| $3 774 RAISED |
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$10 000 GOAL |
About the Maasai Olympics
For centuries the Maasai have practiced a traditional rite of passage to manhood, hunting and killing lions. But now there are too many people and too few lions.
The Maasai Elders of the Amboseli/Chyulu/Tsavo area knew things needed to change and became determined to eliminate lion hunting from the Maasai Culture. As a result of their initiative the first Maasai Olympics was held in 2012 and has become part of the larger conservation strategy and initiative to help to shift the attitudes of the Maasai toward a commitment to wildlife and habitat conservation.
Every two years Maasai men and women gather in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro for the Maasai Olympics; a unique combination of conservation and sport, the event features bouts of athletic endurance, skill, and strategy all with a clear goal in mind… the conservation of lions.
This bi-annual event is the culmination of two years of smaller, regional gatherings where Maasai Warriors compete in athletic events and learn about the value of protecting their environment through conservation education activities. The goal is to celebrate Maasai tradition and encourage conservation at a local level. This is why the Maasai Olympics was created… to celebrate heroes without killing lions. The Maasai Olympics is having a lasting impact on big cat conservation in Kenya.
The annual budget for this series of events and education is $100,000.
Your contribution can help us fund some of the components of the above program.
About Tribe Vs. Pride:
Dereck and Beverly Joubert’s new film Tribe Vs. Pride tells the incredible story of a Maasai community deciding to change one of their culture’s most defining traditions; that of lion hunting. Maasai elders proposed a different form of this rite of passage, one where young men now compete in a different physical test – athletics – and thus the Maasai Olympics was born.
Even more important, conservation education has become blended with sports. Today, the hunt is for medals – not lions. They are trophies of a different kind, but are regarded with the same importance and approval within the communities. Bravery can still be tested and expressed, while the lion, friend and foe of the Maasai, may continue to roam the African savannahs.
Tribe vs. Pride won the Special Jury award at the 2017 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and was selected as a finalist in the 2018 United Nation’s World Wildlife Day and Big Cat Film festival.
ABOUT DERECK & BEVERLY
Dereck and Beverly Joubert are award-winning filmmakers, conservationists, and National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence, who have been filming, researching and exploring Africa for over 30 years.
Through their media company "Wildlife Films", they have made blue chip productions for National Geographic, all of which focus on Africa's wildlife, with strong conservation messages at their core. The Jouberts also co-founded the Big Cats Initiative with National Geographic, as an emergency initiative to slow the rapid decline of big cats around the world.
The Joubert's have received international recognition for their films and conservation work. Such accolades include 8 Emmy's, a Peabody, a Wildscreen Panda & Outstanding Achievement Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award to name but a few.
Yet their greatest rewards have not come in the form of trophies that can sit on their shelves, but in their conservation successes, saving the wildlife they love and the wilderness which has become their home.
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