Missing for four years: Elsa the lioness is alive!

Elsa has been found! (c) Moses Gitonga

A few days ago, we were over the moon to tell you that ResQ, and another lioness, had been spotted with six brand-new cubs in our charity’s homeland, of Meru National Park in Kenya. But this is the story that keeps giving as, today, we have even more remarkable news to share.

Back in May, ResQ – a lioness with a remarkable survival story – was fitted with a lightweight satellite collar, as part of our ongoing monitoring work of Meru’s important lion population. A key member of Elsa’s Pride, ResQ had been rescued from a life-threatening snare in 2021, aged just eight months.

The new collar enabled us to track her movements and see how she behaved, as we try to help lions safely coexist with people in Meru. We promised to share ResQ’s journey as we learned more about her life, but never expected her to lead us back to her own missing mother.

Born in October 2014, and named in honour of the lioness star of Born Free, Elsa hadn’t been sighted since May 2022. We used to see her frequently, and had sighted many other members of her pride in the years since. Four years is a long time in the life of a wild lion. As the months turned into years without a single confirmed sighting, our team had to reach the difficult conclusion that it was likely that Elsa had very sadly died.

Then, a few days ago, everything changed…

Guided by the collar

ResQ’s light-weight GPS collar had already proven invaluable to our monitoring efforts. Movement data from her collar helped guide our team’s search to a specific area of Meru National Park, and it was there that they made a discovery few of us could have dared hope for.

Elsa, ResQ and the cubs (c) Moses Gitonga

Clearly identified by her distinctive features, including her unique ‘whisker spot pattern’, Elsa was alive and well, seen together with her daughter ResQ and six cubs. Both Elsa and ResQ were observed to be lactating – strong evidence that between them, they are actively nursing the six cubs.

“Elsa’s resighting is an incredibly exciting and rewarding moment for our species monitoring work,” said a delighted Irene Kanga Dzuwamwenga, from our Meru team. “Elsa’s prolonged absence had led us to suspect that she may have died. Although I was not present during the sighting, my colleague Moses Gitonga took these incredible photographs (scroll down for more!).

“My contribution came afterwards, when I helped check these photographs against our lion database. After carefully reviewing the images, we could confirm the lioness’s identity as Elsa. Seeing the evidence that she was alive was truly thrilling. This experience highlights the value of teamwork, accurate databases, and persistent monitoring in conservation.”

Mother, daughter, and six new lives

Elsa with one of the new cubs (c) Moses Gitonga

This resighting confirms that Elsa is not only alive, but remains a vital, reproducing member of her pride. She’s a mother alongside her own daughter, ResQ – born in November 2020, and now it seems is a grandmother too.

It’s a powerful reminder of why our work in Meru matters. Thanks to sustained monitoring and the added insight that GPS collaring provides, we now know that Elsa has spent these last years surviving, raising cubs, and contributing to the future of her pride.

What’s next?

Our team will continue monitoring Elsa, ResQ, and the six cubs to track their movements, survival, and development over the coming months. Further observation will help us determine how many of the six cubs belong to Elsa and how many to ResQ, as well as their gender.

For now, we’re celebrating a family reunited. Elsa was elusive and we will probably never know where she was, or what she was doing over the last few years. But, we’re delighted to see her once again! We’ll keep you updated as we learn more about this remarkable extended family and their life in Meru National Park. Scroll down to see more photos!