Kenyan Boy's Invention Scares Off Lions

Kenyan boy Richard Turere (13 years old) faced a serious problem: Hungry lions were attacking his family’s precious herd of cattle. So the inventive boy came up with an ingenious, low-tech solution to keep them away.

Two years ag Turere, was charged with protecting his family’s cows, sheep and goats. He noticed that the lions stayed away when he moved around at night with a flashlight.

Several weeks later Turere came up with a low-cost solution that came to be known as “Lion Lights.” He attached LEDs to poles around the animals’ area and faced them outward. The young inventor programmed the lights to flicker intermittently, resembling a human with a flashlight. He hooked them to a switch box and powered them with a solar panel and an old car battery.

Since the boy set up the Lion Lights, his family has not lost a single animal to lions, CNN reported. His invention spread and the boy helped his neighbors install the invention for protection of their heards of cattle. So far 75 similar systems have been set up in the country.

The boy's work impressed Kenya Land Conservation Trust executive director and her colleagues, who helped him get a scholarship at one of the country’s best schools. Last year he was also featured in a video entitled “My invention that outsmarted lions” , spoke at the TED conference in Nairobi, and has been invited to speak this week at TED 2013 in Long Beach, California.


This invention frustrated the Kenya's Lions's community.

(News from February 26th, 2013)