{"id":63108,"date":"2013-11-18T00:14:53","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T00:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=63108"},"modified":"2013-11-18T00:14:53","modified_gmt":"2013-11-18T00:14:53","slug":"simple-invention-brokers-peace-between-humans-and-wildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=63108","title":{"rendered":"Simple invention brokers peace between humans and wildlife"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five flashlight bulbs, an old car battery and a solar panel were the only tools 11-year-old Richard Turere used to put together a system of lights that keeps his family\u2019s cattle safe from lions. His simple invention costs less than $10 and it\u2019s easy to install and maintain. It also works to prevent elephants from trampling people\u2019s crops.\u00a0 (Photo: Richard Turere talks about his invention at the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) 2013 conference in California. TED\/James Duncan Davidson – See more at: http:\/\/www.un.org\/africarenewal\/magazine\/august-2013\/africa-wired#sthash.oJPEQCnc.dpuf)<\/em><\/p>\n

The light bulbs are wired to a car battery charged with a solar panel. The lights flash in sequence, scaring off the hungry lions. The BBC quotes Dr. Charles Musyoki, senior scientist at the Kenya Wildlife Service, describing the system as \u201cingenious.\u201d \u201cLions are not afraid of a steady light,\u201d Dr. Musyoki remarks, \u201cbut flickering lights from multiple sources confuse them\u201d and therefore discourage them from approaching.<\/p>\n

Because his family lives right behind the Nairobi National Park, lions often lurk in Richard\u2019s village to hunt prey. After the family bull was killed, he earnestly began looking for a way to outsmart them. Richard\u2019s breakthrough came while he was herding cattle back to their shed. He saw a lion retreat in the dark when he shone his flashlight.<\/p>\n

Conflicts between humans and wildlife in Kenya are frequent. It\u2019s estimated that Kenya loses more than 100 lions every year, often to \u201cmob justice\u201d from locals angered by the loss of their livestock, according to\u00a0The Economist. The Kenya Wildlife Service reports that such conflicts cost the government huge amounts of money as, for example, over $800,000 was paid in compensation fees for the affected people in 2011 alone. On the flip side, the state makes huge profits from wildlife tourism, leading the locals to believe the animals are more valued than they are.<\/p>\n

Richard\u2019s invention has earned him nicknames like \u201cthe solar lion tamer\u201d or the \u201cMaasai lion whisperer,\u201d a reference to his descent from the Maasai of Kitengela savannah in Kenya. Cattle are important to the Maasai culture and their way of life. Cows are a form of currency for the seminomadic and mainly pastoral people of south Kenya and parts of Tanzania.<\/p>\n

Richard has installed the \u201clion lights\u201d in his neighbourhood and the attacks are dwindling. His invention is a simple but innovative way to manage human-wildlife conflict. The invention helped him \u201cmake peace with lions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

By:\u00a0Jocelyne Sambira, <\/i>Africa Renewal<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Five flashlight bulbs, an old car battery and a solar panel were the only tools 11-year-old Richard Turere used to put together a system of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":63109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[671,751],"tags":[17436,17437,17438],"class_list":["post-63108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-global-news","tag-maasai-lion-whisperer","tag-richard-turere","tag-the-solar-lion-tamer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/63109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}