On Friday, three lionesses and eight cubs were found dead in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, allegedly poisoned by a herdsman who accused the iconic big cats of attacking his cattle.
The merciless killing of the lions attracted mixed reactions from the general public, with many calling on the authorities to ensure that the culprit faces the law.
“On behalf of the board, management and entire membership of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO), we condemn this malicious act as devoid of moral character by one serial enemy of tourism,” a statement from AUTO reads in part. “AUTO is asking the Government of Uganda to support the wildlife crime investigations unit to thoroughly examine the incident and to apprehend and punish the culprit and use him/her as an example to the rest.”
AUTO’s statement continues: “This is not only a loss to tourism, a sector contributing more than 10% to our country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and a leader in foreign exchange earnings for Uganda, but an injury to our country and the world at large… and this never would have happened at the worst time than when the national World Wildlife Day celebrations were in the Kasese area (home to Queen Elizabeth National Park) a few weeks ago under the theme, ‘Creating a Safe Environment for the Survival of Big Cats’.”
But the killing of Uganda’s lions by communities around Queen Elizabeth National Park is not new. Between May 2006 and July 2007, 15 lions were killed as herdsmen defended their cattle. In May 2010, five lions were reported to have been killed in a possible poison attack. In 2017, four lions were poisoned. In 2018, 11 lions have – so far – been poisoned. 35 lions needlessly killed in the past 12 years, in the same national park.
Lack of commitment
Dr Jean-Felix Kinani, a veterinarian who runs One Health Approach for Conservation (OHAC), a nonprofit that focuses on wildlife research, training, consultancy and “creating One Health and Conservation awareness” in East and Central Africa, thinks the real problem is the lack of commitment by our governments to protect wildlife.
Dr Kinani cites the 2015 Red List Assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which found that lion populations in Western, Central and Eastern Africa had declined by 60% over the past 21 years. In contrast, populations in Southern African countries – Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe – had increased by 12% over the same period.
The success in southern African countries is attributed to lower human population density, fenced protected areas, and government policies that empower communities around national parks to protect wildlife.
Conservationists warn that lion populations in Uganda, which have reduced from 600 to about 400 individuals in the past 10 years, are likely to continue shrinking unless a major conservation effort is mounted to save them.
The decline seems to be more drastic in Queen Elizabeth National Park, an area where lions have traditionally thrived, due to persistent human-wildlife conflict. With people and wild animals living in proximity, lions are often killed by cattle keepers in retaliation for attacks on livestock.
“The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) needs to review its collaboration with communities around national parks because they are the ones who are supposed to protect wildlife,” he says.
A few years ago, Dr Kinani fitted Queen Elizabeth National Park’s lions with high-tech collars equipped with radio transmitters to help the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) track the animals’ natural movements.
“This allows researchers and conservationists to monitor the lions for potential disease outbreaks, their populations, home range, productivity, behaviour, habitat use, survival, predator-prey interactions, and interaction with the locals,” the vet says.
But current trends indicate that the lions are not effectively monitored, and locals are left to freely graze their animals in the park, which results in human-wildlife conflict, the main threat to the survival of the so-called king of the jungle.
“UWA should step-up monitoring of lions as it’s done for mountain gorillas,” says Dr Kinani, adding that the government also needs to intensify conservation awareness campaigns that aim to change the way people perceive wildlife. Communities that live peacefully with wildlife, he says, also need to be rewarded.
A few years ago, Uganda introduced the tourism revenue sharing scheme, a method that has been fronted as key for maintaining protected areas globally.
Every year, UWA disburses funds to local government councils around the country’s national parks, but the effectiveness of this scheme remains largely dependent on local governments.
“It seems the money doesn’t reach everyone or it’s just yet to have an impact on communities around national parks,” says Dr Kinani.
