Nanai the Lion

The Koitogo pride of lions in Samburu National Reserve is named after the famous hill in the heart of the reserve. There are 21 lions in the pride. On a recent evening game drive we saw one of the females from the pride called Nanai (a Samburu word meaning mine) and her cubs aged five months walking on the road.

Nanai came out of the bushes followed by her cubs and walked majestically along the road.

We got some beautiful photos of the cubs. To my surprise the cubs were not shy of the vehicle. Instead they stared at us as if they were also taken by surprise.

We followed Nanai and her cubs for a while until we reached the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River which is the main source of water in this dry semi-arid land. That's when we realized that Nana’s intention was to take her cubs to drink water. After drinking, they came up the river bank. While the cubs played, Nanai looked around for prey.

She then let the cubs go in to the bushes as she hung around the banks. Nanai is one of the famous female’s seen most of the time around the reserve. She is about nine years old and really struggles to bring up her cubs. We wish her plus her new cubs all the best.

Written by Justus Kisoo | Samburu Intrepids Camp | Heritage Hotels Ltd.