In order to develop successful lion conservation strategies, LWL are carrying out ecological and behavioural research on the local lions by monitoring their movements, and the effect of human activities on them.

By monitoring the lions and conducting interviews with local livestock owners they are gathering information on different aspects of lion biology, population ecology and behaviour. With this information they will be able to develop biologically sound strategies for the management and conservation of lions.

Because lions outside National Parks have been subjected to persecution, they are very cautious of humans and vehicles, and in order to gain any information from them it is essential to use radio telemetry equipment to track collared animals.

The lions are tracked weekly from the air to record information on their locations and home ranges, and the resulting data is analysed in relation to human land use and concentrations of wild herbivores and livestock.

The lions are also regularly tracked from the ground using a hand-held receiver connected to a directional antenna to gather information on their social structure, reproduction, mortality rates, causes of mortality and feeding ecology.

The researchers are hoping to get funding for more GPS collars, which provide data on the position of the collared lion at hourly intervals. So far seven GPS collars have been deployed by LPP, and three by KLCP. The information on the KLCP lions' locations and movements can be viewed online via an exciting new lion-tracking website.

This information enables the projects to carry out more detailed research on the lions, which is invaluable, as so much is still unknown about their movements and behaviour.

For more information on the different types of collars used have a look at the lion collars page.