KopeLion Boma Update
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Our Better Bomas Project aims to work with two of our conservation partners the Mara Predator Conservation Programme in Kenya and KopeLion in Tanzania who work at opposite ends of the huge Serengeti-Mara ecosystem.
A Boma is an enclosure where livestock, generally goats and cows, are kept at night and they are traditionally made out of branches from thorny trees to keep them safely away from predators. Despite the deterrent, predators such as lions, hyenas and leopards will raid these bomas if they are struggling to find natural prey species which can cause a massive problem for the local communities. The people that live in these areas are pastoralists and rely on their livestock for income and food, every cow or goat taken represents a loss of income and if it becomes a common occurrence these communities will often retaliate through spearing or even use of poison.
The Better Bomas Project set up between Safina and KopeLion hopes that by supporting efforts directly at homestead level, we can work to try and prevent incidents before they occur, working to try and reduce conflict between the local communities and the wild lion population and to promote coexistence. In November 2023 we sent over a donation of £1800 to cover the cost of 10 bomas which were all completed in 2024. In 2025 bomas were seen as a priority again and £2400 was raised to cover 10 more bomas which we sent in September 2025.
The £240 allocated for each boma covers the cost for stronger materials and the labour costs for the KopeLion team. There is a personal incentive however as the boma owner in order to qualify for this support contributes towards 20% of the overall cost, to promote a sense of ownership and responsibility. KopeLion identified the Kakesio area as their target location as since April 2025 the area has recorded more incidents than any other with substantial livestock losses having occurred. Work commenced in December with 10 bomas initially identified for reinforcement and 8 of these have been completed which can be seen on the map below.
We have now also been sent these wonderful photos taken by Bobby-Jo Vial of these newly strengthened bomas which powerfully illustrate the significance of these bomas to the local people and the materials that have been used.
Among the 8 bomas competed we received a video message from boma owner Godwin Olemoyo from the village of Esere which can be seen below. His boma for his goats was badly damaged from the lions and hyenas that would regularly enter it overnight. With the help of the KopeLion team he has been able to rebuild his boma making a significant difference to his life and livelihood. Photos of his boma before and after can be seen below. The second and third photo show the boma with a taller and thicker fence which should work as a greater deterrent to the local predators. Including labour costs the renovation of Godwin's boma costs only £255 while some of the other bomas did not require quite so much work. This is a reminder that what we would consider a very small amount of money can really achieve something very important for those who have to coexist with lions in the wild and should work to prevent future incidents.
We will continue to provide our supporters with updates and progress on the remaining 2 bomas. Happily as well, the work has come under slightly under budget which should now allow for more bomas to be completed as part of this project.
All of the zoo partners who contributed towards this project have received detailed reports and budgets from the KopeLion team on the progress of this project. If you are from a zoo in the UK or further afield that would like to support a lion conservation initiative that supports and promotes coexistence with local people for a relatively small cost, please do get in touch with us with the email listed on this website. The more support we recieve the more funding we can provide to these important conservation projects.
We would like to take the opportunity once again to thank Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens, Folly Farm Adventure Park & Zoo, Noah's Ark Zoo Farm, Linton Zoo, All Things Wild and Folly Farm Zookeeper Peter Bonser for their help in supporting our Better Bomas Project.
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