Episode 4 · Richard Turere, age 13 — Kitengela, Kenya
The Kid Who Outsmarted Lions
He loved his family's cows — and hated what came looking for them after dark. Then he had an idea nobody saw coming.
18 min listen · ages 8-10
The Kid Who Outsmarted Lions
Summary
Richard Turere was nine when he was handed responsibility for his family's cattle on the edge of Nairobi National Park. Lions were taking up to three cows a week, and herders were killing lions in return. Fire didn't work. A scarecrow didn't work. Then Richard noticed something about a moving flashlight beam — and invented Lion Lights.
The Story
In Maasai families, cattle are not just animals. They are savings, food, status and safety all at once. When Richard was nine, the cows became his job — and the thorn-branch boma that held them at night became his problem.
Nairobi National Park has no fence along its southern edge, so lions wander straight out into grazing land. Richard's family was losing as many as three cows a week. Herders across the region answered the only way they felt they could, and Kenya's lion population fell from roughly 15,000 to around 2,500.
Richard tried fire. The lions learned it stayed in one spot. He built a scarecrow. It worked for exactly one night, and then the lions worked out it never moved.
Then one evening he walked the boma with a flashlight — and no lion came near. It wasn't the light. It was the fact that the light was *moving*. To a lion, a moving beam means a human is awake and walking.
Using parts from junkyards, an old car battery, his mother's solar panel, an indicator box from a motorbike and bulbs he wired himself, Richard built a ring of lights that blinked around the enclosure all night. The lions stopped coming.
Lion Lights spread from his boma to his neighbours, then across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and beyond. Richard won a scholarship, spoke at TED at 13 on his first-ever airplane flight, became one of Kenya's youngest patent holders, and studied engineering — all from a problem he had to solve because nobody else was going to.
Timeline
Age 9
Takes over responsibility for the family's cattle.
Nights after
Lions raid the boma; fire and a scarecrow both fail.
The discovery
A moving flashlight beam keeps lions away — motion is the trick.
The build
Solar panel, car battery, motorbike indicator box and salvaged bulbs.
Feb 2013
Speaks at TED2013, aged 13, after his first flight on an airplane.
Since
Lion Lights adopted across Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia and further.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Watch the problem closely before you try to fix it — the answer was in what the lions noticed.
- ✓You don't need expensive parts. You need the right idea and a junkyard.
- ✓The best solutions help both sides: the cows lived, and so did the lions.
Fun Facts
Photos & Field Notes
Sources
TED — Richard Turere, "My invention that made peace with lions" (TED2013)
Primary source: the lion attacks, the fire experiment, the scarecrow, the flashlight discovery, building Lion Lights, his grandmother and his first flight.
CNN — "Boy scares off lions with flashy invention" (Feb 26, 2013)
Richard on growing up hating lions; Kitengela setting; Paula Kahumbu discovering him; scholarship and recognition.
WIPO Magazine — "Lion Lights: Shedding Light on Wildlife Protection in Africa" (Aug 3, 2023)
Taking on the cattle at nine, lions killing up to three cows a week, and the moving-light deception.
TED Blog — "4 unexpected lion stories" (Mar 27, 2013)
How the moving lights fooled lions and the materials used in the original system.
TED Speaker Biography — Richard Turere
Repairing household electronics as a child, teaching himself engineering, salvaging parts from junkyards.
Tuko.co.ke (July 2023)
Expanded account of the flashlight discovery and adoption across Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and Namibia.
Business Daily Africa — Top 40 Under 40 profile
African Leadership University studies, youngest Kenyan patent holder, expansion to six countries and Argentina.
Tilbury House — Lion Lights: My Invention That Made Peace with Lions (Turere & Pollock)
The acacia-thorn boma, prototype cost, awards, and Richard's later education.
Ewaso Lions — "Lion Lights: A Young Kenyan's Invention May Save Lions"
Independent confirmation that Lion Lights reduce livestock losses and retaliation.
UN Africa Renewal — "Africa Wired"
Why cattle are central to wealth and livelihood in Maasai communities.
Kenya Wildlife Service / Nairobi National Park
The unfenced southern boundary and lion movement into neighbouring grazing lands.
Transcript
HostIt's dark in Kitengela, and something is moving along the thorn fence.
HostRichard is eleven years old, and the cows are his responsibility now.
RichardI grew up hating lions.
HostFire didn't work. A scarecrow worked for one night. And then he picked up a flashlight...
Full transcript continues in the show notes.
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