Recollaring Nadine this month to ensure that we can always inform herders of her whereabouts - protecting both livestock and lions. The Ngorongoro TAWIRI lion project have permission to collar an additional 2 lions, bringing the total to 8, which will help us mitigate more conflict and improve coexistence between humans and lions.
Recollaring Nadine this month to ensure that we can always inform herders of her whereabouts – protecting both livestock and lions. The Ngorongoro TAWIRI lion project have permission to collar an additional 2 lions, bringing the total to 8, which will help us mitigate more conflict and improve coexistence between humans and lions.

Recollaring Nadine this month to ensure that we can always inform herders of her whereabouts - protecting both livestock and lions. The Ngorongoro TAWIRI lion project have permission to collar an additional 2 lions, bringing the total to 8, which will help us mitigate more conflict and improve coexistence between humans and lions.

Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is a critical site for lion which are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN red list. Where much of the NCA is multiuse area, where traditional pastoralist and their livestock share the land with abundant wildlife KopeLion consider it of key importance to improve human lion coexistence strategies in support of Tanzania’s recent National Human Wildlife Conflict Strategy.

KopeLion’s recent success in increasing tolerance to lions in community occupied areas of the NCA provides an opportunity and a need for additional work, together with local communities, to ensure that while connecting lion populations through community land, their negative aspects are decreased and their presence is safe and sustainable.

By using different approaches supported by the IUCN Save our Species and co-funded by the European Union, and the PAW Foundation/Lion Recovery Fund, we aim to prevent any increase in human-lion conflict despite lions recovering former range and connectivity.

As the great majority of lions’ attacks on livestock in NCA is at pasture, and commonly on herded livestock in the late afternoon, one of the first activities we are embarking on is to test Dr Neil Jordan’s team’s idea of painting eyes on cow butts to deter predators. It’s a low cost, easy win for pastoralists if it works, and it did in Botswana! In Dr. Jordan’s four-year study, no cows that had the eye spots painted on their butts were killed by lions. Despite some laughter and ridicule, people are eager to try this in Ngorongoro and with Lion Landscapes also hoping to test this out in southern Tanzania, we’re all curious to see if it works.

Safety for pastoralist communities living with lions, while herding and in the homestead is another key focus of this grant, so communicating this to people across Ngorongoro will be a large part of what we’re doing in the next few months. With a couple of films in the pipeline, specifically focused on culture and safety, we will soon be ready to host entertainment and information-sharing using films made on site with the local communities, stimulating challenging exchanges and brainstorming on how to make peoples’ future with lions better.

An emphasis will be put on the importance of the role of a herder in mitigating conflicts: a competition with prizes is to be held to determine what constitutes the best herding techniques, and a spotlight will be shone on herders as the stars of human-wildlife coexistence, and the importance of investing in them.

While it is less common for lions to attack bomas, this is a big threat from other predators like leopards, spotted and striped hyenas. Lowering the risk from all types of depredations on livestock, people’s main livelihood, here is vital. Taking the terrain, available materials, the protected area regulations and most prevalent predators into account, we will explore different ways to support building stronger livestock enclosures, cost sharing with communities and working together to ensure that people’s livestock are not ravaged in a single night, and children can sleep.

Roimen tests out eyes on cows in Ngorongoro. Photo Roimen Lelya

Roimen tests out eyes on cows in Ngorongoro. Photo Roimen Lelya

Filming the 'end of the month round' catching up with the Ilchokuti. Photo credit Jamal Fadhili.

Filming the ‘end of the month round’ catching up with the Ilchokuti. Photo credit Jamal Fadhili.

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Kope Lion

Kope Lion

KopeLion Inc. (short for Korongoro People’s Lion Initiative) is a non-profit NGO registered in USA and in Tanzania. Our mission is to foster human-lion coexistence through participatory research and sustainable community-based conservation.

1 week ago

Kope Lion
KOPELION – ImpactResponses from the focus group discussions, after one year of KopeLion working in Kakesio Ward, support the following impact statements:Over the past one year:• There have been changes in community knowledge towards wildlife - Agree 100%• There have been changes in community attitude towards wildlife - Agree 100%• There have been changes in community practices towards wildlife - Agree 100%• There have been changes in community perception of Kope Lion - Agree 100%• There have been changes in community awareness of Kope Lion activities - Agree 100%• There has been improved understanding between Ilkochuti and community - Agree 100%• There has been reduced conflict between wildlife and livestock in your area - Strongly Agree 100%• There has been reduced conflict between wildlife and people in your area - Strongly Agree 100%Thanks to The Donald Slavik Family Foundation Lion Recovery Fund Lion Recovery Fund IUCN Save Our Species IUCN Save Our Species 🇪🇺 International Partnerships EU International Partnerships for the funding and to Ace Africa for the baseline and follow up surveys. #lionconservation #ngorongorocrater #communityconservation #corridoroftolerance #ngorongoroconservationarea #ngorongoro #humanwildlifecoexistence #humanwildlifecoexistence ... See MoreSee Less
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2 weeks ago

Kope Lion
Recognizing that young people have the power to shape a better global society, KopeLion put a key emphasis on engaging with youth and empowering them to take charge of their lives to create positive changes for the Ngorongoro of the future.This week we started with environmental education for primary school students, led by studies that link positive childhood experiences in nature with heightened environmental consciousness and involvement in adulthood.We're probably preaching to the converted in Ngorongoro, but with thanks to The Donald Slavik Family Foundation and with input from Wild Nature Institute and Lincoln Park Zoo Lincoln Park Zoo, we're going to make it fun!#kopelion #communityconservation #ngorongoro #ngorongoroconservationarea #lionconservation #ngorongorolions #humanwildlifecoexistence #corridoroftolerance #ngorongorocrater #lincolnparkzoo #livingwithlions #CreatingConversations ... See MoreSee Less
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2 weeks ago

Kope Lion
About a quarter of all lion cubs, up to the age of one year, are killed by infanticide, when a new male takes over a pride and kills the cubs.Last week, the one remaining female in Ndutu's Thin pride and her three cubs, came into conflict with male lions and at least one of the cubs was killed.In both dry season and the rains the conflicts abound for lions. Some we can help prevent and others are out of our control.We wait to see yet another Ndutu lion's story unfold... #ngorongoroconservationarea #communityconservation #ngorongoro #ngorongorolions #lionconservation #humanwildlifecoexistence #corridoroftolerance #kopelion #ndutu Photo: Thin pride cub 2024, Ingela Jansson ... See MoreSee Less
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