Young Wildlife Hero

Brilliant, well done Richard, he deserves a big thank you from everyone and some support from the powers that be with providing more flashlights.

Great link, thanks Doogs.

Lai

The cost of some flashlights versus the cost of livestock compensation, no brainer but let's hope the Government see it that way!

Lai

Now that is brilliant, not only because he thought of it, but that he's so young, and that can only be for the good of Lions. That a younger generation are looking at ways of resolving the predator community conflict, without harming the Lions themselves. Well done Richard your a Hero to all wildlife lovers
Thanks for that Doogs great find
WS

What an incredible innovative young man Richard is and I too hope the Government support this to the full. It will be cheaper in the long run than repaying for the loss of cattle. He is an incredible advocate for wildlife and especially as he dislikes Lions, which is understandable because of his cattle.

I wished there was some way this young man could be truely recognised for his invention.

littlewid-x-

A great idea, lets hope it works. He needs to find some sort of cheap motion sensor that would set off the lights when predators approach. It is interesting how it is the young generation all over the world who are able to embrace modern technology and then adapt it to their own practical needs. I still struggle with mobile phones!!
The problem of the Masai and the lion seems to be an age old one as they have been trying to live together for hundreds of years. For the Masai, cattle are their wealth, whereas we would keep are savings in a bank, the Masai keep theirs in their cattle. If you give a Masai money he will immediately use it to by more cattle to increase his savings. If someone stole some of our money from our bank we would want compensation and retribution, similarly with a Masai and his cattle, the difference being its the lion doing the stealing.
I was going to do a separate post on the following incident I witnessed on my visit to the Mara in Dec. but it seems appropriate to include it with this thread as it follows the same theme. The Mara North Conservancy is an amalgamation of over 800 separate Masai owners most of whom still graze cattle within the Conservancy. As mentioned on a previous thread the Offbeat Safaris Camp where I was staying has a small exclusion zone around it prohibiting the grazing of cattle under penalty of a fine.
On an afternoon game drive we came across some lions of the Offbeat Pride, well within the exclusion zone, relaxing in the grass adjacent to a fairly steep river bank and doing what lions usually do mid-afternoon.....nothing.
We stopped to take some photos and then something suddenly caught the interest of the lions and they became very alert.




Unfortunately (or fortunately) this was the only photo I managed to take as will become clear.
We followed the lions gaze and much to our amazement and probably also the lions' we saw 3 cows walking along at the top of the bank. David and Kapeen, my guide and spotter, reacted quicker than the lions. David started our vehicle and drove at high speed straight towards the cows making as much noise as possible and sending the cows scampering down the bank towards the river, fortunately the lions unsure of what was happening did not follow. We then drove on to try and find a suitable point to go down the bank and cross the river only to be confronted by another solitary cow which was immediately downed by another lion hidden in the bushes. Both David and Kapeen are both Masai and both cattle owners so their reaction was again instantaneous, driving straight at the downed cow and lion by now with its jaws clamped around the cows neck. They banged on the vehicle sides and then removed their brightly coloured shukas (cloaks) and waved them furiously at the lion who eventually released its grip and ran off. After what seemed to be an age the cow shook itself stood up and gingerly tottered off down the river bank much to our relief. Trying to take any pictures had been impossible.
We found a gap in the thick bush and looked down the bank towards the river to see a herd of 50-60 cattle straddling both sides of the shallow river but the herder who should have been with them nowhere to be seen. He was obviously aware that he should not have been there and likely to be in trouble and during all the commotion had scarpered. We could see on the ridge on the far side of the river another herd of cattle with 2 herders looking on. They were probably just outside the exclusion zone but only marginally. Kapeen jumped out of the vehicle, with the lions still close by, to go across to the herders to get them to come and move the other cattle. We eventually managed to find a crossing point with the vehicle and joined them. They claimed that they did not know who or where the herder was !!! but agreed to come and move the cattle away. Both the herders carried huge lethal spears and would have had no hesitation in using them against a lion attacking their cattle.
The owner of the wayward cattle, who probably was not the herder, would be fined by the Conservancy. If the lion had killed the cow the owner would probably have been compensated even though the cow should not have been where it was. The worry for David and Kapeen was that the lions should not think that they could take the easy prey of cattle as to do so would almost certainly entail deadly retribution from the Masai.
It is a problem the Masai live with every day and is pretty much insoluble. Hopefully the young boy's idea will help to alleviate some of the problem so that the Masai and the big cats can continue to live together.
It was an interesting and unexpected game drive!!
When I now look back on my safari I am amazed at the numerous and varied incidents I was privileged to witness in a very short period of time.

Safariman

Nice share Doogs on the "lion lights"; a great, commonsense :idea: from the young teenager. See, teenage boys don't only think about

That's a terrific story that you've shared Safariman. The whole people (farmers) and lions living as one always seems like a catch 22 situation. Having :eatg: cattle nearby; it's like having easter eggs in the same room as a kid and telling him that he can look, but not touch. Really we are fighting nature on every front here. You describe well the importance of the cattle to the people; it's their money/savings; in fact I think that in a lot of African cultures a man is valued almost solely for the number of cattle he owns. That is how he is valued by women, and by society as a whole, so to have some of his cattle taken from him is a big blow in real terms as well as to his ego. And the lion sees the cow as an easy feed. Why not go after it? In many situations there is no creature that is in the right or wrong; it is just difficult circumstances. But the lion lights should help, so a big to Richard for his creation!

P.S. Dare I say Richard The Lion Heart

P.S. Or was it brave? I could be wrong. On the VERY rare occasion I am