water for lionesses

IFAW’s Team Lioness is an all-women group of rangers deployed by the Olgulului Community Wildlife Rangers (OCWR). These 17 women protect the wildlife and community land surrounding Amboseli National Park in Kenya. They serve as the first line of defense against the poaching of elephants, lions, giraffes, cheetahs and other iconic wildlife.

The delivery of water to the Team Lioness ranger base is crucial but, at times, unreliable. With the 17 rangers, six childcare providers, six young children and a cook, the outpost uses approximately 36,000 liters of water each month. Furthermore, the OCWR, with IFAW as the sole supporter, employs 87 wildlife rangers, spread across nine active ranger bases. Water must be delivered to each of these nine outposts.

Team Lioness is based at the Risa outpost. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) delivers water to Risa twice per month. Since water is a scarce resource in the semi-arid Amboseli ecosystem, the KWS bowser (water truck) is in high demand to provide water to many in the ecosystem, sometimes resulting in low supply. On days when water is low or runs out completely at the outpost, designated drivers from OCWR must travel to KWS, approximately 18 miles away, in search of water. This takes away valuable personnel time and resources (vehicle/fuel) that could otherwise be spent on landscape patrols.

The welfare of our rangers is of the utmost importance to IFAW. With the purchase of a 10,000-liter mobile water truck, we aim to ensure that water is regularly supplied to the members of Team Lioness and other members of OCWR as well as the local communities and livestock in the Amboseli region. With Kenya experiencing its worst drought in 40 years, the need for alternative solutions is critical.