Olare Motorogi Conservancy: Lion Profiles
A guide to identifying the lions of the prides in Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Maasai Mara, Kenya.
A guide to identifying the lions of the prides in Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Maasai Mara, Kenya.
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Gamewatchers Safaris and Porini Camps have been committed to<br />
responsible tourism for over 25 years and are a member of the<br />
Kenya Association of Tour Operators. All guides are accredited by<br />
the KPSGA (Kenya Professional Safari Guide Association) and many<br />
are at silver level. This means that they have the skills and<br />
experience to view animals responsibly, giving them the space and<br />
privacy to carry out their natural behaviours. On night game drives,<br />
red filters are used on spotlights to avoid dazzling the animals.<br />
Within the <strong>Conservancy</strong> there is also a restriction of one vehicle per<br />
1,400 acres.<br />
All of the Porini Camps, situated inside private conservancies, are<br />
small, eco-friendly tented camps that accommodate a maximum of<br />
20 guests. Each camp each consist of just 6 to 10 spacious tents in<br />
beautiful natural settings under acacia trees.<br />
You can read more about these conservancies overleaf.<br />
Gamewatchers Safaris & Porini Camps were founded by Jake<br />
Grieves-Cook, a long-time safari operator and supporter of wildlife<br />
conservation in Kenya. Jake has served on the board of the Kenya<br />
Wildlife Service which runs the country’s national parks, and for<br />
six years was Chairman of Kenya’s National Tourist Board. The<br />
company’s CEO is Dr Mohanjeet Brar, whose family has been in<br />
Kenya for five generations.<br />
The vision behing Porini camps, and the private conservancies<br />
within which they lie, is unique. It is a partnership between the<br />
local community and a commercial safari operator, where both<br />
parties’ goals are aligned. As such, we do not depend upon donor<br />
funding.<br />
We believe that one of the keys to our success is recognizing that<br />
the community must derive fair benefits from tourism and must<br />
not be taken advantage of.
In Kenya, Gamewatchers pioneered the “conservancy concept” – the leasing of land to form<br />
community-owned wildlife conservancies adjacent to national parks. They started with<br />
Selenkay <strong>Conservancy</strong> in the Amboseli eco-system in the 1990s, then Ol Kinyei <strong>Conservancy</strong><br />
in the Masai Mara in 2004. In May 2006, Gamewatchers then played a pivotal role in the<br />
creation of <strong>Olare</strong> <strong>Motorogi</strong> <strong>Conservancy</strong> (OMC) adjacent to the Masai Mara National<br />
Reserve (MMNR), followed by the adjoining Naboisho <strong>Conservancy</strong>. The development of<br />
these conservancies was critical to ensuring the protection of wildlife habitat beyond<br />
officially protected areas and they have since contributed to a significant regeneration of<br />
wildlife populations including the “Big Five”. OMC was recently shown to support Kenya’s<br />
highest density of lions outside of the MMNR.<br />
Within <strong>Olare</strong> <strong>Motorogi</strong> <strong>Conservancy</strong>, wildlife tourism is limited and strictly controlled. This<br />
means that animals are not disturbed by vehicles and habitats remain pristine. Cattle<br />
grazing is also managed to benefit both people and wildlife, which means that, together<br />
with efforts such as improvements to “bomas” (cattle corrals) and patrols by ranger teams,<br />
human-wildlife conflict is much reduced. Rotational grazing helps control grass height and<br />
prevents overgrazing, thus attracting a diverse range of herbivores including the spectacular<br />
annual migration.<br />
The formation of the OMC and other conservancies has brought financial advantages to<br />
local people. Over 200 members of local communities work directly with Gamewatchers<br />
Safaris & Porini Camps. Over 500 families earn a steady monthly income from leasing land<br />
inside the conservancies to tourism safari camps. This means that wildlife tourism provides<br />
a sustainable source of income for land owners, ensuring that this form of land use remains<br />
preferable to others such as agriculture and development. Without the conservancies, it is<br />
likely that local wildlife would significantly threatened by habitat loss and human-wildlife<br />
conflict and restricted to the MMNR. OMC is managed by Olpurkel Ltd, a not-for-profit<br />
company, on behalf of the landowners and tourism partners, while the <strong>Olare</strong> <strong>Motorogi</strong><br />
Trust receives donations from the tourism partners to support community projects.
We identify lions from the whisker spot pattern. This is<br />
unique to each individual, and, unlike other features, remain<br />
unchanged throughout a lion’s life. This means that we can<br />
recognize lions as they age despite other changes in their<br />
physical appearance.<br />
Ear tears are permanent and<br />
can be used to identify lions.<br />
However, new tears may<br />
appear with age.<br />
A male’s mane will change,<br />
and is therefore not used to<br />
identify individual lions. We<br />
can, however, use manes to<br />
estimate the age of a lion.<br />
This image shows how the<br />
spot pattern is used; by<br />
measuring the position of<br />
the identification spots in<br />
relation to the position of<br />
the reference row spots<br />
(the top complete row of<br />
spots). We start counting<br />
at the nose, measuring<br />
past spots, not before.<br />
Missing tail tips, broken teeth and cut noses are<br />
common injuries that can be used to identify lions.<br />
Scars and scratches should not be used to identify<br />
lions. These are rarely permanent, unless they are<br />
from a major injury (far right).<br />
The spot diagram (below)<br />
is shown on each lion’s<br />
profile card together with<br />
other key features.<br />
Young lions have a pink nose<br />
which changes with age. At<br />
2-4 years, black spots<br />
appear, growing to form<br />
patches by age 5-7. By 8-9<br />
years, the nose is usually<br />
black. We can use this to<br />
both age and identify lions.
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It is much easier to use your camera to zoom in to these features to<br />
identify lion than studying them directly in the field!<br />
<strong>Lion</strong>s are best identified from clear, sharp photographs showing the left<br />
and right whisker spots. As the spot pattern will change with the image<br />
angle, it is important to take shots at a 90 degrees to the lion’s face.<br />
Good photographs may also show the any of the identifying features<br />
shown opposite, including the ears, nose, mane and teeth.<br />
Everyone can take good<br />
lion photos, especially in<br />
the Mara where they are<br />
easily approached.<br />
Closeup shots are ideal<br />
wide shots can show<br />
other identifiable pride<br />
members to help identify<br />
the lion in question.<br />
This booklet contains profiles of<br />
the key Enkoyonai and Oldikidik<br />
pride members. It can be used to<br />
identify lions in the field or in the<br />
comfort of camp if you have<br />
taken photos on a digital camera.<br />
Ask your guide if you need help<br />
identifying which pride you have<br />
been watching.
The Enkoyonai Pride are so named after the spring where there are often<br />
found. They used to be a very large pride but have now split to find new<br />
territories within the conservancy. Four females form the core of the pride,<br />
together with their five young offspring. They are often joined by the two<br />
conservancy males, Olbarnoti and Lolparpit.
Selenkei is an one of the older females from the<br />
Enkoyonai Pride. Her name means a ‘girl who has<br />
reached maturity’. She has a patchy nose and<br />
distinctive tears in her left ear. These can be used to<br />
identify her along with her whisker spots.<br />
2007
Nashipai is an older female a female from the<br />
Enkoyonai Pride. She has a black patchy nose, sharp<br />
features and a characteristic right ear. She has a mid<br />
spot on the right side. She is most often seen with<br />
the main Enkoyonai group.<br />
2006
Naibor means ‘white’ - her coat is unusually white.<br />
She has a small face and a patchy nose. She also has<br />
a characteristic double tear in her left ear and a<br />
chunk from the right ear. She is one of the older<br />
lionesses of the pride and is often seen with the<br />
main Enkoyonai group.<br />
2007
Napono is a young lioness from the Enkoyonai Pride<br />
and the daughter of Nashipai. She can be identified<br />
from her whisker spots and the characteristic tears<br />
in her right ear. She has a pink nose but this will<br />
develop spots as she matures.<br />
2015
Napono is a young lioness from the Enkoyonai Pride<br />
and the daughter of Nashipai. She has very<br />
characteristic whisker spots which can be used to<br />
identify her from other lionesses. She also has small<br />
neat ears and some characteristic spots on her nose,<br />
although these spots may change as she matures.<br />
2015
Chumvi is a young male from the Enkoyonai Pride.<br />
He is likely to be a son of Mohican or Romeo II. As he<br />
matures he will leave the pride. He can be identified<br />
from has brother, Pilipili, by the characteristic tear in<br />
his right ear. He has an out of place whisker spot<br />
under the third spot on the second row.<br />
2015
Tatu is a young male lion from the Enkoyonai Pride<br />
and is likely to be the son of Olbarnoti. As he<br />
matures he will leave the pride. He can be identified<br />
from his brother, Chumvi, by the three whisker spots<br />
on each side of his face and lack of a distinctive tear<br />
in his right ear.<br />
2015
Female #4 is a young lioness from the Enkoyonai<br />
Pride and has four sisters. She has a characteristic<br />
tear in her left ear and some serrated marks in her<br />
right ear. She also has some characteristic whisker<br />
spots oh her left side including a mid spot under the<br />
reference row. These can be used to distinguish her<br />
from her sisters and similar lionesses.<br />
2015<br />
Images ©<br />
Peter Rettig
Female #5 is a young lioness from the Enkoyonai<br />
Pride and has four sisters. She has few identifying<br />
characteristic so it is important to study her whisker<br />
spots in order to distinguish her from other<br />
lionesses. She is likely to develop more identifying<br />
features such as ear tears and nose spots as she<br />
matures.<br />
2015<br />
Images ©<br />
Peter Rettig
The ‘Oldikidik’ Pride are a split from the old Moniko Pride who have now<br />
dispersed around the conservancy. Once totalling over 30, the Moniko Pride<br />
has had to split up into smaller groups in order for them to hunt successfully.<br />
The sub-group of the Oldikidik Pride is now formed from several young core<br />
females and their cubs. They are often joined by the pride males Olbarnoti<br />
and Lolparpit.<br />
`
Sila is an young adult female from the Oldikidik<br />
pride. She has some small tears in her right ear and<br />
one large identification spot at the back of her left<br />
whiskers. This can be used to identy her from other<br />
lionesses in the pride.<br />
2013
`<br />
Nasieku is one of the older females of the Oldikidik<br />
Pride, but is still a relative youngster. She has a<br />
patchy nose indicating that she is older than most of<br />
the other lionesses in the pride. Her whisker spots<br />
should ideally be used to identify her.<br />
2011
Nabiki is one of the older lionesses of the Oldikidik<br />
pride, but is still a relative youngster. She has a<br />
distinctive notch in her right ear that can be used to<br />
identify her, along with a large identification whisker<br />
spot at the rear of her right whiskers. She is a likely<br />
sister of Nasieku.<br />
2011
Nasha means ‘playful’. She is often seen playing with<br />
the pride cubs. She is a young lioness and a likely<br />
sister of Sila. Whilst she looks similar to Sila, her<br />
right-side identification whisker spots can help to<br />
distinguish her from her. The few spots on her nose<br />
will continue to grow in size and number.<br />
2013
Lolparpit means ‘lots of hair’. Unlike Olbarnoti, his<br />
ears are usually covered by his larger mane. He can<br />
also be distinguished from his partner Olbarnoti by<br />
his left whisker spots. Be careful as the tear in his<br />
right ear is similar to Olbarnoti’s ear tear, but is less<br />
pronounced.<br />
2005
Olbarnoti means ‘smaller boy’ - his mane is smaller<br />
than that of his partner Lolparpit. He can also be<br />
distinguished from Lolparpit by the characteristic<br />
tear in his right ear. He has a large identification<br />
whisker spot on the left side, but as with many male<br />
lions, his scars can make this hard to see.<br />
2005