Lion cubs spotted in Meru
Great news – new cubs have been spotted in our homeland of Meru, Kenya. Just 23,000 wild lions remain, so each one counts. But, what happened when two adult males appeared?
Did you know that Meru National Park, in Kenya, is where Elsa the lioness was returned to the wild in the 1950s? Located 220 miles NE of Nairobi, Born Free has been working hard there for over ten years, to help Kenya Wildlife Service keep lions safe, in this huge park and surrounding areas.
Moses Nyagah
We’re so grateful for your support of this vital conservation effort. But, spotting lions in the vast landscape is no easy feat. The golden vegetation cover overlaps each other, camouflaging the tawny-brown lions. This makes it even more difficult for Born Free’s devoted Pride of Meru team to monitor them – they have to work hard for each sighting!
As you can imagine, spotting little cubs in this landscape is even harder. Especially because, for the first few weeks, a lioness keeps her young cubs hidden to help protect them from predators, including hyenas and even male lions.
But, when around six weeks, cubs are old enough to start emerging from hiding. Sightings can be extraordinary. Which is why it’s such a privilege to read Pride of Meru’s Field Assistant, Moses Nyagah’s account of an amazing recent encounter.
On patrol in Meru
A few weeks ago, the Pride of Meru lion monitoring team set out early one morning. We had a particular mission for the day: to search and find the Bisanadi Pride – one of Meru National Park’s most iconic lion families. Our team has been proudly monitoring the Bisanadi Pride for over ten years, following their journey through life’s triumphs, as well as inevitable trials and tribulations.
Currently, the pride is made up of five adult females: Amani, Nkirote, Gilly, Kitty and Chebby. You may well remember Chebby? We helped treat her wounds when she was found injured – probably from a buffalo kick – in 2023. Today the females have cubs, with their juvenile offspring include Chiokaraine, Guido, Kanana and Pip, as well as two others who are yet to be named.
There are also four sub-adults: Zira, Juliet, Fina and Vitani, and two mighty adult males: Faris and Farid. Faris and Farid have been the dominant males in both Bisanadi and Mulika prides since 2021. What an incredible pair!
Footprints near Leopard Rock
Knowing Bisanadi Pride’s preferred areas, we made our way along Murera River in NE Meru, towards an area called Leopard Rock. Here, we were delighted to spot several lion footprints. To our complete joy, among them were spoor (tracks) of cubs less than one year old. With excitement bubbling, the tracking team started following the trail of tracks.
We carefully drove around Leopard Rock, some of the group taking vantage point on the roof of our vehicle. We painstakingly did our best to scan through the thick bushes, thickets and tall grasses hoping to glimpse these elusive apex predators. Meanwhile, while other team members paid attention to the spoors’ direction. As you can imagine, this is extremely hard work and requires a lot of patience. But, we persisted as a team.
Finally, from the roof of the vehicle, we saw movement from under the tall grasses. With our breath held, we eagerly waited to see who would emerge. Would it be the cubs? Our hopes to be dashed as a flock of yellow-necked spurfowls appeared – who are part of the same bird family as pheasants.
New cubs, new hope
Amani and her cubs!
However, luck was on our side. Before we started the car engine, three little lion cubs, new to the world but eager to explore, were spotted on the other side of the vehicle in the open bush. You can imagine how we felt! But, no sooner had our camera clicked to get shots of the cubs, than they vanished into thick bushes, perhaps eager to avoid any human presence.
The wonderful sighting sparked so many discussions among our monitoring team. Who could be their mother? How old were they? Suddenly, two conspicuous males, both equally dominant, appeared on the road. It was Faris and Farid, the renowned males, who interestingly established themselves in Meru National Park, after being moved here in 2020 from Solio (an area west of Meru).
As you can see, they’ve quickly become a force to be reckoned with. We were surprised to see the two males so close to the cubs. So, our team watched closely to see their behaviour and what would happen next.
As we waited, a soft grunting sound of a lioness was heard and as we watched she appeared on the road. Instantly, the three cubs resurfaced. What a sight to behold! And we knew her. Our expert, knowledgeable team quickly identified the lioness as Amani, a six-year-old female. In her prime years, she’s an integral part of the Bisanadi pride.
Encounter with two males
Farid stretching
Interestingly, Amani led the vulnerable cubs straight towards Faris and Farid. As you might know, male lions can often pose a big risk to young cubs who are not their own. So, as you can imagine, seeing the two males and three cubs in the same area left us holding our breath.
However, after a moment, the five happily greeted each other. They then joined together to walk down the road. We let out a big sigh of relief!
Glorious as this was, it wasn’t ‘just’ an extraordinary encounter for us. It was also a profound opportunity to understand more about the elaborate social structure of these majestic creatures. Seeing two males in the presence of cubs is a rare sight. We were also over the moon to see Amani, with what is her second litter of cubs, for the very first time.
Well done, Mr Mohammed!
Amani and cubs (c) Mr Mohammed
With the help of our wonderful tourist guides, who support our work by participating in our ‘citizen science initiative’, our Pride of Meru monitoring team is able to track the growth of Amani’s cubs. The most recent sighting was made recently by one of the key tour guides from Elsa Kopje hotel, Mr Mohammed.
Eager to share the update, he kindly sent over photos (see right) and a short video of the cubs and their mother. The life of a lion cub can be precarious and not all make it. But we were so relieved to see that all three cubs looked healthy and were growing well.
Sightings like this are completely inspiring. But we work hard to create an environment, both within Meru National Park and outside in the community lands, that is safe for lions, so they can thrive. With your help, we can continue to protect lions and cubs like Amani’s, to live healthy, safe lives, contributing to the incredible recovery of Kenya’s lion population – up 25% since our lion conservation work began in 2010.