Namibian Lion Trust

Namibian Lion Trust

Living alongside lions with your livestock as a community farmer is never an easy option but with the right strategies, support and good will it is possible.

This is what the Namibian Lion Trust (formerly AfriCat North) has been doing on the Western Border of Etosha National Park, Namibia. The Human Wildlife Mitigation programme is about applying practical researched solutions to enable communities, livestock, and lions to coexist. These solutions include ongoing research, education, kraal building, collaring lions, and employment of local lion guards. One important strategy is to put GPS collars on key lions, so the team know where the lions are from the regular downloads. This provides the opportunity to alert farmers, via text messages, if any of the lions are close to their homes/villages or kraals. The lion guards can then go and help to ‘chase’ the lions into safer areas and support the framers thus reducing losses and conflict. The cost of a collar itself is considerable and then add in the vet's time for may be 2 or 3 nights staking out a kill. Plus, the drugs and the team of staff needed to help, and the cost of a single collaring can be in the region of £3,000+. The collars have a limited life span too.

However, life now has got a whole lot tougher for all concerned. The reasons being a long-lasting drought in the locality of the project and a worldwide pandemic. Drought conditions especially when they last 8 years make things much harder. As farmer grazing options are limited so your livestock die and with it the ability to feed your family. In such circumstances it is tempting, as a framer, to let your livestock into a wildlife protected area, if the grazing is better, despite the fact this is lion habitat and there is a risk to your livestock from predation. The impact of a worldwide pandemic means that tourism at a standstill. This leads to a loss of jobs/income for those working in lodges or as guides. Additionally, tourists will buy souvenirs made locally and that source of income stops too. The tourist vehicles act as eyes and hears on the ground helping to reduce poaching.    

The team are continuing to work hard to reduce the impact the lions have on the community and help the farmers to protect their remaining livestock.

Your donation will make a huge difference to the team on the ground allowing the project to pay the lion guards who have taken a massive pay cut, continue the collaring process, pay for transport and related operational costs. Thank you!  

For more information check out www.namibianliontrust.org  or contact AfriCat UK on info-uk@africat.org  or visit www.africat.co.uk