Dr. Laurence G. Frank Living With Lions Project Director

Laurence has been a research associate at the University of California, Berkeley since 1984, first as part of the Berkeley Hyena Project and currently in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.

He spent twenty years studying the behavioural ecology and endocrinology of the spotted hyena before turning to conservation research. Laurence directs the Living with Lions project in Kenya.

Alayne Cotterill Project Biologist, LPP

Alayne has been awarded a Kaplan fellowship from Panthera, and is now commencing her PhD studies at Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. She has an MSc in Tropical Resource Ecology from the University of Zimbabwe where her thesis was a cost benefit analysis of keeping lions on a commercial wildlife ranch. Alayne has been trained in the chemical and physical capture and restraint of wild animals, and has extensive big cat field research experience in Africa. She is currently focusing her research on determining which factors are most important in the development of livestock depredation behaviour in lions.

Leela Hazzah Lion Guardians Director, Carnivore Conservationist, APP

Leela obtained her MSc from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and has completed her first year of PhD studies there. Her research focuses on the motivations behind lion killing and attitudes of Maasai towards carnivores. She has a Biology degree from Denison University, is fluent in Swahili, and has worked as a GIS analyst and researcher in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Leela has been awarded a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Fellowship, a Kaplan Fellowship, a Fellowship from Wings WorldQuest and a Jordan Prize for African Studies.

Read Leela's MSc thesis

Stephanie Dolrenry Carnivore Conservationist, APP

Stephanie has completed her first year of PhD studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her research focuses on lion and spotted hyena conflict in Maasai communities and the link between carnivore predation on livestock and retaliatory poisoning. She is also analyzing lion and hyena movements and foraging ecology around Maasai homes. Stephanie has a National Science Foundation Doctoral Fellowship and a Kaplan Fellowship. She has a Wildlife Conservation and Management degree from Missouri State University and has spent the past ten years as a field biologist in the US, the Caribbean, Hawaii and Kenya.

Steven Ekwanga Research assistant, LPP

Steve’s main area of expertise is community relations and predator-problem troubleshooting, as well as lion captures. He has been with LPP for several years and is highly competent at most aspects of the running of the project.

Sara Blackburn Project Biologist, MPP

Sara recently graduated from the University of London with a BSc in Zoology, and is running the new Mara Predator Project (MPP). She is responsible for building the identification database of MPP lions, and designed the Mara Lion ID Database website. Her main roles include assessing the lion population, noting cases of livestock conflict, and identifying how both lions and the local community can benefit from future conservation efforts. Sara is also developing ways for visitors to contribute reliably to predator distribution data by involving lodge guides and guests in lion identification.  

Eric Ole Kesoi Lion Guardians Co-ordinator

Eric, a Maasai from Eselenkei Group Ranch is fluent in Maa, Swahili and English and trained as a community development worker, working for an NGO in Kajiado, Southern Kenya before joining the project.

He is highly respected by his community and is very influential both within his own group ranch and outside it. Eric is an excellent tracker and has participated in several successful lion hunts in the past. He is now working with the Lion Guardians project to help conserve his local lion population.

Luke Keloi Lion Guardians Co-ordinator

Luke previously worked as a research assistant on Eselenkei, but has recently expanded his role to join Eric as Lion Guardians Coordinator. Luke worked as a community teacher in various schools before pursuing a diploma course, and has also undertaken refresher courses in wildlife management and environmental studies. Luke has previously carried out fieldwork with the International Livestock Research Institute, as well as working in various places across Kenya including Tsavo West, Naivasha, Nairobi, Nanyuki and Samburu. He has great communication skills and is an immense asset to our team.

Lenkai Nkiinti Research Assistant, APP

Lenkai has immense tracking skills and superb knowledge of the Eselenkei area. His traditional knowledge and love of wildlife is very useful in his role as research assistant, and he has swiftly picked up Swahili so he can communicate with the team. Lenkai also knows all the songs and sounds of wildlife. Often when he goes to the bush to track lions, he returns with snake skins, feathers of birds (of which he mimics their sounds), spines of a hedgehog, or something interesting that he came across. We are pleased and proud to have Lenkai as part of our team. His contribution to our carnivore research is invaluable.

Marc Napao Research Assistant, LPP & MPP

Marc recently graduated from Kenyatta University with a BSc in Environmental Sciences. He was born and brought up around Mpala, Laikipia District, home to the Mpala Research Center and the Laikipia Predator Project. All his life he has been around wildlife, which has helped nurture a keen passion for conservation. In addition to his BSc degree, he also has a certificate in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and Remote Sensing. Marc works as a research assistant for the Laikipia Predator Project, and is also establishing an identification database of lions throughout the region. He also assists Sara Blackburn on occasion for the Mara Predator Project.