The Lion Prides of Tarangire
14 May 2009
8:22 AM UTC
By Kissui
Posted in:
Heartland, Lions, Maasai Steppe
Comments:
10 Comments »
Some of you had asked about the number of lions in our study area, sorry for the long silence on this – I thought I would wait for the series on human-lion conflict to complete, but it appears that will carry on for a while. As we wait for results on the chemical analysis to determine the type of poison used to target predators, I wanted to introduce you to lion prides that we have followed regularly over the past five years.
Our core lion study area is approximately 2000 sq km, nearly 3/4 of Tarangire Park (Fig 1). An estimated 180-200 lions are in the study area, although we see a declining trend in population size over the past five years. There are three prides to the northern section of the study area namely Altipiano, Wazi and NewWazi pride. Tarangire Hill, River, Boundary Hill and Kuro prides are in the mid section, while to the south there are Silale, New Silale and Old Silale prides. Six lionesses from six different prides have been attached with radio collars (picture 1). The use of radio collars make it possible to observe prides more frequently and improves the quality of information on demography and range use that we collect. We still rely on searching and opportunistic encounters for prides without radio collars.
Fig1 Core lion study area in Tarangire NP
Picture 1 - Collared lioness from Altipiano pride
A typical field day starts early morning 6-7hrs and ends late evening around 1800hrs, usually with a brief mid-day break for a bush lunch. Lion tracking is done using a vehicle (picture 2), and occasionally a light fixed-wing aircraft used for tracking, especially in the wet season when lions move extensively beyond the core study area and cross-country drive becomes difficult (picture 3). The objective on any one day is to observe and collect information from as many prides as possible.
Picture 2 - Lion tracking on the ground using radio telemetry
The age-sex composition of the population shows a fairly equal sex ratio for juveniles (0-2yrs) and sub-adults (2-4yrs), but many more adult females (>4yrs) than adult males (>4yrs), raising a question that is at the heart of the project: are adult males leaving the study area or are they dying faster than females, and in either case, what is the reason?
Picture 3 - Preparing for aerial tracking flight in Tarangire NP
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May 20th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
national geographic did a program on lions years ago. the hostess stated only 10% of the whole lion population in the whole africa was adult male. so do you have the same or similar percentage of adult male from the whole lion population in the tarangire area? let’s not forget, lion hunting is legal and hunters or more like killers do target adult male lions that are in their prime. since grown up males are ousted and do roam widely, they do venture outside the protected areas. and the eager so called hunter and professional hunters who are paid to assist the kill for the hunters, these males are their moving targets! if the males do not venture out of the protected areas, i am sure the killers will bait the males out.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
i was wrong about the 10%. actually it was only 1 % . this is really bad for the lions as a species. prides need their big males and lions need a diverse gene pool. can’t do it without the males from different prides.
May 24th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Kissui, this is a really interesting blog and it is good for us readers to get a better understanding of the composition and location of the study prides. Would you be able to give us a brief overview of the trends you are starting to see so we can get an idea of what you think may be happening. For example, how many >4 year lions are killed by people, how many are killed in the area on hunting concessions, how many from old age or territory/pride battles?
May 26th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Thank you for this information!! It is so good to read these reports from the field. They really “bring home” what your research involves. Would it be possible to also give some information about how many cubs are in each pride? And, do you have any knowledge about whether more male cubs are born than female cubs? And whether prey or lack thereof affects birth rates and/or the sex of new births?
May 27th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
sadly for the lions, leopards and other wildlife because the hunting quotas want up instead of down even though the pressure on wildlife is ever increasing due to human population and development. i know a dead male lion who is in his prime is worth at least tens of thousands; but a living one? it is so colonial as far as hunting safari is concerned.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I would like to know if there is any security for that pride of lions out of Tarangire Park,for example on the land of Emboreeti village and Loiborsireti village.
And if the answer is no,what quick action will play so as to keep them alive?
June 10th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Sauwah,
Thanks for your good observation and comments about the sex ratios of adult males. It is possible for adult male:adult female ratios to vary between different populations. The ratio for Tarangire lions is about one male to ten females, while that of Serengeti NP and Ngorongoro Conservation area is roughly 3-4 females per male. The very low number of adult males may reflect high off-takes from hunting that encircle the national park or greater numbers of males being killed in retaliation for cattle killing (human-lion conflicts).
Tarangire NP is surrounded a several hunting blocks, some of them immediately adjacent the park border. Therefore, the issue of baiting predators closer to the park is a real one.
I agree with you one of the difficult challenges facing large carnivore conservation is of the high rate of habitat loss due to processes associated with human population increases. Ingenious ways needs to be designed to enhance the co-existence between man and large carnivores-and that is one of our major objectives as far resolving the now wide spread human-lion conflicts.
June 15th, 2009 at 7:09 am
In queen elizabeth national park(QENP) in Uganda, we have a similar management problem of lion-cattle keepers conflict I think this study is relevant to our situation. We may in future adapt the techniques you are using to our situation in QENP as well as you findings. declines in QENP lion populations have been opportunistically noted in the recent past but studies are yet to be conducted to ascertain the cause of decline. In respect of this, we request a copy on your study to guide us on how to go undertake similar studies
June 30th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Simon Akwetaireho,
I will be happy to share with you details on different programs we are implementing and the lessons learned thus far. Please send me your email so that I can get in touch with you directly.
July 8th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
having read the blogs by the Lion Guardians and the Predators Aware, faults mostly fall onto the livestock owners instead of the lions. the reasons are firstly the boma is too weak to prevent a big predator to break in. secondly, if cattle are lost in the wild or wonder out of their boma, they are asking to be eaten. thirdly, many livestock owners fall asleep instead of watching their precious livestock while grazing out in the open. lastly, can’t expect a nine year old boy to scare off any lion from its meal. lions in most areas of africa are very afraid of us; and this should make one guarding one’s livestock easier if one does a little more preventive work .