a Warm Welcome

2011-02-05T19:32:00.001+03:00

It has been a long time since the last post, and I must apologise for the long silence! I am now back in the Mara North Conservancy and resuming monitoring of the local lion population. Already I have seen some old faces, and some new ones!

There is a lot of news to be shared. Some of you may be concerned that White Eye was dead, but I believe that she was seen yesterday with Romeo around the Musiara Marsh. This is fantastic news, as she plays an essential role in the pride, and is still producing healthy cubs. We still do not know who the dead lion was, found in the Marsh, and I suspect that it was a female from the Marsh Pride. It is important now to track down Lispy and Siena – Joy and Charm I believe have been seen healthy and happy. I’ll post news if and when I hear it.

In the conservancy, the Cheli & Peacock Pride are Rver Prides are doing well, each with their new males. The three brothers, Ajani – Shambe and Samir – have been pushed across to the River Pride territory, and have been spending time on both sides of the Mara River. Last night I found Ajani and Shambe striding across the plain in the darkness – a nice surprise!

Ajani and Shambe appeared in the darkness

Just before my encounter with the two brothers, I found members of the Cheli & Peacock Pride on the ridge below the camp. Amber and Saba were resting with Akiki (one of the three brothers who now reside with the pride) and their mother, Nura. A bout of roaring soon alerted us to more pride members over the next hill, and the quartet moved off at a fast pace towards the incoming bellows.

Nura leads the rest of the group to the distant roars

There’s a lot of exploring to do to find our resident lions, so I’ll keep you posted with the developments. It’s good to be back in the Mara!

Sara

Fingers Crossed for the New Arrivals!

2010-09-12T16:43:00.002+03:00

It’s been a while since the Cheli and Peacock Pride – Nura, Lilly and Siti – raised cubs successfully to adulthood. Although Shambe, Ajani and Samir’s takeover meant that Nura and Lilly’s last cubs were killed, it’s not all bad news. Since mating with the Cheli girls, these boys have hung around, and I’m please to announce that at least two lionesses have now had their babies.

Nura’s last cubs sadly didn’t make it… nor did those of Lilly and Siti

There are now two litters of two and four, hidden in croton bushes. We’ve had some lucky glimpses, and have seen Nura move her cubs due to the recent heavy rains.

Nura carries her babies to a safer place

Their five daughters, including Amber, Maskio and Saba, have all recently been mating with the trio of males who have attached themselves to the pride, which means that they have now reached maturity at around 2 1/2 years of age. These young girls are all very inexperienced, and unfortunately it’s not too common for young mothers to raise large litters, if any cubs at all. However, these lionesses always stick together, and may even gain the support of their mothers.

Ajani and Amber, one of the Cheli and Peacock 'seven'

After toppling Caesar from his pedestal, let’s hope that these three boys can do a better job of protecting their cubs.

Sara

The Playful Pride

2010-08-04T14:23:00.001+03:00

The Olare Orok Conservancy has two main prides – the Moniko Pride, who reside near Moniko hill, named after a young man who was killed while spearing a lion – and the Enkoyonai Pride. This morning I found the Enkoyonai Pride in a particularly playful mood, mums and cubs alike!

One of the Enkoyonai lionesses in the early morning light

The pride had a made a wildebeest kill – not surprising given the huge herds gathering along the N’tiakitiak River. With thousands of wildebeest now residing in the area, the lions have an easy time.

The fact that their bellies were already full of wildebeest didn’t stop three girls of the pride trying to take on a rather large bachelor buffalo who came over for a closer look. Lions are certainly capable of taking down these enormous animals, but this one was more than these three full-bellied lionesses could tackle.

One of the girls takes on the chase…

…but this big bull’s having nothing of it!

The girls have a healthy number of cubs between them, aged around 9 months. They were all very happy to munch on the kill, until one of the lionesses caught a baby gazelle. The fawn wasn’t eaten, but provided an essential lesson for the cubs, who took it in turns to practice their predatory techniques.

Not even a mouthful for this young cub, but an important lesson in survival

One cub stood out amongst the rest. At around 4-5 months old, the little cub has no siblings his own age, but plenty of older brothers and sisters around for entertainment. I’ve never seen such a playful cub – he was a joy to watch trying out his moves on the wildebeest carcass and tackling his mum and aunties at any opportunity.

This little one’s not taking trouble from anyone!

I’m impressed to see such a healthy, strong pride in the Olare Orok, and look forward to spending more time with them. Along with the Moniko and Ridge Prides, there’s plenty of lions to keep me busy.

Sara

Simba mingi in the OOC

2010-07-19T11:23:00.001+03:00

This month I’ve been generously offered a base at Mara Plains camp in the Olare Orok Conservancy for a fortnight. Bordering both the Mara North Conservancy and the Masai Mara National Reserve, the OOC is a beautiful area full of long grass, twisting luggas and rolling hills m, and is full of lions. It’s a hugely important region for conservation – lions and other large carnivores don’t adhere to political boundaries, and there is a constant movement of predators across the conservancies.

There are three camps in the Olare Orok Conservancy – Mara Plains, Porini Lion Camp, and Kicheche Bush. I’m hoping to get all three camps involved in lion monitoring – it’s an exciting time for the project and myself, and there’s certainly no shortage of simbas!

There’s plenty of cubs in the OOC – a good sign that this population is thriving

Shivani Bhalla, from the Ewaso Lion Project, has already been to Porini Camp to engage the guides in lion monitoring. Together with the guides she managed to identify some 50 individuals in the conservancy, which covers approximately 23,000 acres. Shivani does fantastic work in Samburu, working hard to save lions throughout the region. Please check out her work at www.ewasolions.org.

An OOC lioness watches the wildebeest flood in

It’s going to be an interesting and action packed few weeks – it’s common knowledge that the two main prides – the Motorogi Pride and the Engoyonai Pride – are at war. It will be very interesting to find out just how many of the previously identified individuals remain in the area, and which pride comes out as the top cats. With the migration well under way and gazillions of gnu pouring in, there’s already plenty of activity on the plains.

A big thank you goes to the Richard and the staff at Mara Plains for the opportunity to work within the OOC. Watch this space for some new lion faces and exciting stories!

Sara

Charm’s New Arrivals

2010-06-17T15:35:00.002+03:00

For some weeks now, Charm’s been looking very full. And I don’t think it’s all down to her sharp eyes and teeth! For about a week, Charm has distanced herself from the rest of the pride, and has been hunting and resting alone. Yesterday we found out why!

I think it’s more than just warthog in there…

Yesterday I found Charm hidden deep in Maternity Lugga. She had with her some tiny cubs, probably no more than a week old. Although I didn’t manage to count them, it is thought that she has three cubs – this is actually the typical number for lionesses.

Charm’s the last of the Three Graces to raise cubs this year

With an impressive pride of mature, feisty lionesses behind her, Charm’s bound to do well raising her cubs. Already there are six cubs with White Eye, Bibi and the other Graces, plus Hasani and Matajo, Joy’s two teenage boys.

This little cub will soon have even more siblings to play with!

Charm will keep her cubs hidden until they are old enough to follow her around comfortably. New mums are very secretive, and she will only spend fleeting moments with her sisters. If the pride move back to their home, Musiara Marsh, she may be forced to move the cubs. It’s also up to Clawed and Romeo to protect the pride from any other males, as a turnover would be disastrous for the new cubs.

It looks like the Marsh Pride will be back to full strength soon – Joy has also been mating with a number of males in the area, and so Charm’s new cubs won’t be the youngest for long!

Sara

Cat Fight

2010-05-24T20:16:00.001+03:00

It’s no secret that many of the savannah’s predators don’t get on. Whether it’s through competition for food or as a threat to their young, lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena will do their best to avoid each other or drive the opposition away, depending on the pecking order.

Even though they generally occupy different habitats and specialize on different prey, lion and cheetah definitely don’t mix. On a hunt for lion, I came across three cheetah brothers who sometimes visit the MNC. These boys – Honey’s sons – are spectacular; they’re fit and healthy, probably owing to the fact that they hunt cooperatively. Looks like they’re learning a lesson or two from our social cats!

The three cheetah mark their territory – they have a huge range

The cheetah suddenly became nervous, and I could soon see why. In the distance loomed two big male lions – a serious threat to the three sleek, thin-framed cats. Even though they’re the fastest animal on land, cheetah can still be outwitted by lion over longer distances.

Time to make a run for it!

The boys made a run for it, with the two males hot on their trail. I identified them as Samir and Shambe – two of the three boys who have been mating with Lilly, Sita and Nura from the Cheli Peacock pride. The males looked thin, and certainly weren’t going to tolerate the competition.

Shambe chases the cheetah

No sooner had the cheetah scarpered, then a strange lioness appeared. She approached with caution, but was greeted warmly by the pair. I identified her as Joy, one of the three Graces. Not only then are the Marsh Pride out and about in the MNC, but their sisters, the Three Graces, are paying a visit, too.

Joy approaches cautiously

Joy still has two adolescent cubs, and isn’t ready to have another litter yet. But who knows if one of these boys will be the father of her next cubs? With Siena babysitting, the rest of the pride are still around the area. I’m off to go find them and see what else they get up to.

Sara

Introducing the New Website!

2010-05-20T16:42:00.004+03:00

The beauty of the Mara Predator Project is that anyone who visits the Mara North Conservancy, surrounding conservancies and the northern reaches of the Masai Mara can take part and help us to monitor lions. This is because we use non-invasive methods to identify and track lions, which are simple and easy to use.

When a lion is found, it is identified. We don’t need to use collars to track our lions.

We’ve redesigned our website to make it easy for everyone to take part in monitoring lions. Guides and visitors to the area help to track lions by photographing them, and trying to identify which one they’ve seen. The new website makes this a lot easier, by narrowing down potential lions by their gender, age, location and distinguishing features such as mane size and nose colour. The correct lion can then be picked out by studying the whisker spots and ear tears.

You can search for your lion using key identifying features

The new website has tons of information on how to identify and age lions, and how to take part in the project. One cool feature is that each lion has its own sightings page, allowing anyone to track where the lion was last seen. The new site also has a section for each conservancy and participating lodge.

It’s easy to take part – the online guides show you how

A huge thank-you goes out to the guys at Bespoke Internet, who worked hard to produce a wonderful website and fully functional database – not an easy task. It looks brilliant, too!

Visit the new site at www.livingwithlions.org/mara

Sara

The Cowardly Lion!

2010-05-14T15:57:00.004+03:00

Yesterday I heard that two new males had gotten themselves in a spot of bother. Long story short, one lion had to rescue his brother from a very angry herd of buffalo!

Becky and Matt, two guests at Serian Camp, saw the event unfold. After finding Nura (Silver), the couple noticed a herd of buffalo surrounding a tree. The herd looked somewhat agitated, and so they went over to have a closer look. What should they find but a young male lion trembling precariously in the branches of a thorny acacia?

This boy’s in a spot of bother!

It’s certainly no myth that lion and buffalo don’t get on. What was this young lion going to do? Lucky for him, help was on the way. Another male, most probably his brother, distracted the herd by circling upwind and luring the angry buffalo away. He led them on a wild goose chase across the plain, giving his brother enough time to slink timidly out of his prickly perch.

Is it safe out there yet?

Buffalo will often kill cubs and young lions, and demand some respect. On the flip side, however, buffalo aren’t always safe – in certain parts of Africa, such as the Okavango Delta, male lions specialise in buffalo.They certainly present themselves as a tasty feast, if a lion can get past those mean horns, that is!

These boys are new to me, so I’ll be working hard to find them over the next few days. Here’s hoping they don’t get themselves in any more trouble!

Thanks to Becky and Matt for the brilliant pictures.

Sara

The Marsh Pride’s Family Vacation

2010-05-09T16:50:00.003+03:00

This morning I drove out of camp to be met by a gang of thirteen very special lions. Within the bunch was a number of youngsters, along with some familiar faces.

Just outside of Serian, Chemi-Chemi (the spring) is in the northern reaches of the Mara North Conservancy on the Mara River. It’s certainly some distance from the Musiara Marsh, which is why I was surprised to identify the lions as none other than the infamous Marsh Pride.

How many lions?!

Four adults – Siena and Joy, Bibi and White Eye were lazing in the sun with Romeo and a whole assortment of cubs. Joy's two male cubs, now around 15 months old, and six cubs around 5 months old – four belonging to White Eye and two to Siena – were all happily playing in the long grass and exploring their new environment.

The cubs practiced their tree climbing skills amongst the Acacia

The pride have been slowly working their way into the conservancy, and have been spotted on a number of occasions. Although they are far from their home, the territory is open, as many of the River Pride lions are residing on the escarpment. Romeo too has visited the area often to mate with new females.

A lion’s pride territory is not as fixed as you’d think. Although lions spend a lot of time in a core area, prides rangers are large and overlapping. However, two prides will not occupy the same shared territory at the same time, and will advertise their presence to neighbouring prides by roaring.

White Eye the one-eyed lioness. A caring mother but also a fierce hunter

The Marsh Pride is also in a state of flux – with Clawed (Mpengo) seemingly absent, Red no longer with us and the five sub-adults from the females’ last litters, the large family has split into a number of sub-groups. It seems that White Eye and Bibi are forming an alliance with the Three Graces – including Siena and Joy – whilst Lispy remains with the daughters of the pride. Lispy has also been seen flirting with two handsome chaps from the border of the Marsh. Perhaps Romeo and Clawed’s reign is facing an uncertain future?

However the pride forms, here’s hoping that the Marsh females will be as successful at raising this family as they were with the last. They’ve got a lot of experience on their paws!

Sara

A Dangerous Duo

2010-04-13T19:08:00.004+03:00

Big males are pouring into the Mara North Conservancy left right and centre. Not only have three young males joined the three Cheli and Peacock lionesses, but there are now two impressive boys on the scene. Seen down Ereyet Angopito – where Kioni is usually found– this pair are on the hunt for their own pride.

One of the males with an impressive dark mane

I’m not sure where these boys have come from, or how long they will spend in the area. They could simply be travelling through, and I’ll have to keep a lookout for them before I know more. Nura, Lilly and Siti are in season and mating with the three younger males – perhaps this pair have come to challenge them? Caesar still hasn’t been seen, and he’d better be careful – one of these males he may be able to handle, but together, these boys pose a real threat to Caesar.

‘Aswad’ means ‘black one’ – his mane is a lot darker than his companion’s.

‘Sango’ is Aswad’s companion.

These two have earned the names ‘Aswad'’ – meaning the black one – and ‘Sango’, which means ‘braided hair’ – his mane is slightly matted in places. Sango is probably slightly younger than Aswad, as his nose is still pink and his mane is not as well developed. He’s probably around 5-6 years old. Both of these males have a distinctive left ear, in particular Sango, pictured above.

I’ll let you know if these boys are here to stay. With five new males in the area, who knows what will happen through the rest of the rainy season?

Sara

A Turnover?

2010-04-07T16:48:00.003+03:00

For the past few months, Caesar has been top dog in the Cheli and Peacock pride. After Siti and Lilly lost their cubs, Caesar mated with them. Together with Silver’s little of four, fathered by Caesar, the pride was set to build rapidly in numbers.

However, upon my return, Caesar is nowhere to be seen. There are thoughts that he may be with Lilly, who is rumoured to have a new litter, but as of yet, we’re in the dark. It’s been over 2 months since the big boy was seen.

Siti looks out: where’s Lilly and Caesar?

In his place with the Cheli and Peacock pride are three strapping young lads. Around 4 years old, this trio are strong enough to compete with a lone male like Caesar, and they certainly show it. Buffalo and elephant are a firm favourite with these boys – they’re not messing around! It’s typical for young adult males to form coalitions when they’re forced to leave their natal pride – it allows them to co-operate in hunting, steal kills from hyena and other predators, and gives them a major advantage for acquiring their own pride. Whatever the deal is with lions, there’s always strength in numbers. This is what makes lions so successful as the only social cat.

Two of the three boys: they’re about 4 years old

Unfortunately, Silver’s four tots are nowhere to be seen. Both her and Siti have been with the three males for some time now, and it’s unlikely that they would tolerate young cubs belonging to Caesar. It’s a real shame – all three lionesses have now lost at least one litter each, and with rogue males prowling the conservancy, who knows if their next litters will be safe?

It’s certainly a trying time for these four girls. I hope that whichever males join them stay for long enough for them to successfully raise their cubs to adulthood.

Sara

Changing Scenes

2010-03-24T17:17:00.003+03:00

So I’m finally back in the Mara North Conservancy after spending some time in the UK developing a new lion database. Hopefully everyone will find it easy to use, and enjoy it, too. I’ll let you know when it goes live.

Things have changed in the MNC – the rains are here, and everywhere the grass is green and lush, and rather long. It’s a bit of a challenge getting around. There’s a distinct lack of grazers both here and in the reserve, but leopard and hyena numbers are at an all time high. As for the lions, there’s some familiar faces around, most prominently the Cheli sub-adults, who are up to no good as usual…

Maskio (meaning ‘ears’) and Amber play rough

No way I’m going to lie on the muddy floor and mess up my fur!

The lion scene is changing, too. Marley’s group has split, interestingly, and the younger cub Mtoro and his pride-mate Maji have joined up with Cheli cubs. Kioni, Marley and the other youngsters haven’t been seen for a while, and there is no clue as to why Mtoro and Maji are now on their own.

It’s highly unusual for unrelated lions to join another group, and I’m still not sure what the true outcome of this pairing will be. Yesterday morning, Mtoro was on the receiving end of a little bullying, but in the afternoon, everyone was snoozing together quite happily. Sebastian and Rescue are already looking impressive, and good on these young lions for doing so well without mum.

Mtoro (right) with Rescue and Sebastian (standing).

In other news, an elephant carcass brought in predators and scavengers far and wide. Together with the drizzle it made for an interesting – if somewhat grisly – photography opportunity. I’m now armed with a video camera, so hopefully there will be some videos coming this way before too long.

Poor Mtoro's a little lost. He’s been through two mums already.

Three new males turned up at the scene of the crime, none of whom I recognized. Males of around 4 are usually on their own or in a coalition of other males before they manage to win over their own pride. In a couple of years they should be in their prime. I’ll try and get some photographs of these boys soon.

More soon. It’s good to be back!

Sara

Learning About Lions

2010-01-24T23:01:00.001+03:00

I’ve been a bit quiet of late as I’m currently in the UK, working to develop the various media elements of the Mara Predator Project. Whilst this means no fieldwork for a few weeks, hopefully there’ll be a swanky new website packed full of information and cool features. It’ll be a more interactive version of the database at www.livingwithlions.org/mara.

It’s a good chance to tell you all about some of the community work we’ve been doing along with Serian Camp. Education is a integral factor in promoting mutual coexistence between people and predators, and a key goal of ours is to help people understand the importance of lions to their community.

There’s nothing kids like doing more than getting messy, so we went to a local school to do some art activities on the subject of lions. After talking to the children about the local lions, they each drew their favourite. I have to say I was very impressed with their pictures – many of the children haven’t done art before as it’s not part of their syllabus at school. Together we made a great display for each class.

The children each drew their favourite lions. They all really enjoyed looking

through the photographs and books – most of them have never seen a lion.

All of the children helped to make a giant collaged lions head with bits of yellow card and plastic. They all really enjoyed getting messy making handprints for the mane, and soon we had a great display for the school. The lion puppets went down a treat, too!

Getting messy!

As well as being great fun, there’s a serious side to the workshops. Hopefully we can encourage the local younger generation to have a positive view of lions, and demonstrate their respect for lions through tolerance and conservation. Essentially, jobs in tourism such as guiding are highly valued, which promotes an understanding and passion for wildlife. Working with these children, as well as lodge guides, will help build positive attitudes towards lions and other predators.

Above is the finished result. Pretty good, eh??

Sara

A Good Mum

2009-12-31T01:54:00.004+03:00

It’s been a few weeks now since Lilly introduced her cubs to the pride. Lilly never seemed comfortable, and unfortunately her two cubs didn’t survive. When I left her, Silver still had her four babies tucked away in a lugga, but they have since been introduced to her pride mates and a bigger world!

Come on mum!

As you can see, these four fluffy bundles are in great health. The next few months will be a testing time for both mum and cubs, but with good rain and plenty of food, they have a good chance of making it to adulthood. These three lionesses are great hunters, and successfully raised seven cubs through this year.

Following the loss of her cubs, Lilly has been mating with Caesar. If they mate successfully, Caesar will have sired three litters. Lionesses often mate with several males when they are in heat, but as the only resident pride male (and a magnificent one at that!) with no real challengers, Caesar’s building an impressive dynasty!

Caesar and Lilly. She can be easily recognized by the area of patchy fur by

her left eye. She’s also rather fluffy.

Silver’s cubs are growing fast. They still have woolly fur, camouflaging spots and short tails. They will have to wait until they are five months of age before they grow a sleek coat and develop a tail tuft.

The cubs are growing fast!

The cubs will be heavily dependant on their mother for a long time, and will suckle until they are around 6 months old. By the time they reach 3 months though they will develop a taste for meat, and will soon be fighting dad over first dibs on dinner!

Mum has her paws full with four hungry cubs to feed

Hopefully we can begin the countdown to the arrival of Lilly’s cubs now. Fingers crossed that she will have more luck this time.

Happy Christmas and New Year from the Mara lions!

Sara

Facts of Life

2009-12-12T21:27:00.006+03:00

The first few weeks of life is tough for little lions. They face many dangers, from heavy rains and floods to angry buffalo and sneaky hyena.

Last week, Lilly carried her two babies to Caesar and Siti. Both cubs and mum seemed comfortable and relaxed and I felt no need to worry.

Lilly’s two cubs snuggle close

Sadly, Lilly became increasingly detached from her babies. After introducing them to the pride a little early, one small cub was seen lying some way from the group, and sadly was not seen again. When she took the remaining cub to a kill, she devoted most of her attention to her meal, leaving the little one alone amongst hyenas. Since then, there has been no sign of the cub.

Lilly became uninterested in her babies…

Abandonment does occur with lion cubs, but this usually occurs with single cubs or those which are weak or injured. Lionesses also abandon cubs if there is a shortage of food, although I doubt that this is the case with these powerful, healthy girls. Perhaps Lilly sensed that her cubs were not well, or felt uneasy in the presence of the other lions? She did move the cubs regularly, which may have indicated that she was not settled.

This is a real shame, but the good news is that Silver’s cubs are still doing very well. My fingers are crossed for these ones, but I think they will do just fine. Lions are capable of reproducing quickly in the right conditions, and with Caesar resident in the group, she’ll soon be mating.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on the remaining four little ones. This group has certainly been through rough patches with their cubs... let's hope this trend doesn't continue.

Sara

First Glimpses

2009-12-06T19:30:00.002+03:00

Over the past few days we’ve been lucky enough to have some snippet views of the new cubs. They’re tiny! When they’re born, lion cubs weigh less than 1% of their mother’s body weight.

These cubs are really well hidden – well done mum!

What a cutie!

Silver has hidden her babies deep inside a lugga, away from the pride. Lilly has also been hiding her cubs, but has been seen moving them to new locations. Both the elements and animals such as buffalo and hyena pose a threat to new cubs - moving them regularly prevents them from being detected.

Lilly’s two babies stay close to mum

These little ones already have a sense of adventure

Yesterday was a special day for the cubs as they were introduced to the pride and to each other. This time, Caesar looked relaxed whilst Lilly brought her two little ones over to meet her pride mates. Later in the day, five cubs were seen together. They’re about two and a half weeks old and still a bit wobbly, and so are still carried by their mums.

Cubs are carried for a few weeks until they can keep up with mum

We’ll have to keep a close eye on the cubs over the next few weeks. Lion cubs are most at risk during this fragile time – fewer than 20% of cubs make it to adulthood. These lionesses have just successfully raised 7 cubs to bouncy 2 year olds though, so six shouldn’t be a problem!

Sara

More New Arrivals!

2009-11-28T22:07:00.003+03:00

I’ve been twittering on about the expectation of new cubs from both Lilly and Silver, and it brings me great pleasure to announce the arrival of six new little ones!

Silver has had four cubs, whilst Lilly has had two. At this early age, both of the mothers have moved away from their sister and Caesar, and are nursing their babies in thick woodland. At this age, lion cubs are at risk from buffalo, leopard, hyena and even baboons, and mum must have a careful eye. She will leave them in a safe place such as a hidden lugga whilst she hunts.

Mothers hide their cubs away from the pride and out of harms way

When the cubs reach around three weeks of age, they will be introduced to the pride, and after a couple of months will follow their mothers around. New cubs are a joy to watch, and I hope that these new arrivals will be lucky in life.

Away from the mothers, Caesar and Siti have also been mating for the past few days. This means that their previous paring was not successful. In fact, lions may have to mate up to 1,500 times for a pregnancy to occur!

Both Lilly and Silver are keeping their cubs well under wraps, but I’ll post some photos as soon as I get a sneak peak!

Sara

Collaring Laikipia’s Lions

2009-11-20T13:05:00.002+03:00

For the past two weeks I’ve been in Laikpia with Living With Lions’ Laikipia Predator Project. I’ve been showing local lodges how to help by identifying lions and recording sightings in a similar way to our Mara project. Since 1997, the Laikipia Predator Project has helped conserve large carnivores by improving livestock practices, studying the behaviour and ecology of predators that live alongside humans, and monitoring their response to conservation action.

Alayne Cotterill and Steven Ekwanga use some funky equipment to study lions in a challenging landscape. Laikipia lions are shy and elusive, and so radio collars are used to follow their movements. Whilst VHF collars allow one to physically track a lion by following a signal, GPS collars are all the rage, allowing for a lion’s movements to be continuously recorded. You can read more about collars here, and follow some of our GPS collared lions in the Chyulu Hills here.

This lion is wearing a VHF collar, which allows her to be tracked using telemetry

Hmm… where are those lions?

Alayne has a collared lion in every group, which allows her to track most of the lions in the vast area of Laikipia. We wanted to change one lion’s collar from a VHF to a GPS collar, a process that involved bating and darting the lion.

Contrary to popular belief, collaring is neither a risk to the lion’s health or a bother to its everyday life. Lethal overdoses are impossible with the specific drugs used, and the lions show no reaction to the collar upon waking. Collars have been widely studied for their influence on animals, and all evidence shows that hunting, socialising and all other behaviours are not affected in any way. In fact, collared lions are less likely to be killed.

Alayne collaring a lion and taking samples for DNA analysis

We found our lion, LF167, with her pride-mate and several sub-adults by using the VHF tracker. In order to change the collar, we needed to dart the lion to put it to sleep. With a cow carcass in tow and a recording of a baby buffalo in distress, we tried to call the lions out into a safe area for darting. It is important that the lion does not go down in thick bush to avoid distress, and unfortunately the lions we playing hard to get! We left the lions at dusk, and by the time we returned the next day, they were long gone.

The information that Alayne gets from her collared lions is vital in studying their movements. Her data is showing that lions avoid communal areas with lots of people, and prefer wild game over livestock.

I’m back in the Mara now and looking forward to catching up with the locals. Silver and Lilly may have had their cubs by now, and so it’s time for a scout!

Sara

An Old Face

2009-11-07T23:40:00.003+03:00

Last year, the River Pride contained three core females on the Serian side of the Mara River. Asali, Mandisa and Tailend were three sisters that we saw often, with all three females having litters close to camp. However, since March, no-one has seen these lionesses again. Last seen by Musiara and the Masai Mara Reserve, we lost track of our favourite trio and they fell off the map. Their favourite haunts around Maternity and Serian are now occupied by Sophie and Marley and the boisterous teenagers. Even though Tailend and Mandisa's cubs didn’t survive, Asali still had two healthy cubs.

After seven months of absence, I was beginning to worry about these girls. A few days ago I set out early one morning after getting a call from Dixon and Jonathan, two of our guides, that there were lions on Serian Hill.

Driving out of camp I found some familiar faces close to camp on Mulima Maui (Rocky Hill in Swahili) after tracing up from some spooked animals. Kahawa and one of Kioni's daughters were chilling out in the bushes. Happy with my I.D., I was about to head off when Dixon radioed through that there was a mother and two cubs close by.

Mother and cub in stride

Over the hill, and meters away from the lazy youngsters was Tailend, with two little cubs in tow. I was so glad to see her, and chuffed to see that she had new cubs of about She was munching on a baby Tommy, but looked like she was in a hurry, and after following her at a distance across two luggas and several kilometres, we lost sight of her. She looked very fit and healthy, and my thoughts are that she has been living across the river.

Tailend and her two cubs, tucking in!

Mothers usually leave the pride for a number of weeks when they have new cubs, and so Tailend may be alone. However, I am optimistic that she will join up with her sisters soon, and hopefully on this side of the river. I’ve still got to find those girls!

This little one’s about 4-5 months old

I’m off to Laikipia now, but will keep you updated on our Mara lions when I return.

Sara

Lonesome Traveller

2009-10-19T13:57:00.004+03:00

Yesterday, a report came through of an unknown male lion, resting close to camp in the bush we call Military. Naturally I wanted to check this guy out, so I jumped in Suzie (my notoriously bouncy 4x4) to see if I could find him.

The lion hadn’t moved, and wasn’t in the best of condition. Lying down, his ribs were rather prominent, and when he got up to shift position the limp on his leg was somewhat obvious. I’m not really concerned though – a few good meals, and this old chap should be good as new. Clawed was in a similar state a few months ago after an injury to his jaw, but now is on top form.

Who’s this old boy?

At first I though that our visitor was a new lion, but on closer inspection, identified him as Badawi. He’s certainly come a long way from home, as I first found him past Mara Offbeat on the other side of the Olare Orok river. Badawi is roughly 8-9 years of age, and you can see his profile by going to www.livingwithlions.org/mara and clicking through to the green ‘ACACIA PRIDE’ area.

This morning Badawi was nowhere to be seen, and was obviously just travelling through. With Caesar on top form, and Marley holding his little pride of six, there’s no room here for an old man like Badawi. I’m not sure why he’s come all the way up here – perhaps he has been ousted from his pride by new males. There seems to be a lot of fluctuation in the Acacia Pride groups, as Offbeat have also reported that some of their cubs were killed after a takeover by two new males.

Caesar looks out across his territory

We’re still waiting for Silver to have her babies, too – yesterday she was looking rather round after having the spoils of both an impala and a topi kill. She was relaxing with Lilly, whilst Siti and Caesar strode out onto the plains. It looks like they’ve made up, and are quite the couple!

Silver will have her little ones soon

We’ve been out filming again too, and have found Marley’s pride on a couple of occasions. Kioni is a mean hunter, whilst Kahawa and his siblings still have a lot to learn. In a year or so, however, the two girls should have improved their hunting skills, and should be a help for their mum.

Sara

New Beginnings

2009-10-14T15:49:00.004+03:00

Over the past few weeks since the death of the new cubs, Caesar has been reinforcing his new little pride. You may remember that he was attached to Marley and Kioni and her cubs, but has since had other priorities concerning his offspring.

Whilst Caesar may still associate with Marley’s pride, the Elephant Pepper females have been his main concern. With cubs over 18 months old, Silver came into season some months ago, at which point Caesar mated with her.

Despatching of Siti's new cubs has also brought her into season, and since their death, they have been seen mating together. It’s all part of the circle of life for these lions, and although it may appear traumatic for the mother, lions are frequent breeders, and in just over 3 months, Siti will have some more little ones.

It’s also time to keep a close eye on her pride mate Silver – she is looking rather heavily pregnant with a round tummy and developing teats. From my calculations, her cubs should be born in the first week of November. This time, Caesar is the father, and so should take a different view of Silver’s babies. Siti had her cubs in the open, which is unusual for new mothers – I would not be surprised if Silver disappears for a couple of weeks, to return with the patter of tiny paws.

Caesar is a formidable pride male

So it appears that Caesar has successfully claimed the title of Pride Male. Who knows though how long he will be top cat? With plenty of maturing males in the Kicheche Pride, and some fine boys down by Acacia Valley (not to mention to Marsh Boys) he might have to fight his corner sooner rather than later…

In other news, Martin is back with his hot cameras, and so we’re off again into the night to see what we can see.

I’ll let you know how we get on.

Sara

Life and Death

2009-09-21T18:45:00.003+03:00

Both from our diaries and observing their swelling tummies, we’ve known that two, if not three of the females from Elephant Pepper were pregnant. A few days ago we were indeed blessed with three tiny babies, born to Siti.

The birth was rather unusual, as Siti had her cubs in the open. Some guests were very lucky to witness the event. Normally, lions give birth in dense bush or in a secluded lugga, hidden away from the rest of the pride and any potential predators. The fact that Siti had the cubs in the company of not Silver and Lilly, but also Caesar, is highly unusual.

Mum snuggles with her babies

The next morning after hearing about the event I went to check out the new arrivals. It’s such a treat to see such tiny babies, and I was quite surprised to see that she hadn’t moved them to a more secluded place. She nursed the little ones, licking and cleaning them and encouraging them to suckle. At barely a day old, they were very wobbly and still had their eyes closed. That didn’t stop them squabbling over mum’s milk though!

At barely two days old, the cubs are blind and helpless, with no teeth.

Because of her location, we decided to give her some privacy – it’s important that young cubs and the mother do not experience stress during these delicate hours. The next morning I took post at the site, as again, Siti had not moved her cubs. The area sees a lot of action from passing cattle herders to hyena and leopard, and also offered little protection from the sun, and we were a little concerned. However, the most pressing matter was the presence of Caesar. He joined this group only six weeks ago, previously being attached to Marley’s pride. He seemed relaxed, but had he indeed mated with Siti three months ago? Were these cubs his, and did he himself know of his relation to the cubs?

Hey! Watch where you’re treading!

Occasionally, Caesar got up to check out the babies. Mum seemed tense, and shooed him away when she had the opportunity. He tested the scent of the cubs often, possibly trying to ascertain their relation to him. Lions practice infanticide, whereby a male new to a pride will kill the offspring of previous pride holders. This encourages the female to come into oestrus, allowing him to mate with her and produce his own cubs.

Caesar tested the cubs’ scent to see if they were his

Things took a turn for the worst when one of the cubs wandered over to Caesar, climbing over his paws. Initially the huge male did not react, but mum was worried. She came over to collect the little one, but unfortunately her intrusion in the delicate situation seemed to topple the balance and Caesar snatched the cub.

Mum tried her best to defend her cubs

Mum was quick to defend, and a full-on fight broke out. The other lionesses stayed out of harms was whist Siti fought tooth and claw for the survival of her babies. Male lions are not only stronger but larger than females, and unfortunately Caesar won the battle. He ran off with one of the cubs whilst Mum desperately looked for the two remaining babies. I wasn’t sure how severely these had been injured in the fight. I knew though that eventually Caesar would kill these too.

Caesar had obviously concluded that he had not fathered the litter. It was very sad to watch, but a part of life. Females will fight hard to protect their babies, but following such an event will remain with the new male. Males as strong as Caesar will offer this little group invaluable protection from predators and other males, and in the future will be sure to safeguard his own offspring. Siti will soon be ready to mate again, and in around 100 days will have Caesar’s cubs.

Caesar with one of the cubs

The next morning there was no trace of the cubs, but the little pride seemed comfortable together. I’ll keep you posted on their activities. In more good news, Caesar mated with Silver almost 7 weeks ago now, and so in two months or so we should have some babies, hopefully with a better start in life.

Sara

Red-hot Adventures in the Dark

2009-09-12T17:49:00.002+03:00

This week I’ve been spending some time with cameraman Martin Dohrn, who has worked on Mara Nights and Big Cat Diary. He brought with him some pretty funky equipment – a state-of-the-art thermal camera and also a starlight camera to put through some rigorous testing for Ammonite (www.ammonite.co.uk). These cameras allow us to witness some amazing footage of lion behaviour at night, revealing a world totally different to the one we are used to experiencing during daylight hours. The thermal camera reads the heat given off by animals (and rocks, we discovered!).

Lions are very active at night, using the cover of darkness to ambush their prey. During a full moon, lion have little advantage over the plains game, who also have generally good night vision. However, the nights after a full moon begin with a period of total darkness before the moon rises, during which lions have a significant advantage over their prey. We aimed to film during these hours to hopefully capture some cool lion action on film.

We had some fun-time with the Marsh cubs, hassling hippos and giving us the run around over luggas (dry river beds) and swamps. With only infra-red goggles to guide us, navigating the many holes and water tracks was a challenge! We spent several nights with the group, and watched the Marsh males Romeo Clawed scoffing a wildebeest kindly brought down by Lispy. This she caught just before sunset, calling in her family to share the goods. The moon was bright, and so we were able to get some excellent footage with the starlight camera, which operates in extreme low light conditions.

The following night we made our was into the Mara North Conservancy (MNC) with the hope of finding some active lions. It has been raining rather heavily, but that didn’t stop us tracking down Caesar and the three girls from Elephant Pepper in Military. As the sun went down, they slowly made their way onto the plains. We had two hours of total darkness before the moon rose and they looked pretty hungry, so we were feeling lucky.

At this point it’s worth noting how differently the animals behave at night. Wildebeest who are usually grazing or resting during the day migrate on to the hills, clustering together for protection through strength in numbers. Thompson’s Gazelles find a quiet spot and lie down silently, adopting the tactic of invisibility. Topi stumble awkwardly in the darkness, and Impala walk with their heads to the ground in the hope of picking out a cat-like silhouette. The lions on the other hand stroll out with confidence and a spring in their step, their incredible night vision obvious. It’s amazing watching a lion walk within yards of herds who are totally oblivious to their presence.

First, the lions tried their luck with an ostrich. It was a pretty casual hunt and an opportunistic one, more amusing than successful for the lions. Slowly they made their way to the panicked herds, which by now knew they were not alone and streamed across the thermal camera. The images are truly amazing – the heat of the animals shows them up like city lights in amazing clarity. For several hundred or even thousand meters you can pick out animals clear as day.

The lions repeatedly ran into the herds, scattering them as they attempted a kill. They came close, but failed to seal the deal. Caesar then peeled off from the girls, moving round the back of the herd. Spooked, they ran straight towards the awaiting lionesses, and sure enough, one of our girls chased down a sizeable youngster. The thermal camera captured the entire event in amazing clarity, and we were able to watch our lioness stretch out in full run and tumble with her kill to the ground.

After despatching the wildebeest, the girls had only a nibble before Caesar tucked in. This is usual behaviour with lions – the lionesses bring down a significant percentage of kills, but the male gets the lion’s share and first dibs. This might seem unfair, but without him there, hyenas would quickly overpower the lionesses. Indeed, we watched Caesar run full stretch at some cheeky hyenas that came a bit too close.

Caesar and one of the girls with their kill, shown as a mega cool inverted image. You can see how the thermal works this way – the hot points such as the eyes show up as black areas, whilst the cool ground and Caesar’s mane show as white.

Together with a hyena kill and other incredible footage, we left the MNC to film another day. Martin will be coming back in October, and I hope to spend some more time observing the lions at night. It is fascinating observing their hunting behaviour, and witnessing just how different – and active – these cats are when then have the cover of darkness.

I might just forgive the next lion I find asleep in the middle of the day!!

More soon – I’ve just heard we have some visitors rather near our camp!

Sara

Finders Keepers!

2009-09-01T13:14:00.004+03:00

A couple of days ago, the Serian guides reported a group of 6 lions nearby camp, including Kioni, our older female. On the same drive, the guides found Marley close by in Military, separate to the group.

You may remember that Kioni has FOUR cubs of between 12 and 18 months of age – six lions in all including Marley. With Marley temporarily disconnected from the group, some simple maths shows that we’re one lion up. Who could this extra one be? Another female perhaps? A nomadic male come to try his luck? I had to go and investigate…

Later that day I followed my nose to Maternity, and happened across the gang. Kioni was there, relaxing and yawning to show off her missing right canine – a useful pointer for her identification. Marley had come back to his little pride, and was relaxing too nearby. I counted the four cubs, and sure enough saw another patch of fur in the crotons. Sure enough, it appears that Kioni had picked up a younger cub.

Kioni has her right-upper canine broken. Also note that her teeth are yellow and worn – a clear sign of older age.

It’s a real puzzle where this little guy came from. I’m not aware of any mothers with cubs of this age in the area, apart from the group that reside across the river. Kioni and co. were seen crossing the river a fortnight ago, and this is the first time they have been seen since their trip. Could they have picked up a lost cub from the escarpment?

Who’s this little one then?

It’s something that I have never seen before, and is a very unusual occurrence in these animals. It is very common for females to nurse youngsters other than their own, as females often synchronize litters to crèche their young. Strength in numbers helps them protect their cubs from predators and intruding males, and allows for greater hunting success – the females can continue to hunt co-operatively or alone whilst one remains behind to babysit the kids.

The lions were entertaining as always, and continue to find my little Suzuki great fun to chase and play with. This is a great little pride to identify – Marley is an unusual lion, as he is a ‘grey morph’ with a small mane for his age. If you look closely at his nose, you will notice that it is not pink but grey. it will still however show the freckling that comes with age. His coat also has a grey tint.

You think this is edible, guys?

Here you can clearly see the grey tint of Marley’s coat

There are two female and two male cubs in the original group belonging to Kioni. One of the boys, Kahawa, is growing into a fine male, and it’s clear that he is getting the lion’s share of the kills (after Marley, of course!). His coat is a lovely rich terracotta red, and already he is developing muscle mass and is larger than his sisters. The second male, Maji, seems somewhat lagging in his development – there is a clear size difference and his mane is nowhere near as developed as Kahawa’s. At first glance he could even be mistaken for his sisters. He may have been a smaller cub, had an illness or been outcompeted for food by his stronger siblings. I’m sure that in time he will grow into a fine lion.

Maji (above) is a lot smaller and less developed than his brother Kahawa (below) – already Kahawa’s mane is developing on his head and he is showing the broader face and forelegs of a maturing male lion.

Marley’s pride certainly are a mixed bunch!

Sara

Kicheche’s Stars

2009-08-12T16:10:00.006+03:00

This week I’ve been busy catching up with some familiar faces in the Kicheche Pride area. The Kicheche Pride has almost 30 members, who form small groups to enable them to hunt successfully. You’d have to catch a lotta wildebeest to feed that lot!

It was nice to see some of the lions I know, and also meet some new ones. Since I saw her mating some time ago, Arria has teamed up with a new lioness (christened Manzy) to have five cubs between them. They are around 2 to 3 months of age, and a real joy to watch.

Hey! I thought I said no claws!

Manzy is certainly a pretty lioness, and has very characteristic ear notches. I’ll post her profile soon within the Kicheche Pride at www.livingwithlions.org/mara so you can see her beauty from all angles!

Manzy – a beautiful lady.

I also caught up with Blackie, who is the largest male in the pride. He is still young at around 3 years old but looks very impressive for his age. Kinna, who I also saw, is the same age as Blackie, which shows you the huge variation that can occur between lions. Kinna was mating with Shemsa and Blackie was also courting a new lioness, which is rather unusual for their age. Sangiki was also with Kinna – she has the end of her tail missing so isn’t hard to spot!

Kinna mating. Thanks to Rachael for this fabulous photograph!

Blackie’s lady wasn’t really in the mood!

I also caught up with a group of nine including Cleopatra and River. These are both older lionesses. Cleopatra is easy to identify as she looks like she is wearing eye makeup! River’s cubs are now grown up – the three girls and little boy are really fun to watch. Cleopatra also now has three new little ones, and so this group has lions of all shapes and sizes.

Cleopatra's family.

The group are very playful, but soon slinked off into the lugga to get some kip. They need it, too – with nine hungry mouths to feed, this pair of elegant lionesses certainly have their work cut out. Indeed, one of them was seen stalking a wildebeest later on that day.

Can’t catch me!!

After three action packed days it was time to head home. On the way home I passed Caesar still looking after his girls, and so I’m dashing off now to meet up with the old boy.

More soon,

Sara

P.S. I’ve had some emails about the comments form – you should now be able to leave a comment at the top right column of the blog. Thanks for letting me know!

Caesar’s new girls

2009-08-01T17:47:00.005+03:00

With the River Pride girls away and Marley and Kioni being rather elusive at present, Caesar has taken the opportunity to get more acquainted with the locals at Elephant Pepper Camp. Located across the main road from the Ereyet Angopito lugga where Kioni spends most of her time, the area has a resident group of three females and their seven cubs. The cubs are around 18 months old, and so some of the females are coming into season. Last night was pretty interesting, with a huge buffalo giving the lions a hard time. The lions certainly knew when to stand down!

Caesar keeps an eye on the old brigadier

The cubs are at no risk from Caesar – new males will often kill younger cubs to encourage their mothers to mate. I did not witness their first meeting, but the girls certainly seemed to like the big male, with Silver flirting outrageously! Pride males will travel between groups when females come into season, and the Elephant Pepper pride have no resident male with them.

Silver seems very fond of her man!

I have seen Silver mating several times with Caesar, and the Serian guides have also reported that the other females Lilly and Siti have mated with him too. Females will often come into season around the same time, which gives their cubs the best start in life with maximum protection and strength in numbers. Although lionesses keep their cubs hidden for the first few weeks of their life, they are quickly introduced to the rest of the pride and all females work to raise the family. Most of the lionesses within the pride will be aunts or sisters of the little ones.

This young male will leave his natal pride when he is around 3 years on age.

If all goes well, the cubs will be born in around 10-12 weeks. By this time the other cubs will be around 2 years old, and still reliant upon their mothers somewhat. It is likely that the young males will not be tolerated for much longer afterwards, and so may form a coalition and leave the group. The young girls will remain with their mothers or also leave to form a splinter group.

Sara

Lion 5-a-side!

2009-07-20T16:38:00.003+03:00

Marley’s Pride really know how to have fun, and they’re never boring to watch. Yesterday morning I found the gang hanging out on the plains by Military with a freshly killed wildebeest. The cubs were full of energy at first light, and occupied themselves at first by chasing my car and chewing on the tail-lights… I don’t think there was enough food to go around!

Marley shows off his moves

A few dents and teeth marks later, I pulled up to watch a nail-biting game of football, with all four cubs knocking a rock about with Marley. Not everyone was playing fair though, with Marley needing some serious refereeing over his not-too-light tackles and half of the cubs blatantly getting away with several hand-balls!

REF!!!

Um…. REF??!

Mum wasn’t going to let the boys have all the fun, and decided that a little tag was in order. Picking up a wildebeest leg, she darted past Marley and the cubs, only to be brought down in a mean tackle.

Bet you can’t catch me!

After that all the rules went out the window, and the family decided to practice some ambush techniques, leaping into the air and tumbling to the ground. All good practice for when the hunting is up to the kids!

Caesar on the other hand was having none of it, and busied himself with the remains of the kill. Whilst the family were playing, he tried to sneak off with his prize, dragging the carcass towards the bush. One of the cubs noticed, however, and latched onto the wildebeest. That certainly didn’t go down well with Caesar, and he turned on the little one to teach her a lesson. She fought back though, planting some good left-handers on his nose!

I’ll show you who’s boss!

After some more fun and games, the sun was getting high and so the family chilled out in the bush. Caesar was still not in the mood for sharing though, and grumpily munched away by himself. Bit of a bad hair day I think…

Sara

Learning the Ropes

2009-07-10T16:26:00.015+03:00

The Mara landscape changes quite dramatically with the seasons, and with the rains comes tall grass and swampy plains. The rains also mark a drop in the number of visitors to the Mara – not only does it pour down, but even the toughest vehicles find the mud a challenge!

The lions certainly seem to take advantage of the change of seasons, using the long grass and quiet times to their hunting advantage. The long grass is a bit of a trade off – although it provides excellent cover for stalking lionesses, game becomes more scarce.

Bibi shows a classic stalking pose – body close to the ground, ears pricked, eyes fixed on the prey and moving silently and slowly under cover.

The Marsh Pride have certainly reacted to the changes, and are spending more time out of the Masai Mara Reserve and moving into the North Mara Conservancy where the grass is shorter. The four lionesses are usually exclusively night-time hunters, but of late, the lions have been hunting more during the day. Last week saw them stalking wildebeest in the heat of the day – not so typical of lazy lions!

I think their eyes are bigger than their stomachs!

The Marsh cubs are also growing up fast, and are keen to practice their skills. They are full of enthusiasm, but often far too bold and confident for their own good. Full grown giraffes aren’t usually on the menu for lions! Even though they may not get a meal, each bold move on potential prey species is a valuable learning experience, and the cubs are always perfecting their stalking and ambush skills. Playtime is just as important for them, too, as it’s not all about having fun – cub play is full of hunting and social learning.

While the giraffes focussed on the lionesses, the cubs crept to a close distance

Earlier this week, Stacey brought down a full grown zebra for her 5 month old cubs. This is an impressive achievement for her, and she held it down for some time to allow her cubs to learn some techniques. Although it may seem cruel, life and death is an everyday matter for predators and prey, and if they are to grow to be healthy, independent adults, these cubs must learn to be as successful as their mother.

Sara

Quite the Hunters

2009-06-24T12:00:00.005+03:00

Marley, Kioni and her four cubs have been resident around Maternity and the nearby luggas for some time now. They’re definitely the lions to watch, as with the four youngsters growing up quickly, there’s never a dull moment with the bunch.

Monday saw the group feeding on a fresh wildebeest kill early in the afternoon – they must have brought down the animal not long after midday. This shows that the little pride is growing in confidence – to bring down a large wildebeest in daytime hours and in the heat of the day requires skill and teamwork.

Marley at the kill

The cubs are really cheeky, in particular one of the little girls, who didn’t think twice about pushing Marley over for the best bits! Even some bad tempered growling didn’t deter her. Although their bellies looked fit to burst, they all continued to make the most of their kill before the scavengers set in.

Marley wasn’t too happy about sharing!

I headed back over the the site of the kill early next morning, whereby the carcass had been thoroughly polished off. Jackals, hyenas and vultures had all worked through the night to leave only the horns and tail. With so many keen eyes, most kills last little time in the Mara, and even the bones are tasty morsels for hyenas.

Mum tucks in

Last night we picked up the group again in the next lugga down. Marley was nowhere to be seen, and Caesar had joined the group. I don’t think Caesar is a threat to Marley, as they are often seen together. Having been over 48 hours since their last substantial meal, the lions were in hunting mode and making a move on warthogs and gazelles. The cubs aren’t exactly perfect yet, ruining most hunts either by breaking too soon or hesitating during the chase, but certainly have the enthusiasm – they should become formidable hunters when they mature.

One of the cubs eyes up a tasty hog

In the middle of trying their luck on the local game, the cubs entertained themselves by climbing trees and annoying Caesar and Kioni. We left them heading towards Maternity as a huge storm rolled in overhead. Perhaps tonight they will have some more luck hunting.

Sara

Newcomers at Offbeat

2009-06-22T11:48:00.004+03:00

Last week I ventured back down to Offbeat to catch up with the local lions. I knew that the Offbeat Pride of four females were still around, both with Baakir the old male and a pair of younger males. One of the females was also showing signs of pregnancy, so when she left the rest of the pride and tucked herself away into a lugga around the back of the camp, it was time to look for new arrivals.

The first day brought not much luck with the lions, but sure enough next evening we spied two little ones playing in the bush. They were tucked away pretty well, which is usual for young cubs – they won’t be introduced to the pride until they are around six to eight weeks old. We only had fleeting glimpses of them, but I’m guessing that they are around 3-4 weeks old. There could be more – a lioness can have a litter of up to six cubs, though three is the norm.

Lucinda (on the right) is thought to be the mum of the little ones

The guides at Offbeat also told me of some new males that I hadn’t yet seen, and so we continued to explore the area. Early on the last day we found Jade and Imogen –the two other Offbeat lionesses – with a handsome male. He was courting Imogen, and so perhaps we can expect the pride to grow even bigger in three months time!

The new male

I hope to spend some more time with this pride, as I know there are more males to find.

Sara

The Marsh Pride go Camping

2009-06-17T11:52:00.003+03:00

The Marsh Pride are well known by many people, making their way into the living rooms of millions of people each year as they follow the BBC’s Big Car Diary. Many people will also know that the infamous Marsh Lionesses and their nine cubs tend to keep themselves within a relatively small range, encompassing Musiara Marsh and Billa Shaka. Rarely do they venture out of the park gates.

Recently, however, they’ve been rather adventurous, making their way to the Windmill and up the lugga adjacent to the gates to a patch of trees known as No Camping. For the past few nights, they have remained close to this area along with the two males, Romeo and Mpengo.

Lispy greets Mpengo

The cubs are growing up to be real superstars – most of the young boys already have manes much bigger than I would expect for their age. Some of them would put Marley and his brothers to shame!

Three of the young boys

The pride were spread out over a long stretch of the lugga, with Red as usual taking the lead and always on the look out for a potential meal. Next to follow was Bibi, who was not too happy about being left with the kids. Each cub that walked past got a swipe on the nose from mum!

Mama gets khali!

It looked as though Lispy had been left behind with the two males – after greeting the pair, she began calling softly for the rest of the pride. She slowly made her way down the lugga, climbing each termite mound to scan for her family. Eventually she spotted the cubs and bounded over to greet them and her sisters.

Lispy looks for her family

Yesterday the males had moved on without the pride, possibly on the look out for other females. They were found relaxing in the evening sun at the edge of Kichwa Tembo with full tummies.

Today I am heading down to Offbeat Mara, to have another look at their lions. There is news of some new cubs, so I am hoping they will make an appearance.

Sara

Zawadi puts on a show

2009-06-12T08:43:00.002+03:00

Over the past couple of days, Zawadi, the famous leopard from the BBC’s Big Cat Diary, has been hanging out around the Windmill by Musiara gate. Whether in a tree or lounging on a termite mound, she loves posing for the camera.

Zawadi chills out

After relaxing in a tall tree and observing her surroundings, she began exploring the area, even making a move on a nearby impala. She’s an old girl, but still breeding, and has two older cubs. They didn’t make an appearance this time, and are becoming more and more independent.

On lion news, it’s been pretty quiet lately. Siena and Stacey were seen with the two cubs near to the gate, so it is possible that they have made their way into the park. Perhaps they were just visiting whilst our resident River Pride lions are away?

Sara

Siena finds a new man

2009-06-10T15:18:00.005+03:00

When female lions come into season, they tend to attract any males that may be around the area. This works to the female’s advantage, as a number of males may believe that they are the father of the cubs. Infanticide is common in lions, often carried out by new males if they overtake a pride male or discover cubs sired by other males. By mating with both the pride male and any outsiders, the female is ultimately protecting her cubs.

So why does the pride male allow his mate to partner with other lions? By mating with a female as often as every 20 minutes over a period of two or three days, the pride male does his best to ensure that she conceives whilst in his presence. As the male is confident that he is the father, further attempts by other males are of little concern to him. This is mostly true, and so the female is able to increase her own chances of rearing her offspring to adulthood. Males may be so assured to the extent that they will even tolerate other males mating in his presence.

Romeo follows Siena closely

So whilst Siena may have mated with Caesar for several days, she still advertised her position to other males. Romeo (star of BBC’s Big Cat Diary) was quickly on the scene as Siena made her way towards Leopard Gorge and nearer to the Masai Mara Reserve. Romeo is easy to identify, as he has a large notch out of his right ear, a scar on his top right lip and a small tail tuft.

Romeo has a large ear notch, just visible here, and a scar on his top lip.

Having a fine male at her side didn’t stop her from attempting to grab a meal, and in true Siena style, she began stalking some nearby zebra, until an eager Romeo blew her cover. She obviously wasn’t pleased, and a short while later, Siena was seen sunbathing on her own.

Siena spots a zebra – she’s quite the hunter!

Romeo is one of the resident males of the Marsh Pride, and so he may have made his way back to Musiara. I’ve written the date of their pairing in my journal, and so three months from now I’ll be keeping a lookout for some little ones!

In other news, Marley, Kioni and the kids were spotted lounging around Mulima Maui (close to Maternity) with full bellies after tucking into a zebra. These lions certainly have a large range, as only the day before they were spotted close to No Camping. I’ll be making my way there later, hopefully to find some more lions.

Sara

Friends again?

2009-06-07T18:32:00.006+03:00

As pride male, Caesar has been intolerant at best of Marley and his brothers. Now, however, it looks like they have decided to patch things up, as yesterday Caesar left his new girlfriend Siena and hooked up with Marley, Kioni and her four cubs. Whilst the youngsters busied themselves annoying mum, the two boys lay together, even taking time to groom one another. Ahh… I wonder if it will last? It is possible that now he has mated with Siena, Caesar no longer sees Marley as a threat to his position as pride male. Things might change though if any other females in the area come into season.

Mum politely tells her pestering cubs to behave!

Still no sign yet of any of the past Maternity lionesses, but in other news, Siena was later on the prowl for a meal, this time around Military and still without Stacey and her two cubs. Maybe Siena will have more luck with the plains game on her own?

New Kids On the Block and Marley’s Family

2009-06-05T16:19:00.008+03:00

Since coming back to camp, I’ve been trying to track down the locals. Whilst most of our familiar faces are keeping themselves hidden, there’s certainly no lack of lions!

First to meet were two lovely lionesses with their two cubs. Christened Joy and Siena, they were relaxing in Kichwa Tembo close to some rather curious giraffe. These girls are actually part of the Three Graces, a sub-pride of the Marsh Pride, and not resident to the area. Things got heated when Siena tried her luck at some nearby zebra. Joy left the kids in the bush and crept round to ambush the prey whilst Siena snuck up with such determination that a Grant’s gazelle wandered past ignored. She sprinted and got within a whisker’s reach of a large mare, but couldn’t bring it down. maybe next time.

Joy keeps her eye on the prize

Nearby in Maternity, we found one familiar face – Marley, one of the three young males. You might remember him from earlier this year when he caused trouble with Asali and her cubs. This time he seemed to be getting along with the other lions, and had attached himself to a mature lioness with four adolescent cubs.We've called her Kioni, which means 'she who sees'.

Marley watches the kids

I saw the pair of females yesterday again trying to hunt, and we left them again stalking some zebra as the light dropped, but Marley and co. had moved on.

And that’s not the last of it – this morning, Caesar appeared close to camp again, mating with Siena. He’s a beautiful lion, and seems to have his pick of the ladies! Except for younger lions such as Marley, Caesar is the only resident male around the River Pride area, and until the younger boys mature, should father many new cubs.

One of the new cubs – similar in age to Asali's.

I have to work hard to find the location of our known lions, and one lioness I am missing the most is Asali and her two cubs. They should be almost 5 months by now. I haven’t found her sisters Mandisa and Tailend either. The last time Asali was seen was close to Musiara Gate leading into the reserve. As we have many new lions around the River Pride area, I will most probably have to look further afield. I’ll let you know when I find her.

Sara

Back to the Mara

2009-06-03T11:48:00.000+03:00

It’s been a while, but I’ve just arrived back at Serian Camp after some months in the UK. The Mara is still very wet, and with several of the roads leading to camp either flooded or a mud bath, it took us over 8 hours from Nairobi. After rescue missions involving both my car and other travellers we made it to camp at midnight… phew!

One of the first things to do is to find the local lions. With large changes in the weather and both the wildlife and cattle, I have a feeling that they’re not going to be quite where I left them!

Watch this space…

Sara

The Offbeat Pride

2009-02-09T11:28:00.010+03:00

This week I ventured down to Olare Orok to Mara Offbeat Camp to see if I could build on the MPP identification database. I know that this area has always been good for big cats - just south-east of Leopard Gorge, the camp is surrounded by beautiful valleys, densely wooded tributaries and rolling hills teeming with game. Julieta and Frank the camp managers told me about their resident pride - the Offbeat lions - four young lionesses and a blonde and older male. The question was: would I be able to navigate the rocks and luggas to find thesse new lions?

Above: one of the Offbeat lionesses

For the first day the lions remained hidden, but we were blessed with two leopards - a male and a female pair. Their interractions were rather heated, but unlike lions, leopard are solitary cats and aggression between mating pairs is not unusual.

My luck turned when the following morning the Offbeat scouts found Baakir the old lion wandering the plains. He's a bit of a character and has obviously had a long and varied life... I would guess that he is one of the oldest lions in Koiyaki at around 12 years of age. Despite this, he has been seen mating with the Offbeat lionesses and doing well to retain his status of pride male. Unfortunately his blonde-maned companion was nowhere to be seen, and Baakir was the only male we found during my brief stay.

Above: good spot! The Offbeat scouts quickly find our old lion.

That morning I also happened upon some regulars up on Lion Hill - Tanya and her three boisterous cubs Binty, Mosi and Sudi. It was interesting to see them here instead of their usual hangout by Leopard Gorge, and I am unsure as to their connections to the Offbeat pride. It is possible for pride ranges to overlap on a temporal basis, and so if two lions are found at the same location, but at differen times, they may not necessarily be in the same pride. Tanya and the troublesome trio looked hungry and ready to hunt, but I had other lions to find!

Above: a familiar face in the bushes

The cool thing about the Offbeat lions is that they certainly don't keep quiet as to their whereabouts! Using the direction of their roars each evening and at sunrise, we tracked down the lionesses on the opposite side of the river the following morning. The river had been high, but a couple of days of dry weather allowed us to explore a greater area. The four females were with Baakir, and there was also news of another lioness nearby showing signs of pregnancy. Unfortunately she passed into dense bush before we got close.

Below: tree hugging!

For the next few outings we concentrated on the Offbeat lionesses, trying to get ID shots. It's harder than you think - they had a habit of finding the rockiest hills! Three of the lionesses had some great distinguishing features, and seem relatively easy to tell apart. I'm sure that they all have their own characters, and they certainly are an active bunch, digging out warthog holes, chasing each other over streams, climbing trees and wrestling.

Above: the playful pride

After careful debate, we decided to call the four lionesses Leia, Imogen, Jade and Lucinda.

Unfortunately I had to return to camp last night, but it was great to meet Frank, Julietta and the team, and of course the Offbeat pride.

Sara

War at Military

2009-01-28T16:09:00.010+03:00

All is not well with the Maternity lions. Last night on the rounds, the three young males from across the Mara River had joined Asali, Mandisa and Caesar in Military Bush. When I first arrived on the scene, none of the lions looked particularly uncomfortable with the situation, until I took a closer look and counted not three cubs, but only two.

The true extent of the matter between the Maternity lions and these three punks became apparent as one of the boys, Marley, stood up, stretched and then limped closer to our gang. He'd obviously been in a fight. Caesar responded immediately and approached the young male, closely followed by Asali in defence of her cubs. Marley adopted a submissive posture and only warning swipes were exchanged, but judging by the lions' reactions, the tension between both parties and Marley's cuts and bruises, it was clear that this meeting had been far from friendly.

Below: Asali and Caesar tell Marley who's boss

Above: Caesar stands proud over his pride, whilst Ziggy looks on in the background.

The story doesn't end there: Romeo was seen the previous day with Asali and her three cubs, and he appeared far from friendly. We don't know much about this encounter, but perhaps Romeo's short visit has something to do with the missing cub?

Above: Asali gets defensive

So, what happened? We can't know for sure, but it is possible that Romeo killed the cub. However, I have my doubts - five months ago, Romeo was seen mating with Asali, and so it is possible that he is the father to the little ones. It is unlikely that he would kill his own offspring - then again, Asali did mate with Junior, Romeo's brother, and Clawed.

What about the three river boys? These three young males may have attempted to challenge Caesar's position as top dog. Even though at around 2 1/2 years old, these adolescents would usually be too young to hold a pride, there is strength in numbers. Young males often adopt this strategy when they are kicked out of their natal pride, as it gives them an advantage in hunting, scavengning, and looking for their own pride. Unfortunately for Asali, males are quick to practice infanticide and kill any offspring under 1 year of age which are not fathered by themselves. This quickly brings the female into season so that they can mate, and ensure that any cubs they invest in supporting are carrying their genes.

Whilst this appears harsh, lions breed quickly, and receptive females can produce a litter of between 2 and 6 cubs within 3 months. With the support of other pride females, older lionesses especially successful.

However, all is not lost. Asali is a good mother and still has two little ones, and this morning she was content with a full belly after bringing down a small zebra. As she left the remains and began making her way to Mulima Maui, my heart skipped a beat as I noticed the three males prowling around close by, but they seemed interested only in picking the carcass clean. Phew! Just as well, as Caesar was nowhere to be seen, and Asali would have had little chance of defending her cubs alone.

Below: The cubs have started showing an interest in meat

I'm still not sure how much of a threat Marley, Ziggy and Thani are to Asali, or if Romeo is friend or foe. But I'll certainly keep an eye on the situation. Watch this space...

Sara

Meet the locals

2009-01-24T20:12:00.009+03:00

Time to introduce you to some of our lions. Around Serian Camp is a small group of lions that are part of the River Pride. The core individuals in this group are three sisters - Asali, Mandisa and Tailend, who I call the Maternity girls, as they spend most of their time around the lugga of the same name. All three are around 4 to 5 years of age, and have been seen with a host of different males over the past few months.

Asali and Mandisa are most likely direct sisters and are very similar in appearance. You need to look closely at the whisker spots and the shape of the face to tell them apart. Mandisa has a rounder face and a richer coloured coat, plus a rear whisker spot on the left side.

Above: Mandisa and Asali (background) scan the plains

Tailend is one of our easier lions to identify - not only does she have the end of her tail missing (hence the name) but she has a large scar on the right of her nose. Her coat is lighter than most lions, and her eyes are small and slanted.

Below: Tailend has a scar on the right side of her nose.

Above: The Maternity girls from left to right: Tailend (background), Asali and Mandisa

I certainly have a soft spot for Asali- she was the first lion I saw whe I arrived at Serian. At this time in July and August she mated with a number of males, including Clawde and Romeo of Big Cat Diary fame, and now has three tiny cubs. Six weeks ago the trio were no more than little bundles of fluff hidden in Maternity lugga - now, two months later, they have been introduced to the pride and can be seen playing and exploring their new surroundings near to camp. She certianly is a great mother and a formidable lioness despite her age. Unfortunately Mandisa wasn't so successful in raising her cubs - she lost them after two weeks, most likely to hyena.

Above: One of Asali's cubs aged 8 weeks checks out the Suzuki!

The male of the moment with the Maternity girls is Caesar. He's a really impressive male with an enormous chestnut mane and noble face. Mandisa quickly came into heat after the loss of her cubs, and Caesar was there to father the next bundles of joy. Let's hope that she has more success in raising a family in three months!

The Maternity girls are certainly ones to watch out for, and you'll be hearing a lot more of them in the months to come.

How to I.D. a lion

2009-01-24T12:31:00.005+03:00

In order for us to learn about the lions in our area, we first need to identify them so that we can track individuals. From this we can learn about pride ranges and identify key areas for lions. We can also try and establish what causes the lions to move around.

Lions change greatly in appearance over time - males especially can become unrecognizable in a matter of weeks throuhg changes in condition and encounters with other lions. Injuries and scars heal remarkable quickly, and lions often gain new ear tears.

Each lion has its own character, and some features can certainly be useful in identifying individuals. Prominent ear tears, face shape, age, and major infuries such as missing tail tips and scarred noses can all be used with recent photographs. However, only the whisker spot pattern remains the same throughout a lion's life.

So what is this pattern? On each side of a lions muzzle, whisker spots lie in rows. Not all of these have virbrissae (whiskers), and the pattern differs on both sides on the face.

We look at a certain area of this pattern to identify our lion. The uppermost complete whisker spots is referred to as row B, or the reference row. Above this row are often found several randomly spaced spots - usually from 1 to 4. These form what we call row A. We are interested in the position of row A spots in relation to the position of row B spots. This remains the same from birth to death, and acts the same as a human fingerprint.

Click here to visit the MPP Database page on I.D.ing lions, and study the image below to help you.

Unfortunately, as a lion ages and the fur on the muzzle becomes patchy and worn, its whisker spots become increasingly hard to distinguish. At this age, however, the lion has usually collected enough permanent battle scars to aid with its identification.

More soon on how to age lions - another essential to working out who's who.

Sara

Welcome to the Mara Predator Project Blog!

2009-01-24T02:31:00.006+03:00

Welcome to the new blog for the Mara Predator Project! Here you can follow the day to day life of some of the lions in Koiyaki on the north-east border of the Masai Mara Reserve. This aim of this blog is to keep past visitors and interested readers up to date on the day-to-day lives of our known lions, many of which may have been stars of their safari. Feel free to add us to your favourites, and please visit our project website here.

Firstly, a quick introduction to the project and myself. My name is Sara Blackburn, and I work as the Project Biologist of the Mara Predator Project (MPP). The Mara Predator Project is a new project run by Living with Lions (LWL) - a organization that works to protect lions in conflict with humans. You can read all about Living With Lions here, and visit the MPP project page here. LWL projects include the Laikipia Predator Project, the Kilimanjaro Lion Conservation Project, and the Lion Guardians Program, all of which are successfully reducing threats to lions in Kenya. This work would not be possible without the fantastic LWL team, who you can visit here.

The Mara Predator Project was started in mid-2008, and has several main aims. Our first is to assess and monitor the lion population. We can do this by finding out how many lions there are and where, working out pride ranges and associations, and looking at the sex, age and breeding status of each lion. All this information helps us work out the health and status of Kioyaki's lion population, and gives us a base for monitoring changes. Secondly, we aim to include visitors and tourists to the area in lion conservation. This is where you come in - I'll explain later.

In order to achieve the above, we need to be able to identify our lions. You can read all about how we do this on the MPP Lion I.D. Database here, or in the following informative posts. When a new lion is identified, we create an ID sheet, calculate its age and build a collection of images that can be used for future identification. Essentially, we also note where the lion was seen and which lions, if any, it was seen with. This helps us build a picture of pride ranges and associations. All our lions are given a name and I.D. number, and put onto our lion IDENTIFICATION DATABASE.

The project is currently based at Serian Camp - one of the MPP's sponsors. From Serian and the surrounding camps, safari-goers can work with the camp guides to identify the lions they see on game drives, using Lion I.D. booklets. I.D.ing not only allows guests to learn more about the life and history of each lion, but aids us in our data collection. By reporting lion sightings and submitting photographs to allow us to confirm the I.D. and update our records, we gain essential information on each lion's whereabouts, helping us monitor the population.

So, how can you help? If you have recently visited a camp in the area and have some prize lion photographs, why not go onto our database and see if you can identify your lion? If you would like to report your sighting, please go here. Alternatively, if you would like us to identify your lion for you, you can email us at maralions@gmail.com.

This blog will be updated regularly, allowing you to read all about your favourite lions. I will also post useful information to help you participate in our work and enjoy following our project.

Watch this space!

Sara