Lion Research in the Maasai Steppe

African lions and their continued survival are among today’s major international conservation issues. Scientists believe lion populations have declined from a high of 100,000 two decades ago to just 23,000 today. With intimate knowledge of the Maasai Steppe Heartland and its carnivores, AWF is overseeing extensive lion research, under the guidance of Bernard Kissui. This research project focuses on the demography of lions and human-lion conflicts in and around Tarangire National Park.

The Maasai Steppe in Northern Tanzania is one of East Africa’s most important ecosystems, with large numbers of migratory ungulates, elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyenas, and wild dogs. It is a complex social-ecological system with high levels of interactions between wildlife and humans. The average human population growth in the Maasai Steppe has been four to eight percent each year since 1988.

Most wildlife, including lions, migrate seasonally between national parks and dispersal areas on communal village lands - where lions are subject to retaliatory killing by pastoralists due to livestock predation. Tarangire and Manyara National Park are the core protected areas in the Maasai Steppe, which provide the migratory herbivores with much needed refuges during the dry season. The Maasai Steppe contains the second largest lion population in Tanzania’s northern tourist circuit, but the two core protected areas only cover about ten percent of the entire ecosystem. Outside of the parks, lions must navigate through ever more people and livestock.

Since 2003, the Tarangire Lion Research Project has been monitoring lions within a 2,000 square kilometer area based on individual recognition. Lions are individually identified based on natural markings (specifically whisker spots, and acquired marks such as ear notches, broken teeth, or kinky tails). The number of lions is estimated to be between 150 to 200 individuals living among ten prides. The project team has been able to attach a radio collar to six lions from each of the prides. The use of radio collars in lion population monitoring is important as it provides information on lion population trends, mortality, and recruitment rates. It also makes it possible to identify critical habitat for lions within the larger ecosystem. Additionally, radio telemetry has been crucial to understanding seasonal movement patterns, and the extent of human-lion conflicts in the Maasai Steppe.

Predator proof bomas:

The Tarangire Lion Project is working in twelve villages to research the human-lion conflicts in Monduli, Babati and Simanjiro Districts. These villages include Olasiti, Kakoi, Minjingu, Oltukai, Mswakini, Esilalei, Selela, Engaruka, Loiborsiret, Emboreet, Loiborsoit and Lolksale. These clashes often inflict losses on both lions and pastoralist families. Over the past six years pastoralist families have lost more than 500 herds of livestock including cattle, goat, sheep and donkeys due to predation by lions, while more than 226 lions have been killed in retaliation for livestock predation. The retaliatory killing of lions by pastoralists is a serious threat to lion conservation in Maasai Steppe. The lion project is working with communities to implement measures that reduce conflict, and benefit both lions and people.

Involving pastoralist communities is critical to the success of any lion conservation initiative. Because retaliation is the primary motivation for killing lions, one strategy for reducing human-lion conflicts is to improve livestock security by reinforcing the enclosures where livestock are kept at night (called bomas) with chain-link fencing. This method of making bomas predator proof can be expensive for pastoralist families, so AWF supports them through a cost sharing program.

This program has been highly effective, and has enabled 105 families to reinforce their bomas with chain-link fences, and protect their livestock. AWF monitors each reinforced boma on a monthly basis to ensure its effectiveness in deterring predators like lions. Pastoral communities that are currently using the chain-link fences rate them positively, and many more households are interested in adopting this technique to improve livestock security.

The project team has also recruited an enumerator in all the villages to assist with collecting livestock predation data. With a better understanding of the nature and type of lion-human conflict, conservation efforts can be made more focused and effective.

The role of husbandry for livestock predation and security:

Since human-lion conflicts are a major threat to lion conservation, due to the retaliatory killing of the lions, the lion project is implementing a study to understand how pastoral communities can use livestock husbandry techniques to reduce the conflicts.

Husbandry techniques that are being assessed include those that are used to protect livestock in homesteads, such as the type of enclosure and the use of domestic dogs. Other techniques that are being assessed include the challenges that livestock herders face in grazing fields, which put livestock at a greater risk.

Preliminary data suggests that the bomas reinforced with chain-link fences are more effective against livestock predation than traditional bomas made of thorn bushes. Herders grazing their livestock in groups were found to be more effective for livestock protection in grazing fields than any other strategy. Yet, herding challenges that exposed livestock to predation included the seasonal nomadic lifestyle and long-distance travel by pastoral communities. Pastoral communities in the area are willing to continue to improve their livestock security through the use of chain-link fences and insurance schemes for livestock predation.

Findings from this study will provide a basis for understanding the consequences of human-lion interactions for people and lions. The information will also be useful in assessing possibilities for alternative management strategies to determine the best use of dispersal areas around the park. With a better understanding of the nature and type of lion-human conflict, conservation efforts can be made more focused and effective.