Page 84 - KGR 2020-21 Annual Report

COLLABORATIVE CONSERVATION

MITIGATING HUMAN LION CONFLICT
In May 2020, 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.
Coming into community areas, not only put the lion into a dangerous situation where he could be killed for potentially
eating valuable cattle, but it also placed humans in the area at risk of running into the predator.

An emergency plan was put into action through a collaboration with the National Administration for the Conservation
Areas (ANAC), Saving the Survivors (STS) and Karingani. The lion was darted in the communities and brought to the
Karingani predator holding boma to undergo tuberculosis testing and to hold until plans were finalised to move the
male to another reserve 38 days later.
In September 2020, a similar situation of HWC lions in community areas arose again, but with two very aggressive
male lions. Again, through collaborative efforts the two males were relocated to the Karingani holding boma and
then moved to another reserve 34 days after.
Karingani’s predator holding boma is the only secured bomas in Southern Mozambique capable of holding large
predators for a length of time. This has made Karingani a significant partner in mitigating human wildlife conflict with
predators in Mozambique giving the option to act fast and remove the predator from a potentially fatal situation and
hold the animal until plans can be made for relocation sites.

C1 | 81 STRICTLY PRIV ATE AND CONFIDENTIAL