Maasai Mara herders find innovative way to keep hungry lions at bay

Herding cattle in conservancies neighbouring the world-famed Maasai Mara National Reserve in Narok County is no longer a big problem, thanks to predator-proof, mobile cattle pens.

The metallic mobile bomas - easily dismantled and reassembled as herders move from one area to another with their livestock - have significantly reduced the number of attacks by lions and retaliatory killings of lions by pastoralists.

One illustration of the positive trend is in Enonskishu (meaning a place of cattle in the Maasai language), a conservancy in the north of the Mara reserve.

It is owned by 30 farmers and sits on 4,000 acres subdivided into 12 grazing blocks, to which cattle are driven on a rotational basis, spending four days in one before moving on to the next.

Speaking during an awareness campaign in the Maasai Mara Ecosystem on Tuesday, one of the beneficiaries, Mr Bernard Leshinka, said the bomas deter lions and other predators from attacking domestic animals at night.

In the past, he said, lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs and jackals attacked their animals at night in the manyattas, undermining the livelihoods of residents of the semi-arid area.

“We can now rest easy as our herds of 200 cattle spend the night in a secure predator-proof boma,” said Mr Leshinka, a supervisor at Enonkishu.

Fully degraded

Unlike in most conservancies in the Mara, which have mostly patches of grass and eroded land, the signs of uncontrolled grazing and land degradation, Enonkishu is luxuriant, with knee-high savannah grasses, a boon for both the livestock and other grazers like gazelles, zebras and wildebeests.

Mr Leshinka explains that they identify where the grass has been fully degraded and set their mobile bomas there for the four days. The animals leave their manure to fertilise the area, making the soil richer in nutrients and allowing fresh lush grass to grow.

He said overgrazing and over-resting is not allowed.

Apart from securing livestock and stopping human-wildlife conflict, said Enonkishu Manager Rebekah Karimi, the conservancy also teaches herders how to feed cattle on only a third of the grass available while some is left for wildlife.

Ms Karimi said the conservancy is on the banks of the Mara River, which suffers from sediments flowing into it, and mobile bomas are used to control the flow.

“Having mobile bomas installed on bare ground to rehabilitate the area allows the water to seep into the ground better and reduce runoff into the Mara River,” she said.

Create better habitats

In Enonkishu, wildebeests, gazelles and zebras, among other wild animals, graze on the red oat grass, just like cows. The scene is alluring, and tourist vans make occasional stopovers to let the visitors admire the wonders of the Mara.

The World Wide Fund for Nature-Kenya wildlife adviser Drew McVey said the initiative is meant to improve wildlife habitats and inculcate community-driven, climate-smart approaches to diversify income-generating activities for households.

The bomas, he said, allow wildlife, people and livestock to coexist and create better habitats for all and healthier cows.

The idea started after a devastating drought 13 years ago that posed the most serious threat to livestock and tourism.

Pastoralists in the area adopted a new approach to conserving land by creating a viable livestock enterprise using paddocking, rearing fewer and better cattle, cattle fattening and market-oriented ranching.