CONSERVATION PROBLEM

Since 2000, humans have accounted for accounted for 80% of adult lion mortalities and 100% of non-cub lion mortalities, resulting in a total lion population decrease of 43% in the region. Predators account for almost 20% of cattle lost, and such losses can have transgenerational effects on livelihoods. Pastoralism is the primary sustenance activity throughout much of arid and semi-arid Africa. If lions and subsistence pastoralists are unable to coexist, lions will likely continue to disappear.

Human-lion conflict is the number one cause in lion mortality, and such retaliatory killings are an important challenge facing this population.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

• Reduce the amount of lions lost to human-lion conflict by 50%;
• Reduce the amount of livestock lost to lions by 50%;
• Create a group of local representatives in charge of developing policy and employing a responsive and adaptable style of management.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

• Conduct activities aimed at stopping human-lion conflicts, such as informing farmers of lion movements, assisting them in herding cattle to safety and intervening to move lions out of populated areas;
• Obtain better information concerning lion movements by placing collars on lion populations to allow tracking;
• Meet with affected community members and train Lion Rangers in order to empower local people to serve as effective community scouts for lions on communal land.

This project is a part of the IUCN SOS African Wildlife initiative, which is funded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DG Devco) through its B4Life initiative.