Lion Guardians

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Lion Guardians

Maasai warriors saving East Africa's lions outside protected areas in the Amboseli ecosystem.
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WHO WE ARE

Lion Guardians is a conservation organization that promotes the coexistence of people and lions. Our more than 70 conservationists, biologists and local leaders work in collaboration with pastoralist communities to protect lions over 4,500 square kilometers (over one million acres) of prime lion habitat across Kenya and Tanzania. We are continuing to grow and expand our range, partners

hips and impact. WHAT WE DO

The Lion Guardians program protects lions using a conservation model based on traditional knowledge,cultural values, community participation and science. Our approach proactively reduces conflict between people and lions, provides incentives and benefits to communities, generates important scientific data and knowledge about species conservation, and reinforces the cultural role and values of warriors within pastoralist communities. OUR CORE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Participation & community-oriented: The participation of local communities as full and active partners in all of our work. Trust: Relationships of trust within our organization, with our partners, our donors and supporters, and with all of the communities with whom we work. Science-based: Conservation programs based on science, and the integration of social and biological sciences, including traditional and indigenous knowledge. Valuing co-existence: Strong links between local cultural values and conservation programmatic elements. Collaborative: Partnerships and collaborations are key to achieving long-lasting and broad conservation and livelihood impacts.

29/05/2026

Some moments remind you exactly why we do this work - by James Silankei

After several nights of patrols around Meshenani and Nkiito, I had barely closed my eyes when the call came in - two male lions spotted on the road, one badly injured, limping and bleeding from his left hind leg.

We didn’t hesitate. By early morning, our team was tracking him through the bush. The injury was deep and urgent. We contacted the , who responded immediately, and together with , we got him the treatment he needed.

The next morning, we found him resting beside his brother. He was moving. He was recovering.
As we pieced together what happened, we learned he had entered a boma and attacked a cow and was speared by the livestock owner defending his animal. A painful reminder of the reality of human-wildlife conflict, and why our work matters every single day.

But even in difficult moments, there is hope. Hope in rapid response. Hope in teamwork. Hope in communities choosing to report rather than retaliate. Every life saved matters. We’ll keep watching over him.

21/05/2026

Some of you may remember Mirurai — the lioness who in 2024 was responsible for repeated nighttime raids on Maasai bomas, killing large numbers of small livestock to feed her cubs. Night after night, our team pushed her back. Her future hung in the balance.

Through sustained nightly interventions, we gradually redirected Mirurai away from livestock and back toward wild prey. In 2025, we reinforced the boma she had targeted most heavily with recycled oil drum fencing — one of our most effective deterrents.

Then, in early 2026, something remarkable happened. Mirurai killed two giraffes just 200 metres from that same boma. We sat watching her and her now-grown cubs feed, while voices from the nearby boma carried across the landscape. Predator and community, side by side, without conflict.

For Conflict Manager Jeremiah Purka, who spent weeks in 2024 exhausted and tense, trying to stop her, this moment meant everything. The same lioness he once struggled to hold back was now thriving the right way, and teaching her cubs to do the same.

Mirurai has fully transformed into a successful hunter of wild prey. The boma owner is better protected. The lions are surviving without livestock.

This is what coexistence looks like!

17/05/2026

Out on patrol Guardians don’t just follow tracks, they read the whole bush.

What do you think the birds spotted first - Guardian or something else roaming the wild?

12/05/2026

One evening last week our field team did a roaring call-in for the group we’d been tracking throughout the day.

They were lucky to spot Nanyorri and a male we believe was one of the Olbili males, identified by his unique ear mark. The team camped around the area and tried another roaring call to see what they could hear throughout the night

08/05/2026

Happy 100th birthday

Some moments stay with you forever. Having Sir David visit our camp was one of them.

His work has moved generations to care about the natural world. For us, on the ground in Amboseli, that matters deeply. The lions we protect, the communities we work alongside, the ecosystems we fight for, they need people like Sir David telling their story to the world.

Today, we celebrate a life extraordinarily well lived. Thank you for your wonder, your dedication, and your unshakeable belief that nature is worth fighting for.

28/04/2026

At the beginning of the year, our team completed the annual survey to count lions and support population density estimates across the Amboseli–Tsavo ecosystem. 🦁 🐾

Over three months, our Guardians walked a combined 55,000 + km, tracked using the EarthRanger mobile app. That’s around 15% of the distance to the Moon, or one and a half times around the Earth if you lined up everyone’s tracks.

These distances reflect the scale of monitoring in a large, open landscape. Guardians move daily across community lands, tracking lions, verifying sightings, and following up on reports of missing livestock. The same work also supports conflict response, helping reduce livestock losses and prevent retaliation.

This consistent, long-term presence is what allows us to both understand the lion population and support coexistence across the ecosystem.

21/04/2026

When the skies finally open, nature resets.

The short rains of November and December lived up to their name – brief and insufficient. The dry spell hit hard: pasture disappeared, livestock weakened, and wildlife migrated, pushing humans and animals into closer competition. Even our camp wasn’t spared, elephants raided our water tank, and no alarm or scarecrow was going to stop a thirsty elephant.

Then the long rains came and when it rains, it pours. Seasonal rivers flowed again, water pans filled, and the cracked, brown earth turned soft and green almost overnight. You could feel the relief, not just on the land, but in everything that depends on it.

For the community, it’s hope. For wildlife, it’s freedom – room to roam, water to drink, pasture to choose from. The pressure on conflict hotspots eases.

But relief always brings new challenges: flooded roads, limited movement, and the risk of disease. And for us, this is when we pay closest attention.

As the landscape opens up, predator movements shift – places that were quiet during the dry season can suddenly become hotspots.

Our guardians stay ahead through daily foot patrols, EarthRanger tracking, boma reinforcement, lion lights, and mobile conflict camps. The rains test our operations, but we adapt.

Above all, this is nature at its most powerful reset. This , we’re grateful for every drop of rain, every green blade of grass, and every life that depends on a healthy ecosystem.

14/04/2026

It began as an ordinary workday, busy, structured, and predictable. The sun dipped below the horizon, duties were wrapped up, and by around 7:00 p.m. we were sharing dinner as a team, winding down after a long day in the office. Then the phone rang.

One of our guardians from Lorkiu was on the line. Lions had struck. One cow lay dead, another badly injured. The request was urgent: vehicle assistance was needed to recover the carcass and help get the injured animal home before the night grew more dangerous. Within minutes, the monitoring team was alerted. A vehicle was arranged, machetes and ropes secured, and we set off into the darkness.

Keep reading 🔗 https://lionguardians.org/when-duty-calls-we-show-up/

09/04/2026

Last week we had the opportunity to reconnect with old friends, spending time with the KopeLion
team for a focused training on data capture, management, and analysis using Spatially Explicit Capture–Recapture (SECR) to carry out lion density surveys and estimate population density. We also shared how we use platforms like EarthRanger and EcoScope, reflecting on the many similarities in our work across Amboseli and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

From field protocols to analytical processes, the discussions were fun, practical, and grounded in real-world experience. As with many models, SECR depends on the quality and consistency of data and monitoring, something both teams are deeply committed to.

Importantly, this work builds on the deep, place-based knowledge of Guardians/Ilchokuti, whose daily observations and tracking of lions provide the foundation that these analytical approaches depend on.
Sharing experiences and lessons learned helps ensure we’re building on each other’s work rather than reinventing the wheel. We are grateful for the partnership, the energy in the conversations, and the shared commitment to strengthening how we measure and support lion populations across East Africa.

02/04/2026

This year, at Lion Guardians, we’re introducing a powerful new conflict-mitigation tool to strengthen our lion conservation work on community land.

We’ve invested in a thermal drone and received hands-on instruction from and . Three members of our field team have now completed intensive pilot training, gaining the skills to deploy this technology safely in real conflict situations.

While working alongside the Mara Elephant Project, we witnessed how they handle high-pressure moments, when elephants breach fences and move dangerously close to communities.

From the air, the drone transforms the response. Live aerial imaging gives teams a clear view of elephant movements, allowing them to coordinate effectively on the ground and guide elephants away from people and farms, back into protected areas.

What could have escalated into damage or injury was successfully contained. Communities were left in peace, and elephants returned safely to where they belonged.

This mitigation was done together with and
working in Mara North Conservancy. The elephants were guided out of Oloturoto area and safely into Lemek Conservancy.

We look forward to applying this knowledge in our Amboseli landscape – strengthening coexistence and protecting lions and communities alike.

Address

PO Box 15550 Langata
Nairobi
00509

Website

http://www.lionguardians.org/

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