The National Geographic Big Cats Initiative funds researchers and conservationists attempting to restore and protect big cats in the wild. In this third post from the field, Big Cats Initiative grantee Anne Kent Taylor wraps up the account of her recent visit to herders in the Masai Mara district of Kenya, where she has been providing wire fencing to protect cattle from predators in return for a promise from ranchers to stop persecuting lions.
(Click here for Anne Kent Taylor’s earlier blog posts.)
By Anne Kent Taylor
From the Field in Kenya’s Masai Mara–It was my pleasure to welcome Dr. Stuart Pimm to Kenya to visit the Anne K. Taylor Fund (AKTF) project, which is kindly being supported by National Geographic Big Cats Initiative.
On July 29th we had a bone-jarring drive from Nairobi to the Masai Mara where the wildebeest migration was in full swing. The following day we were joined by Dr. Paula Kahumbu, also an NGBCI grantee, and her husband, Peter Greste. This made for a stimulating and energizing house “party.”
Stuart was in the Mara to learn more about the Anne K. Taylor Fund’s work fortifying Masai livestock enclosures (bomas) against predation, and other community facets of our project. We covered a lot of ground and met with many members of the Masai community who are affected by predation.
AKTF logo on fortified sheep shed, Masai Mara.
Photo courtesy of Anne Kent Taylor
Stuart Pimm, conservation biologist and a scientist on the grant-making committee of the Big Cats Initiative, at a boma fenced with funding supported by the Big Cats Initiative.
Photo courtesy of Anne Kent Taylor
The people who had already received wire were incredibly grateful that their animals were now safe and those who were to receive wire could hardly wait.
Big Cats Initiative Grant
Grantee: Anne Kent Taylor
Project: Construction of predator proof livestock enclosures in prime big cat habitats in Kenya’s Maasai Mara region
Geographical Area Served: AfricaKenyaMaasai Mara National Reserve
Field Work: 7/14/2010 – 7/11/2011
Project Description: Big cat populations in East Africa are crashing due to retaliatory killings by pastoralists. In the Maasai Mara, the problem threatens one of Africa’s most famous and important lion populations as pastoralists are increasingly intolerant of livestock predation. This project expands an existing successful project in the Mara that has effectively reduced human/lion conflict by preventing predation through securing livestock enclosures.
We visited the two bomas, mentioned in my last letter (Fences make predators more tolerable to Kenya farmers), where one livestock owner had lost 30+ goats and sheep to hyena and leopard and the other had lost several cows to lions. The latter told us that over 20 lions had been killed over the past couple of years in retaliation for killing their cows.
“With the delivery of the chain link, I stressed that they must, in turn, promise not to persecute the lions any further.”
With the delivery of the chain link, I stressed that they must, in turn, promise not to persecute the lions any further. I was assured that as their livestock would now be safe, there would be no reason to kill the lions. I feel confident that his word is good.
Safer sheep and goats inside chain-link-fortified boma.
Photo courtesy of Anne Kent Taylor
We also visited the Oloomongi Nursery School on their final day of school before the long summer holidays. We, along with the parents, witnessed the roll call of school results and we were able to congratulate the top students whose marks were generally around 480 out of 500 points–a marked improvement since the school feeding programme began a couple of years ago before which their marks were usually hovering around the 300 mark.
Traditional Kenya livestock ranch.
Photo courtesy of Anne Kent Taylor
Chain-link-protected sheep shed.
Photo courtesy of Anne Kent Taylor
After a couple of days of traveling on dreadful roads to inspect many of the bomas in various stages of protection, Stuart, Paula and Peter were able to take a few hours off to witness the great wildesbeest migration. There are few experiences to rival this migration. It is, in the true sense of the word, awe-inspiring.
I have now returned to the U.S. but the chain link continues to be delivered in my absence. With the help of the NGBCI I was able to purchase 200 more rolls of chain link in order to fortify many bomas as quickly as possible.
Between Chetan Solanki, of Packhard Ltd, Mr. Njenga who owns the lorry (which delivers the wire to the Mara) and the AKTF/CFTW team it is a well oiled machine and we can rest assured that our big cats are safer by the day as the chain link is installed.
We continue to have endless demands for chain link as word of its success spreads.
Click to find out more about the Big Cats Intiative. Photo compilation courtesy of Beverly and Dereck Joubert
I was so grateful for Stuart’s visit. I learnt a lot from him and was privileged to be able to spend time with such a dedicated and brilliant conservationist and a wonderful human being. As I have no scientific background, he has given me direction in what I need to do in order to be able to quantify the long term results of this project.
I am already in touch with interested students who may be able to help me computerize our data which to date has only been kept on an informal basis. It will be a huge learning curve for me but I am up for the challenge!
Thank you again to NGBCI for this incredible support and for including me as part of the NGBCI family, which is invaluable. To be able to draw from the experience of so many means a lot to me and I am sure it will improve this project exponentially.
Anne Kent Taylor and team inspecting fortified cattle boma.
Photo courtesy of Anne Kent Taylor.
Anne Kent Taylor’s July/August 2010 field report:
Part One: Saving Africa’s last wild lions by fencing them out (July 23, 2010)
Part Two: Fences make predators more tolerable to Kenya farmers (July 25, 2010)
Part Three: Good fences make good neighbors of Kenya’s lions and herders (August 16, 2010)
Anne Kent Taylor was born and raised in East Africa. Several months a year she resides in the Masai Mara. During four decades working in the safari business, she has seen growing pressures on wildlife. With the increase of human settlements around the Mara reserve, predator-livestock conflicts have grown in the Masai bomas (traditional enclosures). Through partnership with the Masai in community projects and fortifying existing bomas with simple methods of natural and wire fencing, the Anne K Taylor Fund has had a 100 percent success rate at preventing livestock predation and the resultant revenge killings of predators. Anne’s conservation team includes Masai members who help educate their community to become the protectors of their own wildlife heritage.
Learn more about the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative
How to apply for a Big Cats Initiative grant
Donate to the Big Cats Initiative
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Photo courtesy of Anne Kent Taylor
