Maasailand Preservation Trust

The New Year has proven very difficult so far for the lions of the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem. Pressures created by the recent drought in this area – the worst in 50 years – have led to increased conflict with local communities; the lion population is therefore being threatened – perhaps more than ever – by their increased aggression in the search for food and survival. Working together with the Kenya Wildlife Service and other conservation stakeholders, MPT is combating this threat through several new initiatives as well as the continuation of programs that have proven highly successful for more than six years in stopping lion killing.

This blog will give you the background story of the drought and updates will be posted as the situation develops.

To inform you of the new challenges being faced by lions and other predators of Amboseli-Tsavo, a portion of the minutes is quoted below from the Amboseli Drought Meeting hosted by ACC and attended by key members of the tourism industry, government, and conservation NGOs presently active in the ecosystem. Several MPT staff members were in attendance at this meeting held on the 9th of December 2009.

“Heavy losses have occurred in wildebeest, zebra and buffalo populations and many elephant and hippos have died. Overall losses to the large migratory herbivores are in excess of 75%. Wildebeest losses may exceed 95% and the small remaining herd is vulnerable to further losses in the coming year before any new calves are born. The precipitous drop in herbivore numbers will soon affect the carnivore populations, causing additional pressure on herbivores and the likelihood of a sharp rise in livestock predation.”

In addition to these causes of the crisis (as described above in late 2009), the lions of the ecosystem – particularly those in Amboseli NP and the surrounding Ogulului Group Ranch – now face an even greater challenge as 2010 begins. This is due – somewhat perversely – to the rains that have finally come (still inadequate in amount and too late in time). Nonetheless, as a result of these recent rains, the remaining wildlife herds, greatly diminished in number, have dispersed away from Amboseli NP to other sectors of the ecosystem, as is their norm at this time of year. This has left the park nearly devoid of natural prey for the 50 or so lions that live there. Understandably this has, in turn, caused lions to predate much more than usual the most easily targeted and readily available food source in the area: the remaining livestock – also greatly diminished in number – of the Maasai people of Amboseli-Tsavo. Rising intolerance of lion depredation – and the actual killing of lions in self-defense and the threat of further pre-emptive killing – are the unavoidable results.

Even in areas of the ecosystem such as Mbirikani Group Ranch (MPT’s home base), where some of these prey animals have now dispersed, life is not much easier for the lions. Reports of them trying to hunt their prey – but failing – have been made in recent days. The individual herbivores that have survived the drought are the healthiest and strongest of their former populations and therefore easier targets, such as the young, old or sick – which lions usually hunt first – are now gone.

In response, lions have turned to killing smaller livestock (sheep and goats) and attacking livestock corrals (“bomas”) far more frequently, nearly every night in recent weeks; and, understandably, the resultant increase in predator/livestock conflict – coupled with the huge losses of livestock already experienced by the local Maasai – has created far greater tension and anger within livestock-owning communities. MPT is working overtime to address this heightened risk of lion killing and protect both the great predators and the people of the ecosystem.

The following new initiatives are underway: MPT is participating in the emergency taskforce that has been formed by the ecosystem’s major conservation stakeholders; the trust has recently shifted key senior members of staff to the areas most affected by lion attacks in order to respond more quickly and resolve conflicts before they occur; in addition, a mobile team of Mbirikani Community Game Scouts is being based closer to areas of conflict; and finally MPT has dedicated a vehicle and personnel to work in high conflict areas with the Kenya Wildlife Service and Living With Lions to strengthen the fences of bomas that contain livestock at night in order to further minimize predator/livestock conflict.

If the threats to lions in the ecosystem were not bad enough before the worst drought in 50 years, they are even greater now. Fortunately, the ongoing success of the Predator Compensation programs (PCF) – in creating unprecedented tolerance for livestock predation and effectively stopping lion killing on Mbirikani, Ogulului, and Kuku group ranches in recent years — makes it possible at least for this crisis to be controlled successfully – despite the scale of the crisis. The eventual outcome however remains very much in doubt at this time and it will require all existing conservation programs and each and every conservation organization in the ecosystem – working in close collaboration – to expend maximum effort for as long as is necessary if the lions of Amboseli-Tsavo are to be saved.

More information will follow in the next few days but until then your thoughts and ideas and any and all financial assistance you can give – in this time of great crisis – are very much appreciated.

Asante sana,

The MPT Team

As our regular readers will know, our Predator Compensation Fund is a source of pride for all of us at MPT and yesterday we were very happy to celebrate another successful year protecting the lions and other great predators of the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem.

Below is a picture of the celebration which took place under a tree near our main offices at the Ol Donyo Wuas lodge.

For those of you who don’t know the history of PCF, please click the link above for more information but to put it in simple terms PCF works through a signed agreement with the community elders which pays compensation for livestock killed by predators in return for a cessation on the killing of predators. The success achieved by PCF in its first six years of operation (2003-2008) is, to MPT’s knowledge, unsurpassed in African conservation history. From the first day PCF was introduced, lion killing virtually stopped on all three group ranches covered so far, among a resident population of more than 35,000 Maasai.

Yesterday’s gathering was an great opportunity to get the many people who’ve made PCF work together. Speeches were given by key members of the community – with who’s support PCF would be near impossible – as well as MPT staff and Chairman, Richard Bonham.

Below is a couple of pictures to give you an idea of just how many people were involved.

There were nearly 150 people gathered all celebrating another year protecting the lions and other great predators of the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem. After the speeches all were welcomed to air any feedback they had for us. Once again the main topic was how PCF needs to be expanded to the whole ecosystem. Something we are looking very hard to find funding to do. After this prizes were awarded to those who really made a difference this year. Pictured below is Samuel Khangi, Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Mbirikani Predator Compensation Fund. Samuel was awarded a sheep as thanks for the key role he plays as the elected leader of the committee which bridges the gap between MPT and the community.

This day was much enjoyed by all and we look forward to many more years of PCF and the protection it provides to Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Hyena, Jackal and the other predators of the Amboseli-Tsavo ecoystem.

Will you help support PCF? All it costs is US 35 cents per acre per year or approx US $10 per person per year. Please donate generously.

Thank you and happy new year!

The MPT Team

After the positive response we got from our introduction to our Predator Compensation Fund we thought we would provide you with some more facts and photos of PCF in action!

Below are some photographs and selected information from the bi-monthly payout for the Ogulului Predator Compensation Fund that took place on the 4th of November this year. Ogulului Group Ranch surrounds the world famous Amboseli National Park and is an essential dispersal area for the wildlife of the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem.

The Maasailand Preservation Trust was brought in to implement PCF on OGR after the success of the Mbirikani Predator Compensation Fund. Coupled with the fact that in the two years prior to the start of PCF lions were recorded being killed at a rate of nearly two a month. Since the fund was put into effect a year and a half ago only one lion has been killed within the Group Ranch.

The Ogulului Predator Compensation Fund is one of two PCF projects run by MPT and the protection it provides is essential in conserving the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem.

The payout for the September – October period paid compensation to just under 400 Maasai herdsmen who had lost livestock to predators within the confines of OGR. 749 head of livestock were depredated in this period with the overwhelming majority being sheep or goats (701). This figure can be explained by the drought, as cattle herds were taken to greener pasture and therefore unable to be hunted by predators.

One point of interest is that although KES 750,000 (approx. USD 10,000) was paid out for this period only KES 22,000 (approx. USD 300) was spent on compensating livestock killed by lions. Not only does this show how badly lions have historically been persecuted but also how PCF provides protection for other predators — including leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, caracals, servals & more! If any of these predators are found poisoned, speared or unlawfully killed within the Group Ranch then the local community will not receive payment for this period unless the culprit is brought to justice.

In response to our previous blog on PCF we were asked how we deal with people who try to abuse the system. A key part of the system is penalties – one of which is the KES 7,500 (approx. USD100) fine imposed for false claims. This occurs when a claimant deliberately tries to deceive PCF staff. If by the end of the next two-month period the claimant has not paid this fine then it will be deducted from his/her future claims or if we so choose, it will be deducted from the claims of the members of his zone. We find this acts as an effective deterrent for misuse of the system.

We have only provided you a brief and partial description of the rules and regulations that comprise the compensation program here in Maasailand. Another key feature of PCF is the 50% deduction implemented when livestock is killed by hyenas — hyenas almost exclusively kill “lost” livestock, i.e., livestock left unattended in the bush overnight. This penalty encourages better livestock husbandry. More information on the rules and regulations of PCF will follow, if requested, but for now we are happy to report that the payout day went very smoothly and all went home satisfied.

Ache,

The MPT Team

The Predator Compensation Fund

In 2003, in response to an imminent – and virtually certain – threat of local lion extinction, MPT, in close collaboration with the local community, conceived a first-of-its-kind predator compensation programme, the Predator Compensation Fund (PCF).

The intention of PCF was to better balance the costs and benefits of living with wildlife and thereby replace conflict and retaliation with tolerance. This novel conservation strategy remains one of the most far reaching projects to come out of MPT. It was the first project of its kind implemented in Maasailand and has proven so successful that it is now operating on two neighbouring group ranches.

Livestock rearing in Maasailand is the most vital activity for the community’s subsistence. Consequently, predators are under constant threat from the livestock owners who view them as a threat to their stock and kill them in retribution for livestock losses. In an eighteen-month period from late 2001 to early 2003, twenty-two lions were documented by game scouts to have been killed on MGR, one-half by spearing and one-half by poisoning. This was a small scale representation of a much larger threat to the African lion population that is currently suffering a well-documented decline in numbers. To put this into context, recent numbers have shown that whereas 20 years ago there were 200,000 lions in Africa, today numbers are known to be falling and are already below 30,000, with recent extrapolation showing only 2,000 of these residing in Kenya. On top of this a recent report has stated that the use of lion parts in Chinese traditional medicine is on the increase.

The Predator Compensation Fund is not designed to simply reduce or stop the killing of lions and other carnivores; it is attempting to replace conflict with tolerance.  Even more importantly, its mission is to replace the perception of conflict with a different perception.

PCF is a “joint venture” between MPT and the Group Ranch Community, with the community paying a proportion (30%) of each claim from their wildlife-based income.

The PCF was formed on a “living” agreement which works around a dynamic system of penalties and incentives.

This works around a dynamic contract that compensates the local community for livestock lost to predators not just in return for a complete cessation of the killing of lions and other predators but on an agreement that penalises other community members when it is violated. This system is constantly under review from a steering committee of local elders and MPT.

PCF’s principal purpose is to prevent or, at worst, greatly diminish the killing of lions and other carnivores and eliminate any justification for a culture of poisoning. However, a secondary purpose of improving livestock husbandry in enforced by a secondary penalty system. Discounts are applied to compensation for depredated livestock when either a boma (tradition Maasai livestock pen) fence is below minimum agreed requirements or when livestock is deemed to have been “lost in the bush” (unattended) before it was killed by a carnivore.

False claimants are fined.

One key aspect of PCF is that it acts as an umbrella, providing protection for other persecuted species such as hyena, cheetah, leopard, wild dog and jackal.

The success achieved by the PCF in its first six years (2003-2008) is arguably unprecedented in African conservation. Since inception, lion killing has virtually stopped on Mbirikani Group Ranch (MGR) within a Maasai community of 10,000 people. The two Predator Compensation Funds run by MPT are continuing to function efficiently and provide protection for the ecologically essential predators of the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem. The proof of PCF’s effectiveness is shown in the figures below.

* in the 18 months prior to launch of PCF

** in the 2 years prior to launch of PCF

*** in the 2 years prior to launch of PCF

the above figures show that livestock owners on MGR have killed only four lions in more than six years. During this same period, over 110 lions have been killed on the neighbouring group ranches outside the PCF programme. This same MGR community that now protects lions killed 22 animals in just 18 months prior to the introduction of PCF.

The program continues to capture the hearts and minds of the Maasai community through collaboration and consistent performance of PCF, thus shifting the economics of daily life in a positive direction and fostering a broad-scaled commitment to conservation in the 21^st centaury.

This method is a very cost effective way of protecting predator habitat, costing just 25 US Cents to protect an acre for one year. We are calling on all able people to please donate generously and support this great project.

The MPT Team