Grants made to the Desert Lion Project by the Predator Conservation Trust
Progress reports: 2003 - 2004 progress reports , 2005 progress reports
The Desert Lion Project is based in Namibia. The project was started by Dr Flip Stander and for several years was run jointly by Lise Hanssen and Flip Stander under the Predator Conservation Trust name, before it was renamed the Desert Lion Project. Lise has subsequently parted company with the Desert Lion Project, while remaining involved with Predator Conservation Trust in the UK.
Namibia is known, world-wide, for its unique scenery and wildlife. National Geographic films depict desert-adapted elephants and lions surviving in the most inhospitable and breathtaking environments. These are national assets that need to be protected and managed wisely to the optimum benefit of the Namibian people.
In the Skeleton Coast Park, Namibia, a small and isolated population of lions survives in extreme desert conditions. These lions exhibit unique adaptation to their environment and live in a harsh habitat of gravel plains and basalt mountains.
These desert-adapted lions exhibit unique behaviour and habits, observed nowhere else in Africa. Yet, occasionally they move into areas of livestock farming where they may prey on cattle and donkeys. They are then shot or poisoned by the local people in protection of the livestock. Local communities are taking charge of the management and utilisation of wildlife resources by forming communal conservancies. If local conservancies can receive direct financial benefits from lions through organised and controlled eco-tourism then occasional livestock losses could arguably be tolerated.
This project, “Conserving Namibia’s desert lions through eco-tourism” will, firstly, collect baseline data on the ecology of the lion population, and secondly, collaborate with local communal conservancies in developing specialised “lion photographic safaris” as a form of non-consumptive utilisation. The communal conservancies will then be in a position to implement photographic safaris to generate direct benefits from the uniquely adapted lions that live in the local area.
The key aims of the project are
Intensive research into the ecology of this lion population was initiated in mid 1999. All adult and sub-adult lions are captured and marked with radio collars. Marked lions are radio-tracked twice per month with the use of a light aircraft, as the only effective method in the inhospitable terrain. Aerial tracking is followed by ground observations to record habitat preferences, movements and basic behaviour ecology. During the first 12 months lions were located on 344 occasions and we learnt that their movements and grouping patterns are predictable. They remain in sub-groups of between 4 and 10 lions for extended periods and spend most of their time in riverbeds (49%) and at springs (18%). Even though home ranges are large (720 – 3535 km2) they concentrate their movements in small areas, especially around springs and dry riverbeds, moving from one concentration area to another. Experiments are being designed to develop and test the reliability of finding and observing lions in the unique habitat by the local conservancies, without the use of specialised techniques, such as an aircraft. These experiments will be directed at developing a protocol for the implementation of organised photographic safaris. A sound understanding of the habits and behaviour of the lions, acquired through the intensive research project, will enable us to develop cost-effective procedures for locating and viewing lions by predicting movements and habitat preferences.
The success of this project depends on a) sound knowledge of the behaviour ecology of the lions, acquired through intensive and specialised research, b) a well developed and tested tourism package that is based on cost-effective, practical and reliable techniques, and c) extensive involvement and training of the local communal conservancies, where they will retain ownership over the tourism activities and derive direct benefits.
In November 2003, the Trustees of the Predator Conservation Trust were pleased to make their first grant to the Desert Lion project in Namibia. The grant was for the purchase of Zoletil (a veterinary drug used to dart lions and other large carnivores) and for the cost of refurbishing ten radio collars which were life expired, so they could be reused ( a considerably cheaper option than purchasing new collars) and totalled almost £2,200.
The Desert lion project operates in difficult terrain and in an isolated area and requires a central and secure base-camp from which to operate. The base forms the lifeline of the study, by providing safe storage and accessibility to research equipment, operational supplies (e.g. petrol, Avgas, spares), water, and food. The study area is covered systematically with excursions to locate and observe lions. These excursions last anything from 2-7 days, supplemented by occasional visits to the base-camp to restock on supplies. The base-camp also acts as a field “laboratory” where data are processed, and where blood and genetic samples can be frozen.
The current base-camp, the Kunene Lion Camp, has served the project well for over four years, but the extreme weather has taken its toll. The camp is in need of extensive renovations. However, its’ location has become unsuitable, due to the growth and expansion of the lion population during the past two years. It is therefore planned that a new base-camp will be built.
A new location has been identified at Wereldsend which is central to the current lion distribution and the predicted expansion. The security at the Kunene Lion Camp has also come into question, after it was burgled in 2004. Large quantities of supplies and most of the research equipment was stolen. The new base will provide better security.
In late December 2004, a proposal was submitted to the Predator Conservation Trust for the funds to build the new base camp. The proposal included costs for the following:-
The total funding required was just over £6000 (over 11,000 US Dollars)
The Trustees of Predator Conservation Trust were happy to be able to approve the grant application and to fund the entire amount. This means we are able to make our largest single grant to date. We would like to thank all our supporters for their generosity which has made this possible.
Read more about the base camp grant and the camp itself.
Namibia is located to the North-West of South Africa, and was formerly known as South West Africa. Namibia is a very dry country, with large areas of desert or semi-desert, but despite this Namibia supports a wide variety of animal life, including the famous desert elephants, the only free ranging population of Black Rhino (everywhere else in the world, Black Rhino are only found inside protected areas such as national parks), as well as the largest population of Cheetah remaining in the world. Namibia is also home to Lion, Leopard, Caracal, Brown Hyena, Spotted Hyena, African Wild Cats, as well as lots of other animal species e.g. Zebra, Giraffe, Springbok, Wildebeest, and much more.
Namibia is one of the few African countries to support six species of large carnivores - Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Spotted Hyena, Brown Hyena and Wild Dogs are all found wild in Namibia.
For further information on the Desert lion project, you can visit their website
© Predator Conservation Trust.
