Skip to main content

Taking the Lion’s share – A lion researchers diary

One of the key aims of our lion research and monitoring project in Gonarezhou is to understand the threats our lions face in the landscape. The work is supported by the Lion Recovery Fund and is focused on understanding the population dynamics and social structures of our lion prides in Gonarezhou, track their movements using GPS collars to better understand their use of this landscape and to gain a better understanding of the real threats lions face in and around Gonarezhou. Unfortunately, the lion population in Gonarezhou has been through cycles of boom and bust, and through this work, we hope to be able to understand the drivers of this and support a healthy stable population in the landscape.

While most visitors to the park are on the lookout for any wildlife, the lion research team has a very specific focus. Spending a day with them feels like an intensified safari, the focus being on tracking and locating the sometimes elusive lion prides in Gonarezhou. The current focus of their work is conducting a spatial “mark”-recapture survey to determine the number of lions in GNP. They have driven hundreds of kilometres, scoured the landscape, photographed lions from every angle, created identikits for each individual and documented them in pride catalogues.

Xavier Madzinga, the Lion Research Technician leading the lion research in Gonarezhou, shared an interesting encounter from a few days ago:

“One afternoon, we found one of our collared male lions, Josh, feeding on an eland kill. Despite searching for over three hours, we didn’t see any other lions in the area and assumed he was feeding alone.

Adult male lion feeding on an eland

The next morning, we returned and found Josh with an adult lioness, seemingly mating. After we had taken some identification photos of the female, she left Josh and began stalking buffalo. Josh stayed behind, returning to his kill.

We focused on the female lion who was later joined by another lioness as they gave a half-hearted attempt at hunting the buffalo. After we lost sight of them, we returned to the eland kill to find Josh and were amazed to find five additional lions but no Josh.

It appeared he had been driven away by four younger males and another lion, we suspect a band of boys from the Sililijo group. They were devouring Josh’s kill. We attempted to take ID photos, but the young males were nervous and quickly left.

After tracking them for a short while, they entered a rocky area, prompting us to consider placing a camera trap at the kill site, anticipating their return. While tracking the young males, vultures began devouring the eland. Suddenly, Josh reappeared, chasing away the vultures. He had obviously been observing the goings on from afar, waiting for the young males to leave so he could reclaim his prey. We left him there, feeding and defending the kill from vultures.”

Xavier and the Scientific Services department’s research will deliver key answers to the threats facing our lion population in the landscape and assist us in ensuring a sustainable future for the King of the Beasts in Gonarezhou!

Leave a Reply