Earlier this month, Ol Pejeta partnered with veterinary doctors from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to successfully fit a VHF radio collar on a lioness. The lioness belongs to a pride in the southern sector of Ol Pejeta.

The individual was identified by Ol Pejeta’s Ecological Monitoring Unit (EMU), and vets from Ol Pejeta and KWS were called in to dart the animal, and fit the collar. While she was under sedation, the vets noticed a deep gash on her front paw that would have been inhibiting her movement and causing a lot of pain. The wound was cleaned and the lioness given the necessary anti-biotic treatment.

Lion collaring helps Ol Pejeta’s EMU to be able to understand lion pride distribution on the Conservancy. Collaring also helps to help monitor lion pride movement and compare predation patterns (which prey is favoured by lions in different sectors of the Conservancy). By having collared lions, the EMU is also able to be able to understand the key demographics of lions in the Conservancy (age and sex structure). All this information is used to shape conservation strategies to protect these majestic big cats.

The lioness comes to after being collared and treated

Ol Pejeta has several wildlife corridors that connect Ol Pejeta to the greater Laikipia ecosystem. By having lions fitted with VHF collars, we are able to tell how frequently certain lion prides use these corridors. Another advantage, is that the collars enable tourists to be able to take part in lion tracking, one of the most popular conservation activities on Ol Pejeta.

The collaring now brings the total number of lions with active VHF collars on the Conservancy to two. Another lioness, Euny, was collared in June 2016 in the eastern sector of the Conservancy. Only female lions are collared due to the fact that they stay within one pride, as opposed to male lions that frequently shift from one pride to another.

Ol Pejeta currently has 70 lions on the Conservancy and the population is constantly growing.