Lumo Community Wildlife Sanctuary, also called Lumo Conservancy, is made up of Luleenyi, Mramba, and Oza. It is located between Tsavo East, Tsavo West, and Taita Hills Game Sanctuary in Taita Taveta County, Kenya. The conservancy is about 220 kilometers from Mombasa and covers 41,613 hectares (657 square kilometers).
Lumo links Tanzania’s Taita Ranches and Mkomazi Game Reserve to Tsavo East and Tsavo West. This connection forms an important wildlife movement corridor for animals moving between Kenya and Tanzania.
It is one of the oldest conservancies in the Tsavo Conservation Area and is known for being a major lion breeding ground and an old migration route for elephants.
Membership in Lumo is open only to people from the Taita ethnic community. The conservancy is managed by a Board of Trustees with nine members.
Other staff include a manager, an accounts clerk, and well-trained game scouts. The scouts receive professional training from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) at Manyani Field Training School.
The conservancy is home to more than 350 species of birds and 61 species of large mammals. The land is mostly open savannah with beautiful views. From Lion Bluff Lodge, visitors can see Mount Kilimanjaro and Tanzania’s Pare Mountains on a clear day.
Lumo plays a big role in supporting the local community. It creates jobs, offers bursaries for education, helps improve infrastructure, and supports better health and school facilities.
Tourism income from the conservancy directly benefits the people living in the area.
The first development of Lumo was funded with help from two main contributors. The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) was a key partner and helped complete the construction of Lions Bluff Lodge, which now serves as a major tourist attraction and source of income.
Wildlife in Lumo includes lesser kudu, dik-dik, Cape buffalo, elephants, leopards, Masai lions, Masai giraffes, zebras, hartebeests, impalas, waterbucks, and Thomson’s gazelles.
Smaller mammals and many bird species can also be seen during game drives, nature walks, and birdwatching activities in the conservancy.
