What to do when you encounter a lion, according to a wildlife ranger

According to Maryann Nyambu, a ranger at Tsavo National Park, if you are walking and come across a lion, keep eye contact and keep walking.

"Sababu ni kwamba preys attack from the back and are afraid when you face them from the front," Nyambu told Citizen.Digital. 

"Huwa ukimaintain eye contact , ule mnyama huwa anaenda tu zake," 

Lions straying from the National Park and into the general public are not uncommon in Kenya.

The most memorable incident occurred in 2016, when a pride of six lions strayed from the Nairobi National Park and made their way into Kenya's largest slum, Kibera, as well as the Langata neighborhoods.

No one was injured in the incident;  the Lions traced their way back to the park after the unusual stroll. 

Several other incidents have been reported since then, including one in 2021 when the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) issued an advisory after a lion was spotted roaming in the city's outskirts, Ongata Rongai.

"This morning, a sub-adult male lion was spotted stuck between a concrete wall and iron sheets in Ongata Rongai area," Kenya Wildlife Service said on its Twitter account.

"The lion was successfully darted, immobilised and safely transferred to the (KWS) veterinary facility for observation collaring before being released back to the park."

Meanwhile, according to Nyambu, different tactics are used for different animal encounters; for example, at night, she told Citizen.Digital, rangers use torches to ward off elephants, or noise during the day.

She recalls an incident in which they came across a herd of marauding elephants after returning from a patrol in the park.

Nyambu claims she tripped and fell as the elephants charged and chased the rangers.

"I was lucky, other rangers jumped over me and moved to a safe distance where they monitored the elephants," she added. 

"I was not harmed because I lay on the ground until rangers told me it was safe for me to get up and move,"