Lion lights are flashing lights set up around a perimeter facing outwards; which are used to scare away lions. Richard Turere: My invention that made peace with lions
/ref> The lion lights were devised by

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

Richard Turere to prevent night attacks by lions on his family's

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

herd, which was in

Kitengela Kitengela is a municipality in the Kajiado County of Kenya, located 50 Kilometres south of the capital Nairobi, forming part of the greater Metropolitan Area. Kitengela begun as The Kitengela group ranch, made up of 18,292 ha and 214 registered ...

on the unfenced south side of

Nairobi National Park Nairobi National Park is a national park in Kenya that was established in 1946 about south of Nairobi. It is fenced on three sides, whereas the open southern boundary allows migrating wildlife to move between the park and the adjacent Kitengel ...

, in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. These types of attacks often lead to the hunting and killing of the lions, which are endangered. When Richard Turere was 9 he tried kerosene lamps and

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley ...

s but these proved not to work, but he noticed that the lions did not attack when people were present, and he theorised that they were deterred by moving torchlight. Therefore, Turere placed LED lights around the perimeter of his family's cow shed, connected them to vehicle indicator flashers, and powered the system from car batteries charged by a solar panel. The lion attacks ceased and soon neighbours were asking for him to set up similar systems around their farms. The cattle were also calmer because the lights meant that they could see the land around was safe. Based on this invention, Turere won a scholarship to Brookhouse School. Although originally intended for lions, lion lights may also work for other predators such as leopards and

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

References

{{reflist Mammal pest control Inventions Lions Society of Kenya