Boy scares off lions with flashy invention

Answer 1

Richard Turere, a 13-year-old located near Nairobi National Park in Kenya, developed an ingenious and low-tech solution he calls "Lion Lights" to keep lions from attacking his family's precious herd of cattle.

Turere was 11 years old when he was charged with protecting his family's cattle but lions would come late at night and attack the herd. After noticing that the lions stayed away when Turere walked around at night with a flashlight, he developed a low-cost solution involving LED lights.

Turere attached LEDs to poles around the cattle area and programmed the lights to flicker intermittently, resembling someone with a flashlight. He hooked them to a switch box and powered them with a solar panel and a car battery.

The family has not lost a single animal to lions since the teen installed his solution. Turere's neighbors have also set up his invention and there are now 75 similar systems installed in the country.

Turere's solution has not only saved cattle, but also the lions from being killed, as well as money.

Turere's work earned him a scholarship at one of Kenya's best schools after he impressed the executive director of the Kenya Land Conservation Trust.

Turere also spoke about his invention at the TED conference in Nairobi, and has been invited to speak this week at TED 2013 in Long Beach, California.