The Congo Lion

[Pckts]

Happy #WorldLionDay!

We take the opportunity on this day to reflect on the past year in our lion conservation and research activities.

Sadly, we lost one known lion to human-carnivore conflict. This is after going through the 2014-2015 period with no known losses. While we are sad about the loss, we know it could have been much worse, given the number of livestock attacked by lions in villages around the park this past year. We thank the local communities for their continued patience in the face of the losses they suffer from wildlife.

We have much to be grateful for, including:

* We established the park's first scout program, thanks to support provided by Disney Conservation Fund. We now have 3 scouts based in the village of Hamakungu and another scout who works in villages throughout the area. Great job, Kenneth, Robert, Loice, and Shafi!

* 5 strong livestock enclosures were built in the village of Hamakungu, thanks again to support provided by Disney Conservation Fund. There have been no cattle losses in these enclosures to date. The villagers also appreciate that people outside of Uganda are concerned about their well-being and livelihoods. We hope to build more in the coming year.

* We've distributed a couple hundred sets of solar lights to livestock owners throughout the area, thanks to support from Oakland Zoo. Lions and hyenas have so far generally been avoiding even the weaker enclosures that have these lights.

* We have been able to increase our village educational activities, with support from Oakland Zoo and Disney Conservation Fund, and have reached over 500 rural schoolchildren the past year.

* Thanks to funding from Oakland Zoo and the Astarc Group, we were finally able to retire our 30+ year old research vehicle and buy a newer one. This has enabled us to safely and reliably continue with our research and conservation activities and go into difficult terrain that was previously too dangerous in our older vehicle.

* Our community livelihoods development initiative continues to grow, thanks to support from local tour operators who bring their clients to the community-run "Leopard Village", where they can watch performances by community performance groups, purchase locally made crafts, and even stay in basic accommodations run by a women's group with whom we work. This helps the local communities benefit more directly from the park's wildlife.

* We also thank the many tourists who have gone out in the field with us on Uganda Wildlife Authority's lion tracking experience and who have subsequently made donations to villagers who have lost livestock to carnivores. We believe these donations have helped to significantly reduce retaliation against the carnivores. In addition, the donations by the tourists show the villagers that others are concerned about the challenges they face living next to the wildlife that people from all over the world come to Uganda to see.

Finally, thank you to all of the individuals who have provided support to us this past year – in monetary donations and via your time. As a small field-based team, we are grateful for each of you. Please know that you have personally had a significant, positive impact on Uganda’s lions, hyenas, and leopards. We could not do this without you.

Happy #WorldLionDay everyone!!! #LetLionsLive #CauseAnUproar

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