Lion Good News

Thought it was time for some good Lion news

Lions released into the wild in Rwanda

news/Lioness_being_released_into_the_wild
The first lioness to poke her nose out of the boma
   
While the news for lions in Zimbabwe this week was not good, in another part of Africa there was a good news story.

African Parks, in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board, has released seven translocated lions into Akagera National Park.

The five females, from &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve, and two males, from Tembe Elephant Park, both in the South African province of KwaZulu Natal, were brought to Rwanda at the end of June in a ground-breaking conservation effort for the country, reported by Wildlife Extra.

On the day of release the gates of the quarantine boma were opened to allow the lions to exit their temporary enclosure. A waterbuck carcass was placed outside the gates to encourage them to step out into their new home.

The first female poked her nose out of the gates within a few minutes, closely followed by three other females, who looked around curiously for a while, unconvinced about their new found freedom, before the lure of the carcass proved too great.

The youngest lioness was last of the females to emerge and nervously kept her distance in nearby bushes. The two males were much more cautious and did not emerge from the boma while the park and press vehicles were there.

These are the first lions to roam Akagera National Park, and Rwanda, for almost 15 years and tourists will now have the opportunity to see the lions in the wilderness, as previously viewing was restricted to park personnel who had been monitoring the lions in the boma.

The time in quarantine has allowed the lions to adjust to their new surroundings, bond with each other, and recover from what was likely the longest wild lion translocation in conservation history, taking over 45 hours.

The lions have come from different prides; among the females are a 10-year-old mother and her one-year-old daughter, a single five-year-old female and two three-year-old sisters. The males are three and four years old and are unrelated.

The lions have been fed every two-to-three days, mainly on impala carcasses, but will now hunt for their own food.

All seven animals are fitted with satellite collars, which will allow the park management to track their movements following their release, and see whether they stay together as a pride or split up as they explore their new surroundings.

The seven lions will be given names, for ease of reference for the park management. The Bralirwa brand, Turbo King, generously supported the translocation which earned them the privilege of naming the two males.

Other key donors and stakeholders have been given the honour of naming the female lions, to be announced in the coming days.

African Parks and the Rwanda Development Board are very grateful to our sponsors for their kind contribution to this conservation milestone for Rwanda.

WS

some good news, thanks for that WS. Let's hope for positive updates from Rwanda.

Thanks for sharing.

Lai

That is fantastic news WS, it's great to hear something positive regarding Lions. It sounds as though they have put together a nice pride there and fingers crossed they all do well and as Lai says, lets hope we get some regular updates on them all.....I'm interested to know what their names will. 45 hrs was a massive translocation time wasn't it but it sounds as though it has all been worth it.
Thanks for the good news WS

littlewid-x-

Angola signs historic agreement to protect its lions
news/male-african-lion
The African lion has been awarded new protection in Angola with the signing of a significant conservation agreement between the government of Angola and Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organisation.

Angola’s Minister of the Environment, Fátima Jardim, presided over the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Panthera’s Senior Lion Program Director, Dr Paul Funston, and the Director General of the Angolan Ministry of the Environment’s National Institute of Biodiversity and Conservation Areas, Dr Helidoro Abambres.

Through this agreement, both parties have committed to collaboratively undertake conservation initiatives to map the presence of lions in Angola and assess the size and condition of the country’s existing lion populations.

“This is a huge milestone for the lions of Angola,” says Dr Funston. “The KAZA (Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area) region is home to one of Africa’s largest lion populations and is therefore crucial in our work to save the lion.

"This MOU signifies a new beginning for conservation in Angola and a significant step forward in Panthera’s ongoing work in KAZA.”

Supported by the Angolan Ministry of Environment, Panthera will begin by conducting a comprehensive lion population survey in the 84,000 sq km of the KAZA in southeast Angola, and implementing conservation training for local scientists.

Stretching across Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Botswana, KAZA comprises the largest transboundary conservation region in the world.

Nearly a century ago, as many as 200,000 lions roamed Africa; today surveys estimate that approximately 20,000 remain across the entire continent.

Highly threatened by conflict with local people, poaching for the illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss and fragmentation and the illegal bushmeat trade, lions are precariously teetering on the brink of extinction.

Through Project Leonardo, Panthera aims to bring lion populations back to a minimum of 30,000 lions by mitigating these threats.

WS

Angola wonderful news.

Thanks for letting us know WS

Lai

that is fantastic news WS.......WELL DONE ANGOLA....honestly its like music to your ears isnt it thats a massive drop in the number of Lions isnt it. I so love these good news stories

Thanks for posting that WS

littlewid-x-