Summary of Simba’s Wild Notes (May 15, 2025 – Nashulai Conservancy)
By Simba Oloshorua Qiang Zhuo
At 19:11 on May 15, 2025, Simba received a call from Ryan reporting lion sightings near the Nashulai Community College. Simba drove out cautiously through difficult terrain to investigate. He met Ryan and Joseph, and together they located two lionesses concealed in the thickets. Nearby, a spotted hyena and a black-backed jackal were also active—signaling a likely hunting attempt on a nearby zebra herd.
The lions were within 300 meters of a Maasai homestead. Concerned for both human and lion safety, Simba invited two local Maasai men into the vehicle and later warned others approaching on foot. Their prompt intervention likely prevented a potential human-wildlife conflict.
After leaving to avoid disturbing the lions, Simba and his team observed giraffes and Thomson’s gazelles en route back to camp. Suddenly, several motorbikes rushed toward the bush, likely to scare away the lions. Simba quickly returned to calm the situation. Thanks to established trust with local pastoralists, the riders withdrew peacefully.
This marked Simba’s first confirmed lion encounter within Nashulai Conservancy. He noted that herbivores may seek proximity to human areas for safety, inadvertently attracting predators like lions. This incident highlights the complexity of predator-prey dynamics and the urgent need for community-based conflict mitigation strategies in shared landscapes.
Transcript逐字稿
Machine transcription with names checked by hand. Small errors may remain; the audio is the record.机器转写，人名地名已人工校对，可能仍有少量误差，以音频为准。
0:00Simba's Wild Notes by Simba Oloshorua, Qiang Zhuo, May 15th, 2025, Nashulai Conservancy, Maasai Mara, 1911. I received a call at camp from Ryan, who told me that he and Joseph had spotted several lions in the bushes near the community college. I immediately got in my land cruiser and drove to the area. It was already dark by then, so I turned on my headlights and drove slowly, carefully navigating the terrain, to avoid dangerous mud pits or warthog burrows. Along the way, I came across a group of zebras and a few wildebeests. In the distance, I saw Ryan signalling with a flashlight. I cautiously followed a flatter route to reach them, and once Once we met up, we continued searching for the lions together.
0:55Just a few minutes later, we discovered two lionesses hiding in the nearby thicket. Soon after, we noticed a spotted hyena wandering nearby, followed by a black-backed jackal. It was clear that the lions were preparing to hunt tonight, most likely targeting the zebras resting nearby. We paused to observe the environment. spot where the lions were hiding was less than 300 meters in a straight line from the nearest Maasai homestead, two Maasai men approached, carrying flashlights. We quickly invited them into the vehicle for safety. They mentioned that lions often appear in the area. We circled the bushes twice more, but the lions remained hidden. Later, two more Maasai men came walking through the area with flashlights. We quickly drove over and warned them not to walk through the bush, as there were lions inside. We didn't want the lions to be harmed by people, nor did we want the lions to attack anyone.
1:56Once we saw them return safely to their fenced homestead, we were relieved. After discussing it, we decided to leave the area so as not to disturb the lions. We planned to come back the next morning at 6 a.m. for further observation. On our way back to camp, we saw several giraffes. and a herd of Thompson's gazelles. Then suddenly, a few motorbikes rushed into the bush. We guessed they were local Maasai residents trying to chase the lions away. We immediately returned to the edge of the thicket and explained to them not to disturb the lions. Fortunately we have a strong relationship with the local pastoralists and they soon withdrew.
2:37We stayed a little longer before heading back. This was the first time I saw lions in the the National Eye Conservancy. We had been searching for them over the past couple of days, and unexpectedly, they showed up so close to the camp. From my research, I've found that sometimes herbivores like zebras and wildebeests prefer to stay near areas with human presence, possibly because they feel safer there. But lions follow them, even into these human-used landscapes, despite typically being wary of Maasai people.