Lion Profiles: Olare Motorogi Conservancy

Gamewatchers Safaris and Porini Camps have been committed to
responsible tourism for over 25 years and are a member of the
Kenya Association of Tour Operators. All guides are accredited by
the KPSGA (Kenya Professional Safari Guide Association) and many
are at silver level. This means that they have the skills and
experience to view animals responsibly, giving them the space and
privacy to carry out their natural behaviours. On night game drives,
red filters are used on spotlights to avoid dazzling the animals.
Within the Conservancy there is also a restriction of one vehicle per
1,400 acres.
All of the Porini Camps, situated inside private conservancies, are
small, eco-friendly tented camps that accommodate a maximum of
20 guests. Each camp each consist of just 6 to 10 spacious tents in
beautiful natural settings under acacia trees.
You can read more about these conservancies overleaf.
Gamewatchers Safaris & Porini Camps were founded by Jake
Grieves-Cook, a long-time safari operator and supporter of wildlife
conservation in Kenya. Jake has served on the board of the Kenya
Wildlife Service which runs the country’s national parks, and for
six years was Chairman of Kenya’s National Tourist Board. The
company’s CEO is Dr Mohanjeet Brar, whose family has been in
Kenya for five generations.
The vision behind Porini camps, and the private conservancies
within which they lie, is unique. It is a partnership between the
local community and a commercial safari operator, where both
parties’ goals are aligned. As such, we do not depend upon donor
funding.
We believe that one of the keys to our success is recognizing that
the community must derive fair benefits from tourism and must
not be taken advantage of.

In Kenya, Gamewatchers pioneered the “conservancy concept” – the leasing of land to form
community-owned wildlife conservancies adjacent to national parks. They started with
Selenkay Conservancy in the Amboseli eco-system in the 1990s, then Ol Kinyei Conservancy
in the Masai Mara in 2005. In May 2006, Gamewatchers then played a pivotal role in the
creation of Olare Motorogi Conservancy (OMC) adjacent to the Masai Mara National
Reserve (MMNR), followed by the adjoining Naboisho Conservancy. The development of
these conservancies was critical to ensuring the protection of wildlife habitat beyond
officially protected areas and they have since contributed to a significant regeneration of
wildlife populations including elephants and all the big cats. OMC was recently shown to
support Kenya’s highest density of lions outside of the Mara Reserve.
Within Olare Motorogi Conservancy, wildlife tourism is limited and strictly controlled. This
means that animals are not disturbed by vehicles and habitats remain pristine. Cattle grazing
is also managed to benefit both people and wildlife, which means that, together with efforts
such as improvements to “bomas” (cattle corrals) and patrols by ranger teams, humanwildlife
conflict is much reduced. Rotational grazing helps control grass height and prevents
overgrazing, thus attracting a diverse range of herbivores including the spectacular annual
migration.
The formation of the OMC and other conservancies has brought financial advantages to local
people. Over 200 members of local communities work directly with Gamewatchers Safaris &
Porini Camps. Over 500 families earn a steady monthly income from leasing land inside the
conservancies to tourism safari camps. Crucially, this means that wildlife tourism provides a
sustainable source of income for land owners, ensuring that this form of land use is a viable
option as an alternative to others such as agriculture and development which may cause
habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict. Without the conservancies, it is likely that local
wildlife would be significantly threatened by habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict and
restricted to the Mara Reserve. OMC is managed by Olpurkel Ltd, a not-for-profit company,
on behalf of the landowners and tourism partners, while the Maa Trust receives donations
from the tourism partners to support community projects.

We identify lions from the whisker spot pattern. This is
unique to each individual, and, unlike other features, remain
unchanged throughout a lion’s life. This means that we can
recognize lions as they age despite other changes in their
physical appearance.
Ear tears are permanent and
can be used to identify lions.
However, new tears may
appear with age.
A male’s mane will change,
and is therefore not used to
identify individual lions. We
can, however, use manes to
estimate the age of a lion.
This image shows how the
spot pattern is used; by
measuring the position of
the identification spots in
relation to the position of
the reference row spots
(the top complete row of
spots). We start counting
at the nose, measuring
past spots, not before.
Missing tail tips, broken teeth and cut noses are
common injuries that can be used to identify lions.
Scars and scratches should not be used to identify
lions. These are rarely permanent, unless they are
from a major injury (far right).
The spot diagram (below)
is shown on each lion’s
profile card together with
other key features.
Young lions have a pink nose
which changes with age. At
2-4 years, black spots
appear, growing to form
patches by age 5-7. By 8-9
years, the nose is usually
black. We can use this to
both age and identify lions.

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It is much easier to use your camera to zoom in to these features to
identify lion than studying them directly in the field!
Lions are best identified from clear, sharp photographs showing the left
and right whisker spots. As the spot pattern will change with the image
angle, it is important to take shots at a 90 degrees to the lion’s face.
Good photographs may also show the any of the identifying features
shown opposite, including the ears, nose, mane and teeth.
Everyone can take good
lion photos, especially in
the Mara where they are
easily approached.
Closeup shots are ideal
wide shots can show
other identifiable pride
members to help identify
the lion in question.
This booklet contains profiles of
the key Enkoyonai and Oldikidik
pride members. It can be used to
identify lions in the field or in the
comfort of camp if you have
taken photos on a digital camera.
Ask your guide if you need help
identifying which pride you have
been watching.

The Enkoyonai Pride are so named after the spring where there are often
found. They used to be a very large pride but have now split to find new
territories within the conservancy. Four females form the core of the pride,
together with their five young offspring. They are often joined by the two
conservancy males, Olbarnoti and Lolparpit.

Selenkei is an one of the older females from the
Enkoyonai Pride. Her name means a ‘girl who has
reached maturity’. She has a patchy nose and
distinctive tears in her left ear. These can be used to
identify her along with her whisker spots.
2007

Nashipai is an older female a female from the
Enkoyonai Pride. She has a black patchy nose, sharp
features and a characteristic right ear. She has a mid
spot on the right side. She is most often seen with
the main Enkoyonai group.
2006

Naibor means ‘white’ - her coat is unusually white.
She has a small face and a patchy nose. She also has
a characteristic double tear in her left ear and a
chunk from the right ear. She is one of the older
lionesses of the pride and is often seen with the
main Enkoyonai group.
2007

Napono is a young lioness from the Enkoyonai Pride
and the daughter of Nashipai. She can be identified
from her whisker spots and the characteristic tears
in her right ear. She has a pink nose but this will
develop spots as she matures.
2015

Napono is a young lioness from the Enkoyonai Pride
and the daughter of Nashipai. She has very
characteristic whisker spots which can be used to
identify her from other lionesses. She also has small
neat ears and some characteristic spots on her nose,
although these spots may change as she matures.
2015

Chumvi is a young male from the Enkoyonai Pride.
He is likely to be a son of Mohican or Romeo II. As he
matures he will leave the pride. He can be identified
from has brother, Pilipili, by the characteristic tear in
his right ear. He has an out of place whisker spot
under the third spot on the second row.
2015

Tatu is a young male lion from the Enkoyonai Pride
and is likely to be the son of Olbarnoti. As he
matures he will leave the pride. He can be identified
from his brother, Chumvi, by the three whisker spots
on each side of his face and lack of a distinctive tear
in his right ear.
2015

Female #4 is a young lioness from the Enkoyonai
Pride and has four sisters. She has a characteristic
tear in her left ear and some serrated marks in her
right ear. She also has some characteristic whisker
spots oh her left side including a mid spot under the
reference row. These can be used to distinguish her
from her sisters and similar lionesses.
2015
Images ©
Peter Rettig

Female #5 is a young lioness from the Enkoyonai
Pride and has four sisters. She has few identifying
characteristic so it is important to study her whisker
spots in order to distinguish her from other
lionesses. She is likely to develop more identifying
features such as ear tears and nose spots as she
matures.
2015
Images ©
Peter Rettig

The ‘Oldikidik’ Pride are a split from the old Moniko Pride who have now
dispersed around the conservancy. Once totalling over 30, the Moniko Pride
has had to split up into smaller groups in order for them to hunt successfully.
The sub-group of the Oldikidik Pride is now formed from several young core
females and their cubs. They are often joined by the pride males Olbarnoti
and Lolparpit.
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Sila is an young adult female from the Oldikidik
pride. She has some small tears in her right ear and
one large identification spot at the back of her left
whiskers. This can be used to identy her from other
lionesses in the pride.
2013

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Nasieku is one of the older females of the Oldikidik
Pride, but is still a relative youngster. She has a
patchy nose indicating that she is older than most of
the other lionesses in the pride. Her whisker spots
should ideally be used to identify her.
2011

Nabiki is one of the older lionesses of the Oldikidik
pride, but is still a relative youngster. She has a
distinctive notch in her right ear that can be used to
identify her, along with a large identification whisker
spot at the rear of her right whiskers. She is a likely
sister of Nasieku.
2011

Nasha means ‘playful’. She is often seen playing with
the pride cubs. She is a young lioness and a likely
sister of Sila. Whilst she looks similar to Sila, her
right-side identification whisker spots can help to
distinguish her from her. The few spots on her nose
will continue to grow in size and number.
2013

Lolparpit means ‘lots of hair’. Unlike Olbarnoti, his
ears are usually covered by his larger mane. He can
also be distinguished from his partner Olbarnoti by
his left whisker spots. Be careful as the tear in his
right ear is similar to Olbarnoti’s ear tear, but is less
pronounced.
2005

Olbarnoti means ‘smaller boy’ - his mane is smaller
than that of his partner Lolparpit. He can also be
distinguished from Lolparpit by the characteristic
tear in his right ear. He has a large identification
whisker spot on the left side, but as with many male
lions, his scars can make this hard to see.
2005