Good news for Nasha and Ole Mepukori

From the meeting held on August 13, Eseriani Wildlife Association agreed to compensate Nasha and Ole Mepukori for the loss of their cows to lions. Today Eseriani Wildlife Association came with two checks. Each herder received an estimated $300 for each cow. According to Nasha "the amount is not much but it is better than nothing."

Nasha receiving a check from Ibrahim Kantet, Director of Eseriani Wildlife Association

Ole Mepukori receiving a check from Ibrahim Kantet

Merueshi Leaders Meeting- Human Wildlife Conflicts Mitigatory Measures

Today we got all the leaders together and discussed about human wildlife conflicts in the Chyulu/Tsavo/Amboseli/Merueshi ecosystem. Leaders included area Chiefs, village elders, area chairman, volunteers and leaders from the game scout unit.The meeting held at Maasai Simba Camp was facilitated by Kakuta Maimai of Maasai Association and chaired by Daniel Sampu from The Big Life Foundation.

We discussed about challenges, failures, successes, and positive initiatives to successfully tackle human wildlife conflict in Merrueshi area.

ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED

• Big Life Foundation (BLF)
• Eseriani Wildlife Association (EWA)
• Maasai Association (MA)

RESOLUTIONS.

1. Eseriani Wildlife Association was officially accepted in Merueshi area. Eseriani Wildlife Association will provide the game scouts with cameras needed to document predator activities in the area  The association will contact Kenya Wildlife Service and request resources for capacity building and community out reach missions.

2. Meruesh community will be fully involved in wildlife conservation in the area.

3. Maasai Association will provide an office where game scouts will dispatch reports to partners for wildlife conservation in Merrueshi area. In addition to Maasai Association staff the scouts will take photos of every incidents by lions using GPS points and disburse the information through email, phone call, and text.

4. The Biglife Foundation will train and employ  two game scouts and equip them with GPSs and Cell phones. The organization will continue to provide a rescue vehicle and encounter poaching activities in the area.

Next meeting will be held at the Chief’s office in Merrueshi. The purpose of the meeting is to bring all the village elders together and show them how they can benefit from wildlife. Stay tuned for update.

Another cow was killed by a lion last night

A lioness with two cubs entered into a village last night and mauled one cow. The cow belongs to Nasha Musoongo. Other cows were not hurt. The lion struck the village at mid night. We went in to investigate the kill and found that carcass is the only part left of the animal. 

Judging from the lion's footprint the cubs were about 6 months old. The lioness and her cubs remain at large in Merruesi village. We called the game scout unit from the Big Life Foundation; they are on the way to the scene. Other partners for wildlife conservation such as Eseriani Wildlife Association have been informed.  We are hopeful that the game scout unit will arrive soon and scare the lion away into Chyulu Hills National Park. Very likely the lions will return to the area because many zebras and wildebeest are plenty in Merrueshi. Stay tuned for more update.

Nasha, pictured above, is not very happy about the loss of her cow. We must compensate her for the loss of her cow in order to deter the warriors from hunting the lion. "I'm debating whether to accept compensation for the loss of my cow or have the lion killed" said Nasha.