Well-wishing Gamewatchers Safaris clients have replaced the livestock – and livelihood – of a family left devastated by a lion attack near Nairobi National Park.
Last summer we reported an unfortunate incident which happened just outside the Nairobi National Park, where we have our Nairobi Tented Camp. The Assistant Chief for the area, Nickson Parmisa, informed us that lions broke into a livestock enclosure belonging to a local Maasai sheep farmer, Rupande Romo, and killed all his 50 sheep, wiping out all his livestock and his entire livelihood and means of support.
This had the potential to cause great hostility by the local community towards the lions and Mr Parmisa was keen that there should be no retaliation. Unlike the Maasai communities who benefit greatly from tourism at Amboseli and the Mara where we have our Porini Camps and conservancies, the Maasai community living alongside the Nairobi National Park gain little or nothing themselves from tourism to the park, and so the possibility for retaliation is ever-present.
We agreed to help Rupande Romo replace his stock and take measures to ensure his livestock enclosure was made stronger so that it could withstand any future predation attempts by lions.
Our loyal clients and supporters rallied around and together we were able to replace his 50 sheep and strengthen his livestock boma, adding flashing lion-deterrent lights.
Rupande and his family receive the first 18 sheep
The solar-powered flashing lights installed on the boma where the sheep are kept at night
Rupande Romo said that he was very touched that people who live far away had heard of his family’s plight and he was very happily surprised by the generosity of visitors who had come to Kenya to see wildlife and who wished to help his family.
He said that because of the help he has been given to replace his stock, he and his brothers did not want to see any retaliation against the lions.
Nickson Parmisa believes this concept of providing a replacement animal when livestock is killed by lions is better than paying cash as compensation. He thinks that strengthening bomas and installing flashing lights will significantly reduce predation by lions and combining this with providing replacement stock when there is a killing by lions will reduce any human-wildlife conflict.
African Encounters Ltd, Loretta Ahmed, Erin Anderson, Joe Baily, Nirmalya Banerjee, Alex & Isobel Beattie, Desmond Brice-Bennett, Guido Bürger, Charles Campbell Clause, Odette Cummings, Dave Currey, Helmut di Bernardo, Barbara Douglas, Deb Edson, Philip Edwards, Wayne Hammond, Rob Jeffrey, Gareth Jones, Mike Kirkland, Tim Lapage, Steve Le Feuvre, Ann Martens, Rustin McCoy, Birger Meierjohann, Maura O’Brien, Bina Pannell, Sophie Pearce, Rachel Pope, Tina & Joel Rees, Anjali Saini, Tomoko Sasaki, Matthew G Simpson, Julie Thain, Barbara Tinkle, Millie Troll, Kay L Trotman & Patricia Vaughan
As the contributions were more than enough for replacing the Rupande Romo family’s sheep, some additional sheep were provided to four other members of the community, identified by Chief Nickson Parmisa, who had also lost sheep to lions, see pictures below:
Thank you to all who so kindly responded on this occasion and we will be keeping in close contact with Nickson Parmisa to support his efforts to encourage his community to be tolerant towards lions when they stray out of the park.
on Monday 21st March 2016 at 10:26
