Our lion projects in East Africa concern Amboseli NP, Nairobi NP, Lake Nakuru NP and Meru NP. All in Kenya. Since 2000, lion populations in Kenya have decreased from 2,700 to less than 2,000 lions now. Mainly due to habitat loss and conflict with people and their livestock. There are indications that this decline has been halted, partly due to our contribution.
Project in Amboseli
Amboseli NP covers 392 km2 and forms part of the Amboseli ecosystem (3,000 km2). The park is surrounded by group ranches owned by local Maasai communities. During the wet season, wild herbivores disperse throughout much of the Amboseli ecosystem, while in the dry season animals concentrate in the park as it has permanent springs originating from melt water from nearby Mt. Kilimanjaro. In the dry season Maasai are allowed to enter the park with their livestock for access to water. Consequently, lions are confronted with livestock both inside and outside the park, in addition to their natural prey species. Between 2001 and 2006 retaliatory killing of lions increased from 21 to 44 lions in the Amboseli area. Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) initiated the ‘Amboseli Lion Project’ to gain insight if livestock was habitually killed by the same lions, or occassionally killed by several lions.
Project in Nairobi
Nairobi NP (117 km2) is south of the Athi-Kaputiei plains and is situated in the urban area of Nairobi. The park protects just about 5% of the Athi-Kaputiei ecoysteem, but is fundamental for herbivores during the dry season owing to the abundant richness of water. The grassland is enriched by soil containing ‘phonolithic’ lava, which provides high quality forage. This excellent grazing territory explains the large occurrence of large mammals, but attracts also pastoralists. Human-lion conflicts occur increasingly with the urban community. KWS has reports on lions attacking giraffes in a captive-breeding facility, lions crossing through the protective fences and lions threatening domestic dogs in urban environments. The latest estimates show that around 35 lions remain in Nairobi NP. Since the beginning of the ‘Nairobi Lion Project’ (in 2012) no lions have been killed by pastoralists in the surroundings of the park.
Lake Nakuru lion project, Kenya
Lake Nakuru National Park (NP) is located in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley region. The park is completely fenced, and covers an area of 190 km2 (of which up to about 40 km2 by the lake itself). African buffalo occur at relatively high densities in this national park, and their numbers have increased over the past decades. Although providing a stable food source for lions, large buffalo herd sizes present a high risk for lions during their hunts due to potential counter-attacks. The Soysambu Conservancy, which includes a commercial cattle farm and is bordering the park, also creates a substantial risk for lions escaping the national park. Such lions have shown to occasionally target the cattle on the farm, thus creating human-carnivore conflicts. Leo Foundation has signed an agreement with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Soysambu Conservancy as well as with Savannah Tracking Ltd for a lion conservation project in and around Nakuru NP. Our project mainly aims at assessing the status and diet of this lion population, in relation to the presence of African buffalo and livestock.
Meru lion project, Kenya
Meru National Park was established as a game reserve in 1957 by the Meru County Council and gazetted as a National Park in 1967. It covers an area of approximately 884 km2. This national park is situated in a relatively remote area, with no large villages or urban centres close by. The Boran and Somali ethnic groups, however, have historically used this area as grazing grounds for their livestock. Especially during dry periods, when water and food sources for livestock outside the national park become scarce, conflicts between humans and wildlife are a major concern. As the park is not completely fenced, the challenges related to livestock entering the park illegally (or lions and spotted hyenas leaving the park) are significant. Leo Foundation is working with KWS and Born Free Foundation to tackle these issues, by assessing the financial damage caused by lions to nomadic livestock owners, and defining movement patterns of the local lion population.
