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Desert Lions
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On 06/22/17 the Desert Lion Conservation Project released an Official Note on the Tullamore Incident - Explained in a clear and balanced way the HWC problems in the region. It does not mention any information about XPL 59 and its cubs. Link below:
For those who follow the news reported on the site for years, it is "almost obvious" that something is not right with the Project. It is difficult to make any speculation since there is no concrete and measurable information on the nature of the challenges that the Project now faces (we are thousands of miles away). At the time, the change in attitude towards the periodicity of information disclosure on the site was a symptom of something changed. A new ingredient emerged last year: Desert Lion Conservation Foundation - www.desertlion.org - which began to exploit, something missing until then, content from social networks (Facebook). In its pages, there is no distinction in realizing that they are two different projects, as well as the Project of Conservation Lion of the Desert does not divulge any information on the existence or not of some partnership between both. I think there is discomfort with this situation. The Desert Lion Conservation Project receives a regularly renewed grant from the Namibian government to carry out its work for almost 20 years without interruption. New actors want to participate in the rescue of desert lions, and there seems to be some organized movement for new NGOs operating in the area. "First they want to join forces, so......
I fully rely on the approach and monitoring practices of the Desert Lion Conservation Project. By not using social media, nor any language that conveys the sentimental appeal, the same runs the risk of isolating itself in its scientificity. People want to follow, participate and are eager for information, and in the absence of an official channel, others take on this role. It is likely that this position, among many others of a practical nature, is not pleasant, neither the community of concessions nor private concessions, and both possibly have new guidelines, interests and ambitions. It seems that not only are lions under pressed, but also those who protect them.
Let's look at what practical measures the MET will deploy to mediate the HWC conflict. Judicial measures need to be part of this context. It is necessary to end the culture of which environmental crime is a minor crime, therefore of less penal scope. You have to work with the cultural concept, the common good is everyone's land, not the land where everything is allowed. As for the Tomakas village (including Omiriu and Ondudupi) it is enough to move to pasture rights (reduce its area of coverage and its quantitative) if wildlife crimes remain in its vicinity. When Dr. Stander started 20 years ago the numbers of lions were extremely low, their numbers increased exponentially in their first 08 years of Project, however, after 2009 a huge amount of deaths by poaching and trophy hunting (males) again threatened all This population. There was a bias, when we thought that consolidating this region as a successful international tourist product would consolidate this lion population the reverse occurred and again their numbers are again threatened.
In 1907, with an area of more than 10 million hectares, the Etosha National Game Reserve was proclaimed, having its territory encompassed to that time, to a large extent, the Skeleton Coast. Over the years, several border reconfigurations have gradually narrowed to their present configuration of "only" two million and two hundred thousand hectares in the 1970s. Today, we see very clearly the missed opportunity. If the original area had been maintained, the entire region would have another setting. It is now a matter of remedying the mistakes of the past and of taking practical long-term measures to safeguard all the natural wealth of this region. Namibia is a very new and innovative country: it is the only country to have its entire coastline protected by national parks, and its communal conservation areas (already more than 100) have exponentially increased the land area for conservation. In short, more than anything else, it is now necessary to safeguard the lives of their animals, notably their predators.
“End of a wonderful chapter started in January 2012 with the birth of the 5 male cubs. Death itself is already a sadness. What makes it even more sad is that there are no heirs of these five lions”.
From Namibian Nature Conservation:
Tullamore was poisoned 06 July 2017 | Crime Several months after the last of the famous lion brothers dubbed the 'Five Musketeers' was killed, it has officially been confirmed that he was poisoned. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism yesterday confirmed that Tullamore (XPL-93) was poisoned alongside a lioness and three cubs in April in northern Namibia Tullamore was the last surviving member of the group of five desert lions made famous by the movie 'The Vanishing Kings'. He was moved to the Okongue area after three of his brothers were poisoned by farmers and the other shot in August last year. Until now it has been unclear how Tullamore, the lioness and her cubs were killed. Currie Cup The ministry has been mum on the killings and has therefore been heavily criticised both locally and internationally for not pronouncing itself on the matter. Spokesperson of the ministry, Romeo Muyunda, yesterday confirmed that Tullamore, together with the lioness and three cubs, was poisoned. He told Namibian Sun that tests results have been received confirming this. “The tests indicate that the lions were poisoned,” said Muyunda. According to him the reason why the ministry has taken so long to officially announce the results of the tests is because in these incidences due processes must be followed and investigations have to take place to determine the cause of death before announcing anything. He also said that the death was highly publicised on social media and therefore the ministry did not deem it necessary to further release any results. “It is not to say that we are not concerned about what happened to Tullamore and the other musketeers, we are just as concerned about the killing of other lions that are dying due to human-wildlife conflict. It is however not possible to pronounce ourselves on each and every death.” He stressed that when a lion is killed that a case is opened and investigations follow and in this case investigations are on-going and no arrests have been made. “If anybody has information they are urged to come forward.” Muyunda further added that although these lions are well-known internationally, there is a misconception that the five musketeers are the only desert-adapted lions left in Namibia. “We have more than five desert adapted lions and Namibia has a growing population in the Skelton Coast where these lions are from, as well as in the rest of the country.” He could not confirm how many lions have been killed this year and if there is an increase in the number compared to last year. Since the 'The Vanishing Kings' movie was made Tullamore as well as his four brothers were all killed by farmers – three were poisoned and one was shot in 2016. The deaths of Ben (Xpl-91), Adolf (Xpl-92) and Polla (Xpl-90), shortly after that of their brother Harry (Xpl-89) left thousands of local and international admirers in mourning. Tullamore was then moved to the Okongue area for his own safety. He became the dominant male of a new pride, some of whom were killed with him in this latest incident. Both Tullamore and the lioness were wearing collars, which were allegedly burned after the killings. ELLANIE SMIT  (08-20-2015, 11:46 PM)GuateGojira Wrote: The Hobatere Lion Research Project@GuateGojira Thanks a lot for your valuable information
Kalahari Lions
Credits to Kalahari:game.lodge.namibia and kalahari_kiekies  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
@epaiva and @GuateGojira
About #94: You have a real big specimen among the mesured lions: the named "Volkel" lion whose girth is 148 cm... Impressive !
Angela's partner in crime and sister ,xpl 76 ,against the beautiful colorful background of the Huab Valley in the Namib Desert
Credits: Inki Mandt  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Leader of the Huab River in our Namib Desert ,Angela,the proud mother of her 3 rd litter of 2 tiny little cubs
Credits: Inki Mandt  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Moment ,Angela, xpl 75 of the Desert Huab Pride , went to get her cubs out of their hiding place to show them to us........briefly greeting their Dad ,Gretzky ( the Ugab/Huab ) .....How cute that has been.
Credits: Inki Mandt  *This image is copyright of its original author
Kalahari Lions
courtesy of @matt_barlow_sa @ianpletzer @hendriventer and @leilani.landsberg  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
 (10-17-2017, 11:27 PM)Spalea Wrote: @epaiva : Agreed. Good find, Epaiva. Desert lions manage to survive in difficult conditions and often prove to be inventive animals. Although they most probably have to work harder than lions in other parts of Africa, desert lions, both males and females, often are quite large and well built animals. The skulls I saw, well developed, smooth and quite large, compare to those of Javan tigers for beauty. I would appreciate to read a bit more on desert lions if possible, as they seem different from lions in other regions. Shouldn't be too difficult, as we have quite a few good and active lion posters.
We should define what we mean with "Desert Lions".
I think that the last strongholds of the pure "Desert Lions", is the west Kunene region (Skeleton Coast and Hobatere) in Namibia. Lions from Etosha seems not have the same morphologically charateristichs of the lions from the coast (in size, mane, etc.), but they are similar to the eastern population of Caprivi, that they are more similitudes with Kruger lions (with Kruger lions i mean Kruger-Limpopo, Hwange, Okavango Delta, etc.). Lions from Kgalagadi could have genetic influences of Kruger lions, if i remember correctly; lions from Kalahari was reintroduced directly with Etosha lions. Lions from Kruger and Etosha have been used to populated many reserves in southern Africa, after they were extinct; one example is Pilanesberg NP. In future, we also reorder the information on the lions of these regions.
Kalahari Lions
Lions have always displayed the ability to withstand different climates and can be found on a number of reserves within the Kalahari, where temperatures can vary from -15 C to over 40 C. Due to the intense heat and wide dispersal of prey, the Lions are forced to adapt to this harsh reality. In conditions better suited for survival, large prides of over 30 might prevail; however in the Kalahari that number dwindles to groups ranging from a male and female pair, to 6 lions because of this shortfall of prey. In addition, they often need to travel much longer distances in search of their prey, which often leads to high rates of cub mortality, as Lionesses are away for long periods of time hunting prey in order to produce milk for their young. Although these Lions prefer to hunt larger animals such Gemsbok and Springbok, they are often forced to make use of every available opportunity, and have been observed to hunt much smaller prey such as Porcupines, Aardvark, Foxes and even Mice. Kalahari Lions are also identified by the spots on their lower legs and the male Lions for their distinctive black manes. Lions have adapted and go through patterns of panting in such a way as to cool down blood, which is then transferred to the brain. They are often found lying on their backs with their paws overturned. Kalahari Lions have attained the ability to go for up to 2 weeks without water. With their ability to tolerate extreme temperatures, these tenacious, resilient predators have braved living in this harsh environment and have found a way to survive in a hostile and seemingly uninhabitable environment. (Central Kalahari Wildlife Guide) credits to @davidwilkins25 and @botswanaholidays_ [/img]  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
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