| Each time an animal looks into my lens, I see into
their soul, connect with their spirit, I become a part of them and
they become a part of me. They are my energy, my inspiration, my
passion, and the fire that ignites my spirit and soul. My song is
of Africa, The Serengeti, and the animals that are free to roam
"the endless plains". I realize that I, again, have left
another part of me in the Serengeti and now I call the Serengeti
"my home", too.
Every year my desire to return to Africa has increased. It has
become a passion, a need, something I must do. If I had to sell
everything so I could go, I would. I used to believe, that going
to Africa was,” a once in a lifetime dream”.
As seemingly insignificant moments in my life all come together,
and I step back and look at the big picture, I see that, I was born
to become, and now am, The Lion Lady®. I now recognize
that there has been the yearning, the passion, the dream, through
out my life. I now realize that it always was much bigger than I
ever thought or that I could ever comprehend. I feel energized and
fully alive when I think and talk about Africa. Africa is my calling.
In Africa, they call me mama simba, the lion
lady. Not just because I am a female and my last name is
Lyon, but because, I am an African Wildlife
Photographer. I am The Lion Lady®.
They, that really know me, call me mama chui, which in Swahili
means the leopard lady. They call me
the leopard lady, because leopards are my passion, on a much deeper
level. A tourist once told me, “We knew we would find a leopard
if and when we found you, because, they call
you the leopard lady”. It was confirmation of my calling,
my commission in life.
Until that moment in my life, I had only known that my heart was
on fire for the Serengeti and that I loved taking photos of all
the animals, but mostly the big cats. At what point my passion changed
and I became consumed by finding the elusive leopard, I am not quite
sure. The more leopards I’d see, the more I wanted to find.
The more I wanted to study them and be able to discern what their
next move would be and where I could locate them again. I became
obsessed with seeing how many times I could find, what I believed
to be the same leopard, over and over again and for how many consecutive
days. How far they had traveled and how long they would stay within
a certain radius. I did not set out to be obsessed by the leopard,
but I know in my heart that this is what I am here on earth to do.
I have evolved. I truly believe, that I am indeed, mama chui, the
leopard lady. I am the lionlady, in search
of the Serengeti leopards.
Everything I know about the leopards I've learned from the Serengeti
Leopards. For the last six years I have become obsessed with observing
first hand the leopards of the Serengeti. After seeing my first
leopard in Kenya it became a passion for me to see more. I then
went to Tanzania and fell in love with the Serengeti and particularly
the leopards of the Serengeti. My third safari to Africa I went
directly to the Serengeti in search of as many leopards as possible.
I saw none. Again my desire to find the elusive leopard was still
deep with in my soul. On my next safari I was rewarded for my diligence
and perseverance as I saw 18 leopards and as many as five different
leopards in one day. The next year I saw leopard's daily,
several in a single day and a total of 66 leopard sightings in 30
days. I thought that my desire to be amongst the leopards
would have been satiated by now but my desire has only increased.
I have more questions than answers and I need to observe more leopards
to get the answers to those all-important questions.
Leopards are one of the predators of the Serengeti. There are researchers
studying the cheetah, the lions, and the hyena, which are also predators,
but no one is studying the leopard. I've been told that they are
too elusive, hard to find and follow and take more time than anyone
has been interested in committing so far. That is where I fill a
special niche.
So how does one know if leopards should be researched?
How do we know how many there are?
How do we know if they are threatened or endangered?
If we don't have the answers to those questions then how do we know
if they need to be protected?
I know we need to protect them as their
natural habitat is shrinking and poachers continue to poach. Those
two facts alone should lead us down the path of finding out as much
as possible about the leopards. Once we have the research then we
can apply it to various habitats and areas and determine our future
course. We then can make sure that the leopards will always be recognized
as an important part of the Serengeti Eco system and that they will
not allowed to become threatened or potentially endangered, due
to lack of information or research.
The study of predators is essential, as they are an indicator species.
They tell us how other species are faring in this world and show
us what is happening within those species. Other species survival
is dependent upon these indicator species. As with the lions of
the Serengeti, and the canine distemper that killed, 1000, 1/3 of
those lions in the years 1994 -1997. Had we not been studying and
researching them, we would not have known this information and have
access to it. This could be extremely critical, as the total lion
population could virtually have been decimated. As it was, we helped
to save then lions from being wiped out of the Serengeti. Today
Masai Missy is the sole survivor of her pride. She has successfully
raised a female cub to sexual maturity and now her pride is on the
upward climb back into survival. She has passed important and life
saving anti bodies along her genetic pool so her offspring will
not fall and die if another case of distemper should happen in the
Serengeti.
A similar event could happen a to the leopards of the Serengeti
and we would not even know. Imagine waking up one day and all of
the leopards are gone forever from the Serengeti. What impact would
that have?
Not necessarily a direct impact in the world initially, but it
could be devastating to the economic stability of Tanzania and the
Tanzania National Parks, specifically the Serengeti National Park.
Tourism is a major contributor to the economics of Tanzania and
the Serengeti is their largest draw. The elusive leopard is considered
a valuable asset to the success of the safari tourist and a leopard
sighting is considered the cream of the crop and the ultimate success
of the safari. References and referrals are extremely important
and a valuable resource to safari tourism. It is critical to the
continued survival of and ongoing growth of the safari tourism industry
to learn, study and protect the leopards. We do study the other
predators that may be less interesting and less valuable, i.e. hyena,
to the tourism industry and the overall economy of the Tanzania
National Parks and the economy of Tanzania. While I have many of
the answers there is still so much more to learn. Only
by learning can we pass along valuable information for others to
learn from.
I recognize that I must give back some of what I’ve received.
I am committed and recognize my responsibility, to show and share
the images of these wonderful animals before I can return to take
more photographs. I love to be in the bush with the leopards. It
is where I feel most alive. It’s where I come alive.
But I cannot continue to feed the fire of my passion without sharing
and exposing others to the beauty of these animals so they can see
and appreciate God’s creation. And maybe, just maybe, they
will be overcome with a desire, to help to save them. I would love
to believe, that I could help to save the leopards of the Serengeti
before they need to be saved. Before it is to late. Before the leopard
is threatened, endangered, extinct.
I would love to believe, that we would learn, all we can, to protect
and cherish the leopard and it’s being as part of the total
universe before it is too late. I would love to believe, that we
as humans, have grown in our wisdom, to see and to do something,
before time is critical. Before, we are only a few years away from
being in dire straights to do something in order to save the entire
species from extinction.
When Jane first went to Gombe the chimps and their habitat were
not threatened. Who would have known? Who could have known? What,
if anything, have we learned from Dr Jane Goodall? I would love
to believe that she has taught us many things through her passion
and her persistence. Can we help to save a species and learn from
studying them, before; they are on the edge of their extinction?
Do they need to become endangered before we recognize their value
and appreciate their existence in our world? We can strive to learn
from our past and to protect our future. We can strive to educate
our present and our future generations We can strive to save the
leopards of the Serengeti and appreciate them as an integral part
to the world as a whole.
So I am asking, for your support, to make sure that the leopards
of the Serengeti never get to that point. I am asking, for you to
share in my passion and care for their well-being. I am asking,
that you share, in recognizing their value as a live
commodity. I am asking, that you share, in wanting all of our children
and grand children, to see and to experience their presence, in
the wild and or in human care. I am asking, that you share, in understanding
that human care is better than nothing at all, and recognize that,
it may be the only way that some people can experience their beauty.
I am asking, for your support by sharing and by caring about what
happens to the leopards of the Serengeti.
The ideal is for each of us is to try daily to live up to our
potential, completing our own mission with the God given gifts,
talents, abilities, desire and passion. All the time looking for
the answer to the following question, "what do I have to give
to help the world and to make it a better place?" The
fire of your soul becomes the light of your path and your answer
to that question.
So, I am asking, for you to do your part, to appreciate
and protect life, and to strive to survive together, and then we
will all share, in contributing, to making the world a better place
and in turn, we will all be, better people.
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