This is Sior. Using the same jaws that have brought down buffalo, she gently carries her tiny cub to safety. You'll notice she only has half a tail - a stark reminder of just how tough it can get sometimes for a mother lioness in the wild.

One of Sior's cubs resting in the shade.

Sior belongs to the Eastern Sector Pride. The collar she's wearing is a VHF collar, which allows our Ecological Monitoring Unit (EMU) to monitor the behaviour and patterns of her pride. It also means that visitors to Ol Pejeta can help the EMU track her down too! Working together with four other lionesses in her pride, Sior has so far successfully raised 11 cubs to sub adulthood. But this didn't come easy. When a dominant male lion is challenged for his pride, the intruder male, if successful, will often kill all his cubs. This is to ensure his own genes will be carried into the next generation. When the Eastern Sector Pride was challenged by a young male a few months ago, this is exactly what he tried to do. Sior ferociously fought him off, desperate to protect her young cubs. Despite his being almost double her body weight, she won. She may have lost her tail, but all her cubs are alive and well, and Sior lives to fight another day.

Sior with her tail still intact.

Sior after her tail was cut off by the aggressive lion.

Photos and information by Christopher Mwaniki and Benard Chira from Ol Pejeta's Ecological Monitoring Unit(EMU)