One of our objectives of the new phase of the lion guards project, funded under the Large Carnivore Initiative by the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative and the Prins Bernhard Nature fund, was to construct an new enclosure for livestock in a village near the border of Waza National Park (Cameroon), in order to limit [...]

Cameroon has been fortunate in November 2011 to receive two  lions for educational display. The two lions of Etosha, have been moved from the Zoo and Botanical Garden of Mvog-Betsi in Yaounde to Garoua, Cameroon. The lion (Sun) was sent to the zoo of Garoua and the lioness (Moon) was housed at the Wildlife School of [...]

Lion guards active under the Large Carnivore Initiative, funded by the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative and Prins Bernhard Nature Fund have reported new born cubs both in Waza National park and in Bénoué National Park. In Waza NP the population of lions has been estimated at around 14-21 lions and lion guards now have reported that they [...]

Recently an article was published by Croes et al., covering the impact of trophy hunting on lions in north Cameroon. The publication is based on work by a research group of Leiden University, CEDC, Ecole de Faune Garoua and University of Dschang,  in collaboration with the Department of Nature Conservation of Tschwane University in Pretoria, [...]

Recently an article was published in the Journal Oryx on human–carnivore conflict around Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, northern Benin by Sogbohossou et al,. Click here for the online publication. This article reported some important facts relevant for the management of carnivore-human conflicts in West Africa. The article suggests that close proximity between humans and large predators [...]

Recent PhD research by the Beninese researcher Etotépé Sogbohossou has demonstrated that safari hunting may have serious impact on lion social structure and lion densities. This is the result of a PhD study which Etotépé will defend on 25 October at Leiden University. Etotépé did four years of field research in the Pendjari Biosphere reserve [...]

The first phase of the Large Carnivore Initiative  with funding from the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Fund is will end 1 November 2011. As from1  November 2011 until October 2012, the LCI has received funds from the Prins Bernhard Natuurfonds and National geographic Big Cats Initiative to continue its operations. During the first phase four lion [...]

Recently the National Geographic Big Cat Initiative has pledged to support the Large Carnivore Initiative for W and C Africa for the period 1 September 2011 until 1 July 2012. The support will cover part of the salary of the LCI network coordinator, the salaries of four lion guards in Cameroon, new motor cycles, mobile phones [...]

Researchers from the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Institute Biology Leiden have recently published their findings of genetic research on lions, which reveals a remarkable difference between lions in West and Central Africa and lions in East and southern Africa. The outcome of their research suggests that lions from West and Central Africa are genetically [...]

Based on a report of the two lion guards employed at Waza NP with funds from the Mohamed Bin Zayed species Fund, we received an independent confirmation from the field that illegal trade in lion cubs to Nigeria has indeed taken place, in spite of denials from the Gombe State University in Nigeria. During fieldwork [...]