Protecting Lions in Uganda

In July 2022 two members of the DSWF team visited our ground-based conservation partners Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF) at Murchison Falls National Park.They saw first-hand the amazing work the project has done to improve the communications network in the park. The installation of five new radio towers means communications now covers 80% of the park, compared to 5% previously. This is hugely significant in the fight to protect lions and other endangered species within the protected area, as rangers can respond to incidents much more rapidly, increasing the changes of intercepting and apprehending poachers.

In the past year our ground-based conservation partners have supported thirty community conservation rangers and twenty scouts across Uganda. Each one has been equipped with rucksacks, raincoats, two pairs of boots and a water bottle as well as transport including electric bikes. The rangers and scouts are absolutely integral to reducing poaching within Murchison Falls. Snaring remains a huge problem and without regular patrols to remove the snares, many more animals would die. On a recent patrol, which two members of the DSWF team joined, 102 snares were found and removed from the park within four hours.

Lions are also devastatingly falling victim to poisoning by international illegal wildlife trade buyers and suppliers for local witchdoctors, both of whom target lion body parts. Due to this our conservation partners are focusing efforts on engaging with the local communities to provide them with support, employment and development along with human-wildlife conflict mitigation and education to foster a positive relationship between the communities and lions, reducing the number of illegal activities within the national park harming lions and other wildlife.

Patrols have focused on the landscape that animals and particularly lions reside in, ensuring poaching activity is minimised. This strategy has led to a large amount of illegal activity being identified and arrests made. The collaring of lions has also helped monitor lion populations and understand their movements better. The collaring of lions remains an enormous challenge given the difficulty in locating lions in dense and inaccessible parts of the park. Despite the challenges of lions being caught and killed in snares or wheel traps and poached for body parts, the project is optimistic about the lion population within the protected area. A conservative estimate of the lion population is 150, but it is likely there are more in the remote and inaccessible areas. The home ranges of the lions in Murchison Falls are very small, suggesting that there are more lions than previously thought and that the area can support many more. Prey is highly abundant, particularly the Ugandan Kob antelope. If mortality can be kept to a minimum there is good reason to expect that populations of lions will continue to increase.

DSWF relies entirely on donations and support from generous individuals like you to continue to fight wildlife crime, protect species and engage individuals and communities to ensure a brighter future for wildlife. So, thank you for your support in helping to give Lion’s a chance of survival as you can see your continued support is vital to this project. 

Find out more about our work with Lions.