A pastoralist community in Kajiado rescued twin lion cubs - one died, the other is now up for adoption

Community support and unwavering efforts by community rangers and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) could bring about sanity, positively contributing to a win towards toning down, if not ending, human/wildlife conflict. This would boost wildlife numbers and bring to an end agony for various losses.

Fruits of the teamwork are evident in a five-month old lion cub named Mukami, that is lucky to be alive after its twin, on the other hand, succumbed to injuries.

Mukami now is up for adoption from any willing person, according to Nairobi Animals orphanage, thanks to tolerance by a herder at the Olgulului Community Ranch.

At Meshinani village, within the community ranch that neighbours Kenya’s Amboseli National Park, we meet George ole Lupempe, the area Assistant Chief.

A herder in the area bumped into a few days old twin lion cubs as he was grazing cattle within Ilaingarunyoni conservancy, one of the five conservancies in the ranch located in Kajiado County.

The herder did not hesitate to inform his employer, who immediately reached out to Evans Merite, the patrol in charge of the community rangers.

“Most of us come from this community, so whenever the community members get any information regarding wildlife, they report to us,” Merite stated.

With the ball on their court, Merite and his team first made it to the scene to assess the situation. Upon setting sight on the two cubs, he then got in touch with KWS officers at the Amboseli National Park seeking guidance, a sign of collaboration.

According to Merita, they got instructions from KWS officers not to move the lion cubs from their position, but just to keep an eye on them.

The rangers kept monitoring the cubs but, on the second day, despite still being in the same position, they noticed that they had however gotten injuries from a wake of vultures.

Citizen Digital reached out to KWS personnel at Amboseli to understand why the lion cubs were to be observed within the same position and not moved whatsoever.

Paul Wambi, Assistant Director of the Amboseli Ecosystem, explained: “The reason why we had to leave the cubs in that position the first day is because we thought the mother could be hunting somewhere and that the mother would be able to come back and collect them.”

“So, when we found the cubs the second day, not only were they on the same position, but we also discovered that one of the cubs was injured by the vultures.”

Alone, vulnerable and targeted, the officers transferred the lion cubs to the Nairobi Animal Orphanage for emergency treatment and care giving.

There, the twin cubs were received by Dr. Mukami Ruoro, a veterinary doctor with KWS.

“When we received them, Mukami was doing well but her sister was quite weak, she was dehydrated and she had a very big wound on the left side of her face where her eyes and muscles had been pulled off. We tried to treat her, five days into her treatment, Mukami's sister didn't make it, she passed away.” recounted Dr. Ruoro.

According to Esther Njeri, the warden-in-charge at the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, Mukami has responded well even after her sister’s demise.

She termed her as a fighter who has pushed through over time, comparing her low weight as at the time she was taken to the facility and her current health.

Owing to the expenses that go into animal general care at the animal orphanages, KWS and the Nairobi Animal Orphanage have put up a call to willing individuals to reach out to the facility to express adoption interest and help in easing the burden.

“Mukami  is taking milk; half a litre in the morning and half a litre in the evening. They’re mixed with half a kilogram of meat, whatever we are generating here may not be enough to take care of all the animals we have here,” said Ms. Njeri.

“For example, the other lions here, we feed them 9kgs of meat every day and  for instance when you give one deworming tablet to this young one and for  these big animals, a tablet of Bravecto costs about Ksh.5,000...for a big lion you will have to give like 4 tablets, imagine the cost, just for a dose!”

Mukami’s adoption implies supporting her with resources on contract basis from the facility with the contract holder enjoying several benefits.

According to Lilian Nyabicha, a Senior KWS Warden at the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, one is not permitted to carry with them wild animals even if they are offering them resources.

“These are wild animals, they cannot be domesticated, so they support them while in the facility, and whoever does the adoption has a number of benefits, Like, the animal can be named after the individual who has done the adoption, the individual also gets the opportunity to visit the animal he or she has adopted among other privileges,” she explained.

The lion cub, at the moment, is named after Dr. Mukami Ruoro, the veterinary doctor who they say did not just save her life, but also offered her a shoulder when she lost her twin sister.

According to Dr. Ruoro, she woke up treat Mukami’s sister only to find that she had passed on, hence set sight on the wailing little cub.

“I had gone to give her some injection and antibiotics and I found her dead and Mukami was really crying so I picked up Mukami and she kept quiet. She then urinated on me, so the animal keeper who was feeding them saw it and said that it was a very good sign and that meant that, that animal likes you and is feeling very safe with you. So I told him if that's the case we should call her Mukami, and that was it,” Dr. Ruoro recalled.

As Mukami awaits a new name from whoever she will attract, for now she rides on Dr. Mukami Ruoro’s identity.

Currently, the Nairobi Animal Orphanage under KWS hosts a total of 8 lions; the oldest being 26-year-old Bosire, and Mukami now being the youngest among other animals.