The lion population in the Amboseli ecosystem is dwindling at an alarming rate considering the current population of the same in Kenya to be about 2000 only. When one ask a warrior how long it will take them to finish lions, two months is what they say. I hate to imagine the same happening to lions like it did to rhinos in the ecosystem. Lion killing is a tradition deeply embedded in the Maasai culture as opposed to elephant killings, which is mainly due to conflicts.

In April 2008, lions killed two cows, the warriors retaliated by spearing two lions, and the leadership in the ecosystem did not have the mandate to face the community since it was proved that the lions were indeed the culprits. All stakeholders have seen both sides of the coin when warriors engage themselves in hunting sometimes for leisure and sometimes for protection of their livestock. I remember when I was a young girl we never needed the police, Administration Police or Kenya Army, since the Maasai community had a traditional army – The Maasai Murran or Warrior – and their duty to protect and fight for the rights of their tribe.

The Chairman of Olgulului group ranch Daniel Letuesh and his committee members took an initiative to start a kitty to safe the Amboseli lions. It's tough though when you think of what the community generates from the park but something had to be done in order to save lions from disappearing. A board committee was appointed, which comprises of 10 members where the three key members are from the Olgulului group ranch committee – The Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary. Other members are the new Chairman of the Lion board committee, Kirrinkol Ole Musa, a former chief of warrior, Secretary – KWS senior warden for security as the government. I was appointed as treasurer because of the cherished work AERP has been and is doing for the last ten years when we started a consolation scheme whenever elephants kill livestock outside the park. One will wonder why elephants kill livestock and they are well known to be vegetarians? Retaliation – some elephants have witnessed members of their family speared by the Maasai warriors. The other key reason is grazing and drinking points especially during the dry season. The Elephant Consolation Scheme has shown a positive impact for the last ten years, our challenge at the moment is space for elephants, blocking of wildlife corridors and farmland where elephants are threatened. During the launching of the Predator Consolation Fund, AERP was greatly thanked for being the pioneers of consoling the locals for their loss and they termed AERP as the great-grandmother of peace custodian between Maasai, livestock, elephants and now predators in the Amboseli ecosystem.

On 15th August 2008, the Olgulului/Ololarashi predator consolation scheme was launched at the community public Campsite with well over 100 in attendance. The following were employed: seven predator scouts from each clan on each zone to report daily claims, two verification officers (VO) to investigate incidents, and a coordinator to be based at Tortilis camp to liaise between MPT (Maasai Preservation Trust) and Olgulului GR. We all could see the happiness in them and they all supported the new initiative, one old man was quoted saying in maa, "ETANDAMUA IYIOK ENGAI OMASAE" (The God of the Maasai has remembered us). Richard Bonham of ODW Trust initiated a similar scheme at Mbirikani group ranch and has seen much better improvements over the years. Also Kampi ya Kanzi supports a similar scheme on Kuku group ranch. Hopefully the new scheme will eventually be extended to Eselenkei, Kimana and Rombo group Ranches.

The agreement was signed by Richard Bonham of ODWT, Daniel Leturesh – Chairman OGR as Chairman, James Moonka – Secretary OGR as Secretary and Soila Sayialel – Amboseli Elephant Research project as Treasurer of Olgulului Predator Consolation Fund. One of the major point made clear is corrupt reporting of losses through nepotism including favoring relatives and members of the same clans and would not be tolerated and the perpetrator would be dealt with as "ILMANGATI" or enemies of the scheme. The locals who attended the meeting vowed to fight enemies of the scheme to ensure its success. The agreement also receives support from the Government of Kenya by the Kenya Wildlife Service in providing security to wildlife. The National Geographic Society and the Maasai Preservation Trust were also thanked for their sponsorship and donation of vital equipment.

The deep and broad support for a scheme of this sort is for sure an historic day for Wildlife conservation by the people of Kenya.