Stop the Loss

Stopping the loss of large carnivores, their prey and their habitat

Lions and other large carnivores face numerous threats. Many are directly killed by people, and many others die when their habitat and prey are lost. Animals such as lions can attack humans and their livestock, so people understandably kill them either to prevent such attacks, or to retaliate if they occur. These killings often use poisons or snares, which can also kill many animals, such as critically endangered vultures. People often also kill animals such as lions for traditional reasons, as it gives them status and wealth in the community. Meanwhile, wildlife habitat and prey are lost when people see more value in land uses such as farming rather than conserving wildlife areas.

Our approach

We work closely with local people and organisations to understand the main threats to wildlife and habitat, and to jointly develop ways of reducing them.

In order to stop the loss, we:

Train and employ local people in jobs such as Lion Extension Officers or Lion Rangers to help people better protect themselves, their stock and reduce the need for them to kill wildlife
Employ local warriors as Lion Defenders to help us understand and reduce traditional lion killings
Work with local people to jointly develop agreements under our Community Camera-Trapping Plus and Lion Friendly Livestock programmes, to reward behaviours which reduce threats to wildlife and habitat
Conduct Poison Awareness Training to help people understand the danger that poison poses to people and livestock and reduce its use
Work with relevant people to remove snares and treat poisoned animals, when requested and possible