2023-07-02 22:04:02
It’s an invention of a young Maasai, Richard Turere: they are flashing lights that run on solar energy and keep lions away. Because conflicts between pastoral communities and wildlife are recurrent in Kenya. In mid-May, the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Kenyan Nature Conservation Agency, sounded the alarm: ten lions had been killed in one week near Amboseli Park in the south of the country. The “Lions Lights” quickly became popular.
From our correspondent in Nairobi,
Night is falling. Cows and goats return from their day of grazing, guided by Masai herders. They live in Kitengela, on the edge of Nairobi National Park which is home to significant wildlife. A river serves as a border, but some places are easily crossed, especially by lions. Richard Kuyayo experienced this. This shepherd in his sixties has lived here for 12 years, with these 24 goats and 120 cows.
« This is a cause for concern, I have already lost goats three times to lions. They come regularly because we are on their way when they come out of the national park. The problem is that we have no other job, there is no possible agriculture, livestock is our way of life “, he says.
Richard Kuyayo started using the “Lions Lights” three years ago. He says he saw a real difference: “ I put three on this side, two on this side, and three over there. These lights really helped us secure the animal enclosure. Since we installed them, we haven’t had any other attacks. »
A few meters further on, lights flash around another enclosure. This is where Richard Turere grew up. Now 23 years old, the young Maasai fascinated by technologies developed these light lions at 12 years old.
Over 2,000 households use Lions Lights in Kenya
« I was in charge of watching the herd and one night I thought to myself that the lions did not come when someone was patrolling with a flashlight, says the young man. That’s where the idea for Lions Lights came from. The lights flash and mimic what a walking person would do at night. Lions feel like someone is awake and watching, when no one is there. »
Richard Turere has since traveled a lot to talk about his project and has studied environmental conservation. In ten years, the Lions Lights company has grown: In Kenya at the moment there are just over 2 000 homes using our lights. But there are also “Lions Lights” in Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and, more recently, in Argentina. This project, which started very small, has really grown! It’s because we have no choice: humans must learn to co-exist with wildlife, or one of them ends up suffering. »
Passionate about animal protection, Richard Turere thinks big for Lions Lights. The development of an automated system in particular where the lights would turn on when a predator is detected around the enclosures. For his invention, Richard Turere was named one of the three finalists for the Young Inventors Prize of the European Patent Office (EPO). An award that recognizes young innovators aged 30 or under who have developed technological solutions to tackle global sustainability issues. The result will be announced on July 4.
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