To track or to call: comparing methods for estimating population abundance of African lions Panthera leo in Kafue National Park

AbstractDespite > 60 years of conservation in Uganda's national parks the populations of lions and spotted hyaenas in these areas have never been estimated using a census method. Estimates for some sites have been extrapolated to other protected areas and educated guesses have been made but there has been nothing more definitive. We used a lure count analysis method of call-up counts to estimate populations of the lion Panthera leo and spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta in the parks where reasonable numbers of these species exist: Queen Elizabeth Protected Area, Murchison Falls Conservation Area and Kidepo Valley National Park. We estimated a total of 408 lions and 324 hyaenas for these three conservation areas. It is unlikely that other conservation areas in Uganda host > 10 lions or > 40 hyaenas. The Queen Elizabeth Protected Area had the largest populations of lions and hyaenas: 140 and 211, respectively. It is estimated that lion numbers have declined by 30% in this protected area since the late 1990s and there are increasing concerns for the long-term viability of both species in Uganda.

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Notes on wild dog Lycaon pictus and lion Panthera leo population trends during a drought in the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽

10.4102/koedoe.v38i1.309 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

M.G.L. Mills

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Kruger National Park ◽

Population Trends ◽

Adult Survival ◽

Panthera Leo ◽

Lycaon Pictus ◽

Drought Period ◽

In The Wild ◽

High Predation ◽

Wild Dog

Wild dog Lycaon pictus and lion Panthera leo populations in the Kruger National Park appeared to undergo an increase during a drought period in the early 1990s. Newly established packs, high adult survival and pup productivity contributed to an increase in the wild dog population and evidence for high predation success during the height of the drought is presented. An increase in the lion density between 1989 and 1993 on the northern basalt plains, as well as changes in the structure of the population, seem to be related to changes in prey populations, particularly to a decline in numbers and condition of buffalo Syncerus cafer.

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Epidemiology of an intestinal parasite (Spirometra spp.) in two populations of African lions (Panthera leo)

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182098003813 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 118 (4) ◽

pp. 407-415 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

C. D. M. MÜLLER-GRAF ◽

M. E. J. WOOLHOUSE ◽

C. PACKER

Keyword(s):

Intestinal Parasite ◽

Infection Intensity ◽

Ecological Factors ◽

Parasite Infection ◽

Panthera Leo ◽

Age Classes ◽

Intensity Of Infection ◽

Faecal Samples ◽

African Lions ◽

Two Populations

Infection with the cestode Spirometra spp. was studied in 2 populations of lions in the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, East Africa. These 2 lion populations lived in different habitats and were known to differ genetically: lions in the Serengeti were outbred, whereas lions in the Ngorongoro Crater were inbred. Faecal samples were collected from 112 individually known lions between March 1991 and November 1992. Over 60% of lions were infected and the median intensity of infection was 975 eggs per g of faeces. The distribution of egg counts was overdispersed. There was variability through time, though this was unrelated to seasons delimited by rainfall. There were no significant differences in levels of infection between age classes; cubs less than 9 months were already heavily infected. Sex and reproductive status did not have a significant effect. However, there were significant differences in intensities of infection between the Crater and the Serengeti populations – Spirometra spp. showed a higher level of infection intensity in the Crater population – with some variation between prides within these populations. Allozyme heterozygosity scores were available for a subset of 28 lions but were unrelated to levels of Spirometra infection. It was not possible to ascribe differences in levels of parasite infection to genetic rather than ecological factors.

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