Why counting lions is no walk in the park

For five minutes, the sound of a distressed buffalo calf plays out from a speaker mounted on top of the off-road vehicle in the dead of night.

It is pitch dark and for another five minutes, a powerful spotlight is used to scan the surrounding area for for any lions and other carnivores.

We are now at the heart of Meru National Park using the callback system to draw these animals out so that our team of experts can conduct the first-ever census at the park.

The exercise, carried out by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in conjunction with Born Free Foundation, was to determine the exact number of lions and carnivores at the park so as to improve planning, provide data for research activities and all-round conservation efforts.

An hour before the 6pm start of the actual counting, a brief meeting is held between the three teams, comprising of at least 15 people. We learn that the process is to last three nights, with each team covering a maximum six stations.

I am assigned to a team headed by Meru National Park Senior Warden Dr Tuqa Jirma, and our first stop is inside the rhino sanctuary, a heavily guarded park within the park.

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Our convoy stops and everyone takes their position ready for the first call. In my mind, I should be in bed by midnight for rest after the long journey from Nairobi. But it is soon to dawn on me that I could not be more wrong.

In the middle of the distressed buffalo calf call, a buffalo appears from the bushes, ostensibly to the rescue. But it comes face-to-face with the spotlights and it quickly retreats into the bush. No lion is sighted.

Dr Jirma tells me they do not have a factual baseline data on the number of lions in the park, saying rough estimates placed the number at between 30 and 40. It is these numbers we are out to verify.

After making the call thrice with the same buffalo coming back each time‚ we move in a straight line to another site 5km away. The drive takes us about half an hour due to the bumpy, winding roads.

The second station proves to be more interesting. After the first call, a herd of buffaloes appears and stands at a distance watching and waiting. With the second call, a pride of lions appear. Using night vision equipment, we can see they are five moving about stealthily. We spot a hyena hanging around, probably waiting to feast on whatever left-overs the lions discard.

After a while, Dr Jirma signals us to move on. It is now about 1am and most people in the van are fast asleep, with just a few of us awake to endure the bumpy ride.

At the third station, still within the Rhino Sanctuary, the call is made and a hyena responds with a loud scream from a distance. By the time the second call is made, the animal is a few metres from the car watching attentively. No lions or buffaloes.

It is time to move on and we have two more stations to go. Sleep is beckoning but I am determined to keep watch. Another three-quarter of an hour ride and we are out of the Rhino Sanctuary, into open ground where we spot two hyenas. No lions, save for a couple of buffaloes, respond to our distressed calls.

Off we go, and at the fourth station, two leopards show up in response to the call, as do some hyenas.

At the fifth spot, only some hyenas show up. It’s time to call it a day -- so much for Day One. Back in the van, less than a half of the team is awake and their loud snoring in the still of night make a tune with the noises in the wild.

It’s 4.30am when we get back to the park headquarters. I am famished and exhausted, can hardly wait to crawl into my bunk and sleep.

Day Two: We start on the wrong footing. We get lost on our way to the first station and end up driving around for three hours. We started earlier, at 5pm, hoping to make better time than the day before. We, however, end up crawling back to camp at 6.30am the next morning.

The night is uneventful, save for buffaloes reacting as usual to our call. Hyenas also appear occasionally but the most memorable is that at the second call, we are able to hear a baboon bark from a distance, warning others to be careful.

Despite early hitches, the second night is a bit easier. At some point, we even stop for coffee in the middle of nowhere. By the time we get to the fourth station, I feel quite accustomed to being in the wild and using the night vision device, and I venture out on my own to scan the area and take a call of nature.

Day Three: The routine is no different, only that we start early in order to visit Elsa’s grave. Elsa is a lioness that was nurtured in the park by George and Joy Adamson in the 1950s. It takes us about two hours to link up with the rest of our team members at the final station, before heading back to camp. At least on this day, we get back at 1am.

The next day, I get to have a sitdown with Dr Jirma and he tells me the three-day tally by all teams had found 18 lions, but that this was not being treated as a final figure.

There are a number of factors to be considered before a final figure is given, he tells me, noting that the callback system cannot give a 100 per cent number due to various factors involving the animals themselves.

He says in some instances, the animal might have eaten during the day or been injured and can therefore not heed the distressed call.

He says they also need to apply indirect methods and once all these factors have been considered and analysed: “We will then sit down and compile a report”.

Dr Jirma says the three-day exercise was necessary due to the dwindling numbers of carnivores, caused primarily by human-wildlife conflict.

Much of the park’s eco-system, he says, has changed noting that 15 years ago, there were 15 permanent rivers flowing through the park but this number has reduced to only five, with the rest seasonal.