Page 24 - KGR 2020 Review Book

Dr Joao preparing the anesthetic dart Wildlife veterinarians monitoring the sleeping lion while making preparations for his big move
June 2020 June 2020

MITIGATING HUMAN WILDLIFE CONFLICT

When living at Karingani Game Reserve in Mozambique a routine evening can
quickly turn into a life-saving adventure, even in the midst of the COVID-19
lockdown. This is exactly what happened on Monday, 11 May when a young
male lion, estimated to be around three years of age, was reported roaming
the Incomati River area east of the Komatipoort Border, putting himself into a
potentially extremely dangerous situation.
When male lions reach maturity, they leave their natal prides and disperse
out as an evolutionary mechanism to ensure genetic diversity. Nomadic male
lions may disperse over vast distances, sometimes of over 150 km. However,
lion habitat across Africa is becoming more and more fragmented with human
encroachment of what was once wild lion habitat. These natural dispersal
movements may take lions not just across protected areas, but also occasionally
through community and private lands putting them into areas where livestock
are more prevalent than natural prey. Predating on livestock leads to human-
lion conflict, where often the lion is killed in retaliation.
The lion was removed from a potentially dangerous situation for both himself and communities
June 2020