Drought ends in Amboseli but its impact deepens

The rains arrived in Amboseli right after the emergency meeting to discuss the collapse of the herbivore populations and its likely consequences held at Serena Lodge on December 9th .

As soon as the rains began, the wildebeest and zebra survivors moved out of Amboseli to the surrounding ranches. On December 15th, when ACP flew an aerial count, there were no wildebeest and few zebra in the park. Buffalo, which seldom migrate, had moved out of the swamps onto the grasslands in the park. We counted very few wildebeest and widely scattered zebra herds in the wet season dispersal areas north of Amboseli.

As anticipated at the Serena workshop, the herbivore migrations from the park have created an acute prey shortage for the carnivores. Lions soon moved out of the park in search of prey and began nightly attacks on livestock in settlements at Risa, Maarba, Ositeti, Kitirua and other locations. The attacks began as the Maasai cattle began returning to Amboseli with the rains. Having lost over 80% of their cattle and 65% of their sheep and goats to drought, herders were in no mood for lion attacks. Following one attack at Risa, warriors gathered for a lion hunt. The Amboseli Predator Consolation Fund chairman, John Marinka, KWS and Lion Guardians were able to calm tempers and stop the hunt.

The lion raids grew bolder in the two weeks after the rains began. KWS senior management was away on extended Christmas break and there were too few rangers and vehicles to deal with the nightly attacks. Floods made it hard to reach many settlements. David Maitumo, ACP field assistant, was asked to help out KWS ferrying rangers.

The situation worsened when the first lion was speared at Kitirua after several broke into a settlement and killed two cows. In another attack on Christmas day, 16 lions trapped people in their houses at Ositeti for many hours. The next day the community met with the assistant warden, Adan Kalla, and called for an emergency meeting on December 28th to discuss the crisis. I flew down to the meeting.

The chairman of the Ogulului, Daniel Lolterish, explained that he wanted KWS to hear the records of lion attacks and discuss how to handle the situation before it got out of hand. John Marinka read out the incidence records of attacks. His records showed that hyenas had killed some 360 livestock in the two months prior to the end of the drought. The attacks had fallen sharply with the rains, perhaps because hyenas now turned to rehydrated carcasses. Lion attacks, which had been rare during the drought when there was sufficient wild prey, jumped sharply as soon as the rains began. Lions began nightly attacks, often killing several cattle and donkeys. In the circumstances, the Maasai at the meeting showed remarkable restraint, but insisted KWS take immediate action.

Despite the appeal from the community, with KWS senior staff away and the assistant warden short-handed, little happened until the New Year. The lion attacks grew bolder. From early December to mid-January, lions killed 33 livestock.  Seven of the 56 lions in Amboseli have been speared in the last month, putting them at grave risk if the attacks and spearing continue.

I met the KWS Deputy Director, Dr. Joachim Kagiri, after the New Year break and presented him a copy of the Serena report, which he had not seen. I urged him to take immediate action on the recommendations.  By then he had been to Amboseli himself and visited a boma right after a lion attack. He had just dispatched Dr. Charles Musyoki of the Research Division for further information.  The Senior Warden of Amboseli, George Suri, also arrived in Amboseli from leave and things finally began to move.

Progress on a Call for Action

Several of the recommendations made at the emergency workshop called in Amboseli on December 9th have been taken up in the last two weeks.

Kenya Wildlife Service at an executive meeting acknowledged the collapse of the ungulate populations in Amboseli and called for urgent action to prevent further fallout. It also accepted the need for restoration of the park. The following measures were agreed:
KWS will immediately provide funds to the Senior Warden, Amboseli, in support of community meetings to discuss the drought and its fallout, and put in place preventative measures to reduce carnivore predation of livestock.
Research groups in Amboseli should establish a comprehensive carnivore and herbivore monitoring system and hold monthly coordinating meetings to integrate data and advise KWS management.
KWS will immediately provide funds for a habitat restoration plot in Amboseli and coordinate the sponsorship program for a large-scale restoration program. The program will be based on the recommendations laid out in the Amboseli Ecosystem Plan and the demonstration plots established by ACP in 2001.
KWS management supports a restocking program for wildebeest and zebra, following the collapse of their populations in the drought.  The details of translocating wildebeest and zebra from elsewhere in Kajiado District are to be worked out.

The outreach meetings with the communities followed quickly. The preparatory meeting between Olgulului Group Ranch officials, the Amboseli Predator Consolation Fund, Lion Guardian, Maasailand Preservation Trust, Amboseli Elephant Trust, ACC, ACP and KWS was held on 19th January. The community was hostile to KWS over its slow response, but after long discussions, it was agreed that all the parties should take a common message to 8 communities on Olgulului and 8 on Mbirikani.  The meetings should discuss the impact of the drought and explore ways to deter carnivore attacks on livestock. The meetings began on the 21st and work is underway shoring up bomas against lion attacks.

The researchers meeting was held in Amboseli on January 20th. The meeting, chaired by Dr. Charles Musyoki, was attended by the senior warden, George Suri, KWS Amboseli research coordinator, Stephen Ndambuki , the Lion Guardians, the Kuku research team,the  African Conservation  Centre and the Amboseli Conservation Program.

We worked out a comprehensive monitoring program to track ther numbers, activity and behavior of lions and hyenas over the coming months. Claudia Amphlet, an intern to the ACP project, will fill in the gaps in KWS’s carnivore coverage of the park. We also agreed on a detailed ecological monitoring program for large ungulates, livestock, settlements and vegetation across the Amboseli ecosystem, based on the ACP methodology. ACP will conduct a sample count of the Amboseli ecosystem in early February to determine the numbers and distribution of wildlife and livestock left after the drought, KWS will conduct a total count of a more limited area at a later date. The group will meet monthly to coordinate and integrate data, size up trends and new developments and advise the senior warden and Amboseli communities.

After the meeting, KWS staff joined ACP at the Ilmarishari habitat restoration plot and discussed expanding the project to a fully-fledged rehabilitation of the basin habitats.

The rains arrived in Amboseli right after the emergency meeting to discuss the collapse of the herbivore populations and its likely consequences held at Serena Lodge on December 9^th .

As soon as the rains began, the wildebeest and zebra survivors moved out of Amboseli to the surrounding ranches. On December 15^th, when ACP flew an aerial count, there were no wildebeest and few zebra in the park. Buffalo, which seldom migrate, had moved out of the swamps onto the grasslands in the park. We counted very few wildebeest and widely scattered zebra herds in the wet season dispersal areas north of Amboseli.

As anticipated at the Serena workshop, the herbivore migrations from the park have created an acute prey shortage for the carnivores. Lions soon moved out of the park in search of prey and began nightly attacks on livestock in settlements at Risa, Maarba, Ositeti, Kitirua and other locations. The attacks began as the Maasai cattle began returning to Amboseli with the rains. Having lost over 80% of their cattle and 65% of their sheep and goats to drought, herders were in no mood for lion attacks. Following one attack at Risa, warriors gathered for a lion hunt. The Amboseli Predator Consolation Fund chairman, John Marinka, KWS and Lion Guardians were able to calm tempers and stop the hunt.

The lion raids grew bolder in the two weeks after the rains began. KWS senior management was away on extended Christmas break and there were too few rangers and vehicles to deal with the nightly attacks. Floods made it hard to reach many settlements. David Maitumo, ACP field assistant, was asked to help out KWS ferrying rangers.

The situation worsened when the first lion was speared at Kitirua after several broke into a settlement and killed two cows. In another attack on Christmas day, 16 lions trapped people in their houses at Ositeti for many hours. The next day the community met with the assistant warden, Adan Kalla, and called for an emergency meeting on December 28^th to discuss the crisis. I flew down to the meeting.

The chairman of the Ogulului, Daniel Lolterish, explained that he wanted KWS to hear the records of lion attacks and discuss how to handle the situation before it got out of hand. John Marinka read out the incidence records of attacks. His records showed that hyenas had killed some 360 livestock in the two months prior to the end of the drought. The attacks had fallen sharply with the rains, perhaps because hyenas now turned to rehydrated carcasses. Lion attacks, which had been rare during the drought when there was sufficient wild prey, jumped sharply as soon as the rains began. Lions began nightly attacks, often killing several cattle and donkeys. In the circumstances, the Maasai at the meeting showed remarkable restraint, but insisted KWS take immediate action.

Despite the appeal from the community, with KWS senior staff away and the assistant warden short-handed, little happened until the New Year. The lion attacks grew bolder. From early December to mid-January, lions killed 33 livestock. Seven of the 56 lions in Amboseli have been speared in the last month, putting them at grave risk if the attacks and spearing continue.

I met the KWS Deputy Director, Dr. Joachim Kagiri, after the New Year break and presented him a copy of the Serena report, which he had not seen. I urged him to take immediate action on the recommendations. By then he had been to Amboseli himself and visited a boma right after a lion attack. He had just dispatched Dr. Charles Musyoki of the Research Division for further information. The Senior Warden of Amboseli, George Suri, also arrived in Amboseli from leave and things finally began to move.

Progress on a Call for Action

Several of the recommendations made at the emergency workshop called in Amboseli on December 9^th have been taken up in the last two weeks.

Kenya Wildlife Service at an executive meeting acknowledged the collapse of the ungulate populations in Amboseli and called for urgent action to prevent further fallout. It also accepted the need for restoration of the park. The following measures were agreed:

• KWS will immediately provide funds to the Senior Warden, Amboseli, in support of community meetings to discuss the drought and its fallout, and put in place preventative measures to reduce carnivore predation of livestock.

• Research groups in Amboseli should establish a comprehensive carnivore and herbivore monitoring system and hold monthly coordinating meetings to integrate data and advise KWS management.

• KWS will immediately provide funds for a habitat restoration plot in Amboseli and coordinate the sponsorship program for a large-scale restoration program. The program will be based on the recommendations laid out in the Amboseli Ecosystem Plan and the demonstration plots established by ACP in 2001.

• KWS management supports a restocking program for wildebeest and zebra, following the collapse of their populations in the drought. The details of translocating wildebeest and zebra from elsewhere in Kajiado District are to be worked out.

The outreach meetings with the communities followed quickly. The preparatory meeting between Olgulului Group Ranch officials, the Amboseli Predator Consolation Fund, Lion Guardian, Maasailand Preservation Trust, Amboseli Elephant Trust, ACC, ACP and KWS was held on 19^th January. The community was hostile to KWS over its slow response, but after long discussions, it was agreed that all the parties should take a common message to 8 communities on Olgulului and 8 on Mbirikani. The meetings should discuss the impact of the drought and explore ways to deter carnivore attacks on livestock. The meetings began on the 21^st and work is underway shoring up bomas against lion attacks.

The researchers meeting was held in Amboseli on January 20^th. The meeting, chaired by Dr. Charles Musyoki, was attended by the senior warden, George Suri, KWS Amboseli research coordinator, Stephen Ndambuki , the Lion Guardians, the Kuku research team,the African Conservation Centre and the Amboseli Conservation Program.

We worked out a comprehensive monitoring program to track ther numbers, activity and behavior of lions and hyenas over the coming months. Claudia Amphlet, an intern to the ACP project, will fill in the gaps in KWS’s carnivore coverage of the park. We also agreed on a detailed ecological monitoring program for large ungulates, livestock, settlements and vegetation across the Amboseli ecosystem, based on the ACP methodology. ACP will conduct a sample count of the Amboseli ecosystem in early February to determine the numbers and distribution of wildlife and livestock left after the drought, KWS will conduct a total count of a more limited area at a later date. The group will meet monthly to coordinate and integrate data, size up trends and new developments and advise the senior warden and Amboseli communities.

After the meeting, KWS staff joined ACP at the Ilmarishari habitat restoration plot and discussed expanding the project to a fully-fledged rehabilitation of the basin habitats.