News

One less lion in Zambia – 230 or so left?

Recently, the Zambian Carnivore Programme published their 2013 Annual Report .

Included in their information was their estimate of lion populations in three areas of Zambia – Luangwa, Kafue and Liuwa Plains. Respectively, they estimated 141, 56 and perhaps 5 lions. There was no estimate for lion numbers in the Lower Zambezi area, but I’ll come back to that.

There have been a diversity of lion estimates in Zambia over the years. In 2006, the IUCN arranged a meeting in Johannesburg for southern and eastern African lion range states. Delegates at that meeting mentioned estimates of 750 lions in the Luangwa area, 500 lions in Kafue, and <50 lions in Liuwa. In the lower Zambezi area they estimated about 250-500 lions.

One of the reasons for the IUCN meeting was to encourage lion range states to formulate conservation management plans for their lion populations.

Zambia put together a report in 2009, but this has yet to be signed off by the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA).

In June 2013 we were invited to make a presentation to the ZAWA Board by former Minister of Tourism and Arts Sylvia Masebo. We asked the Board to justify their lion estimates, which to date they have not. This information is now even less likely to be forthcoming as that Board has since been fired.

ZAWA estimated 2123 lions in Luangwa, 1334 lions in Kafue, and 238 lions in the Lower Zambezi. Tourism operators in the Lower Zambezi told us in 2013 that there were only 35 lions known to them in that area at the time.

Sylvia Masebo placed a moratorium on trophy hunting in Zambia in January 2013, citing irregularities in the tenders for hunting concessions and concerns about remaining wildlife numbers. Her successor, Jean Kapata, recently reinstated some trophy hunting in Zambia, but kept lions off the menu until proper population surveys could be undertaken.

LionAid would suggest that Minister Kapata takes a hard look at the figures published by the ZCP.

Overall, these numbers suggest that Luangwa and Kafue contain perhaps 197 lions, and our information suggests that the Lower Zambezi contains perhaps 35 lions. The total for those three main lion conservation areas would therefore add up to 230 or so lions in Zambia.

This is a far cry from ZAWA’s 2009 estimate of almost 3700 lions in those same three areas. And also a far cry from the IUCN number of 1750 lions.

So where have all the lions gone? Zambian wildlife areas are heavily poached for bushmeat and lions are killed by trophy hunters – and farmers and ZAWA as “problem animals”.

Trophy hunting of a declining population of lions should not be given an inch of consideration by ZAWA and Minister Kapata in the future. Zambians will be greatly distressed that there are perhaps only 230 lions remaining in their country. They should not be sold to foreign trophy hunters again regardless of pressure from parties with vested interests.

Picture credit:  http://thetim.es/1nCn0P6 

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