On the trail of lions

The riverbeds are parched, starved of water. The sand on them is still warm, although the day has become cooler.

We’re walking in one of the luggas that leads into the Ewaso Nyiro. Some of the herders have dug deep enough to strike water for their livestock in the dry beds riverbeds.

The troughs are cordoned off with a fence of sharp acacia branches to keep the wild animals away.

A bend in the dry river opens to a magnificent cache of gigantic rocks, natural sculptures in the wild. As we move in, the rock hyraxes scamper away and watch until we leave.

Like them, we climb onto the natural openings of the rocks, enjoying the cool air and the natural vistas so vast, open and beautiful.

We could keep walking, only that night is about to fall and we must make our way back to camp before we bump into hyenas, lions or elephants.

West Gate, adjoining Samburu National Reserve, is a new frontier for Shivani Bhalla, a young scientist starting the first research programme on lions in the Samburu ecosystem.

Her base camp is on the community land set aside recently by the clan as a wildlife conservancy (Ngutuk Engiron Group Ranch).

Everyone’s excited because for years nobody had seen lions outside the protected areas of Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba. The only sightings were rare glimpses of a disappearing lion’s tail or ear, but never the whole animal.

“Lions outside protected areas behave completely different from lions in protected areas,” explains Shivani. “Inside the parks, they are habituated. Outside, they are nervous. They hide. You won’t see them even when they are there.”

I believe her. A few years ago, we went looking for lions on a private ranch in Laikipia.

The radio kept picking signals of the lion within a few metres of the car but we could not see it through the grass. The cat kept slinking away and when we did finally spot it, it was a wary lioness, with a frightened look in her eyes.

Outside the protected areas, the cats have to use every skill for survival, which means evading humans. The lioness gave one final glimpse and slunk off further into the thickets – not at all like the lions of the Maasai Mara , which pose for photo shoots.

Early next morning even before the sun is up, we wake up to track lions accompanied by Risila Lelengu, the lion tracker, and Raphael Lekuraiyo of the conservancy.

The sun comes out in a few minutes as if in a hurry to start the day, flaming hot and vivid in the eastern sky. The mountains of the north begin to materialise in the light and the sky turns into that beautiful blue of the drylands.

We reach the area with the help of the GPS, walking through dense green toothbrush bush to a place where a pride of lions devoured an elephant a few days ago.

All that’s left of the animal is the lower jaw and the skin. Shivani collects the lion scat to identify what the lions fed on, as in whether it was livestock or wild animals – it’s important to collect all sorts of data to piece together the behaviour of the wild cats.

It will eventually make management plans to protect the cats easier and also provide hard evidence that the cats are around.

There’s no luck this morning with the cats, but there are dikdiks everywhere. Earlier, we spotted a pair of martial eagles perched on a tree, making for a super picture.

Our stomachs are rumbling. At this point, an enormous rock appears. “We have to climb that for breakfast,” announces the young Kenyan scientist.

From high on the vantage point, the scenery is surreal. The Ewaso Nyiro appears like a mirage in the distance. The land is sparsely dotted with thorn trees. In the early morn, we hear the tinkle of goat bells coming to the river to drink.

Driving back to base after breakfast on the rocks, we meet Daniel Letoiye, manager of West Gate, who was born not far from where we are standing.

The community is excited by Shivani’s spotting the pride of lions and with the pictures she has taken. Letoiye wants the digital photographs blown up for all to see.

It has created momentum to expand the conservancy for wildlife. Chatting by the exclusive up-market tented camp on the conservancy, Letoiye spots a hyena spoor. He’s working on a Masters degree on hyenas. I ask him why hyenas?

“You know, nobody likes them here. Yet they are very important for the ecosystem to function. So that’s why l chose them as my subject.”

“We’re excited about the lion research,” chips in Lekuraiyo. “We want to encourage more research here because the wildlife is our heritage and we want to see it survive. The research will help us mark the way forward.”

On our way out, we stop by Roosevelt, the big bull elephant in the conservancy.

There are dikdiks everywhere, tiny and agile, perfectly suited to the arid land – there’s plenty to browse on because nobody can reach so low for the tender shoots like them.

Fact File
Stay at the West Gate conservancy. There’s a camping ground but you must carry water. If money’s not a problem, check in at the little exclusive camp on the hill. It’s great country for walking.

Carry some form of identification as the patrol cars outside the game area can stop you at any time for a spot check on “aliens”.

If you are staying for two nights, you are allowed game drives in both Samburu and Buffalo Springs. Please make sure when paying gate entrance fee to say that you will do game drives in both.

If you want to use both gates for entry and exit, that is through Buffalo Springs and Samburu, please specify at the gates, or else you might be forced to pay extra when leaving through a different gate.