Update SAVE Lions – “Living with Lions

The project, which SAVE is carrying out together with Pro Wildlife, has the goal that no lion should die anymore. In the project area NG32 near the Okavango Delta lions were killed again and again after the big cats had killed cattle or donkeys of small farmers.

Our project leader Keitumetse Ngaka tells us about the high ecological wealth of the NG 32 region. On several research trips, he succeeded in sighting eleven different lions, all of them in good condition. Among them were three adult lionesses with a total of five cubs.

This is not a matter of course, as lion populations have plummeted by over 40% in the last 20 years. So it is important to protect every single lion

To collect valid data on the lion population, lion researcher Keitumetse has photographed each animal with various details such as tactile hair patches or scars. The goal is to continuously collect data, and enter it into a database that other researchers can access.

Although SAVE Lions now has a project office in the village that acts as a point of contact for smallholder farmers and promises immediate assistance, livestock deaths due to predators, unfortunately, continue to occur.

Project leader Keitumtetse Ngaka has held many discussions to get to the bottom of the matter. He has discovered several causes: The crows into which the cattle are driven at night are not consistently predator-proof. In this case (Fig 4), the hyena was able to slip under the fence without any problem.

Cattle are not herded during the day, and some animals get lost and do not enter the kraal in the evening, making them easy prey without protection.

Although several workshops were held with the farmers as part of the project, this shows us that cooperation still needs to be intensified. Perhaps the smallholders need more knowledge of the SAVE Lions project and the knowledge that they will receive help and support in case of conflict. Keitumetse Ngaka and his team will work on this more intensively in the future.