The Pendjari lion project
Background
Lion populations in Benin have declined from a few thousand in the 18th century to just a few hundred now. Lions inhabiting Pendjari NP regularly kill livestock outside the national park leading to retaliatory lion killings by the local people. It is not known whether livestock is habitually killed by specific lions, or whether livestock is occasionally killed by several lions. The project aims to 1) raise awareness among the local people, and 2) analyze movement patterns of lions in the Pendjari ecosystem, so that adequate measures can be taken to mitigate loss of livestock due to lion predation.Project area
Pendjari Biosphere Reserve covers 4,711 km². Pendjari Biosphere Reserve consists of Pendjari National Park, strictly protected, covering 2,660 km² and Pendjari hunting zone (1,800 km²) and Konkombri hunting zone (251 km²), where safari hunting is allowed during dry season. The park is surrounded by agricultural areas owned by local communities.
During the wet season the wild herbivores are dispersed throughout the region. During the dry season the animals concentrate in the park, where they find permanent water points. Lions inhabiting Pendjari NP regularly kill livestock outside the national park, leading to retaliatory lion killings by the local people. It is not known whether livestock is habitually killed by specific lions, or occasionally killed by several lions.
Objectives
Objectives of this project:- Monitoring of large carnivore populations (size, movements, threats)
- Introduction of best practices to safari hunting
- Improvement of law enforcement
- Mitigation of lion livestock conflict
Approach
This project covers case studies for conflict mitigation and the monitoring of GPS collared lions.
Within the framework of conflict mitigation, local communities will be assisted with the construction of small boma's in which they can keep their livestock at night.
In addition in May 2008 two lions have been collared with GPS collars and their movements will be followed during two years time by a Beninese PhD researcher.