Sawubona adventurers! A few days ago I gave an online talk on IN SITU conservation of the African lion (which I leave here if you want to see it, but I must tell that it is in Spanish), in it I talked about many topics but there was one that I talked about and I want to tell you a little more in-depth: The largest lion relocation ever made.
First of all we must put ourselves in the picture, this relocation or reintroduction took place in the Zambezi Delta, Mozambique where lions had been extinct in the area for years. This was due to the over-hunting of one of their main prey, the Cape buffalo, during Mozambique's civil war between 1977 and 1992.
In 1994, Mark Haldane founded an anti-poaching team for Zambezi Delta Safaris, which was essential as the decline of animals in the reserve was very pronounced and the ecosystem was not functioning as such because of indiscriminate poaching. It took him about a year to train and tune up his team, which stopped the indiscriminate hunting, and with initiatives towards the local communities, the ecosystem in the area began to stabilize.
The results of the measures taken in the early 1990s proved to be effective almost two and a half decades later when the herds of herbivores began to thrive again... then it was time to stabilize the ecosystem with an apex predator.
In 2018, conservationists, landowners, donors and the government of Mozambique wanted to move forward with a very ambitious plan, to add two million acres to the reserve to get the majestic lion back on its land, and so began the largest relocation ever made...
Many said that it was impossible to do, too many healthy lions and that they should be monitored on the ground afterwards, would not be easy or cheap. However, Zambezi Delta Safaris, Cabela Family Foundation and Carter Wildlife Conservation Alliance went ahead with their plan and chose 24 healthy lions from different reserves across South Africa, 18 females and 6 males. They were sedated and moved into large bomas to check their health, remaining there for 3 weeks. When it was confirmed that they were healthy lions, the dangerous journey to Mozambique began...
An aeroplane trip, 2 to be exact, carrying 24 sedated wild lions. We are talking about 2 hours and 30 minutes travel were for human safety as well as for the lions everything has to be perfect. The veterinarians were attentive to the health of the lions at all times, and in this way, they arrived safely in Mozambique.
There the Thozo tribe was waiting for them, this tribe believes that the spirit of the lion is their protector and that when they die they will become the spirits of lions that will protect their descendants. Although at first they were not entirely convinced that the lion would roam their land again, they were eventually happy to live with this predator again.
After spending some more time in acclimatization enclosures, where they finished making sure they were in good health and where 15 of them were also fitted with tracking collars... they were released. They knew that since there were so many individuals and they had a large area of land to themselves, the pride would divide up, each occupying a piece of this new reserve that offered so many opportunities to these new specimens.
Only 6 months after the reintroduction of these lions in Zambezi, results were already beginning to be seen... some of the females had given birth, nature was beginning to make its way. To this day, although some of the specimens did not manage to thrive (a risk that was already known to exist), the prides are prospering and little by little their numbers are increasing.
This is the story of 24 lions, but with them, an entire ecosystem was also restored and prospered. With effort and dedication, we can get nature back on its feet and thus repair the damage we have done to nature. Perhaps in this way, we will once again become part of wildlife.
Impilo enh adventurers.
Sources:
Mini documentary
Official Website
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