NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 5 — Samburu warriors who once hunted lions as a traditional rite of passage are now helping protect the animals, contributing to a dramatic recovery of the lion population in northern Kenya.

📻 Breaking It Down

The transformation is at the heart of Pride of Samburu , a National Geographic documentary that premiered in Nairobi this week, chronicling how Samburu communities are combining traditional knowledge, technology and community-led conservation to protect lions while enabling people, livestock and wildlife to coexist in the same landscape.

Produced by the National Geographic Society in collaboration with Ewaso Lions and Kenyan filmmakers, the film follows the work of National Geographic Explorers Shivani Bhalla, Jeneria Lekilelei and Toby Otieno in Samburu.

At the centre of the story is Lekilelei, a former Samburu warrior who became concerned after discovering that only 11 lions remained in his homeland.

📌 What You Need to Know

Through community conservation programmes and scientific research, the population has since risen to more than 60.

“It was challenging when we first started lion conservation with Ewaso Lions in Samburu. Culturally, as a warrior, you are supposed to protect your livestock and society,” Lekilelei said.

He recalled how some warriors initially rejected his decision to abandon traditional lion hunting.

“When I first joined Ewaso Lions, other warriors thought I’d gone crazy; my friends started leaving me. I was doing the opposite of what they thought I was supposed to do.”

Lekilelei later drew on his standing in the community to persuade other warriors to take part in conservation, turning their knowledge of the landscape and wildlife into an asset for protecting lions.

“When I understood what was happening to lions in Kenya and Samburu, it made me more confident to teach my community, my warriors. I was able to provide advice and guidance – that’s how I transformed warriors to contribute to conservation.”

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya