Just over a year ago, two lionesses were caught and killed by snares set by poachers in the Papyrus Swamps of Busanga Plains, Kafue National Park in Zambia.
Eight cubs, aged 6 to 8 months, were left orphaned.
These cubs were too young to hunt for themselves and would have perished without intervention.
Across Africa, only about 20,000 lions remain in the wild. With threats such as poaching, habitat loss and human-lion conflict, lion population numbers have declined drastically. Safeguarding and managing protected areas where this species can thrive forms a major part of helping recover lion populations in Africa.
In an effort to salvage this desperate situation, African Parks together with the Zambian Carnivore Programme and PANTHERA planned a rescue mission.
Seven of the eight cubs were successfully traced and captured before being transferred to a large boma in Liuwa National Park where they were given an opportunity to bond with a mature lioness.
Images: November 2022, Andrea Reid
In May 2023 the cubs, all in good health, were transferred back to Kafue, where they had been born, to a newly built enclosure close to the park’s headquarters.
Here they could continue to grow and thrive under the watchful eye of rangers.
Image: May 2023 Craig Reid
Last week the orphaned cubs were released back to the wild.
Images: Erin Reid
Image: November 2023 Erin Reid
Image: Erin Reid
They will continue to be monitored in the field using a combination of satellite and VHF telemetry collars.
Image: Erin Reid
Watch video about the lion cub orphans here>>
Image: Erin Reid. Video: The Rusty Mokoro
Which projects with these partners has Sketch for Survival funded?
We partnered with African Parks in 2020 donating $28,500 USD in support of a far-reaching genomics project in the isolated national parks of central Africa (Garamba and Chinko), focused on elephants, giraffes, lions, leopards, hyenas and chimpanzees. In additon, in 2018, we donated $50,000 USD to install a brand new anti-poaching canine unit in Garamba.
We partnered with Zambian Carnivore Programme in 2022, one of eight projects receiving funding from us that year, donating $11,000 USD in support of field-based conservation of cheetah & wild dogs in Kafue, Liuwa and South Luangwa.
To find out more about our projects and project partners please visit the project directory on our website.
Image: ZCP, Anna Kusler
Image at top: Erin Reid
