Restoring lions Panthera leo to northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: short-term biological and technical success but equivocal long-term conservation

Abstract

The success of efforts to re-establish mammalian carnivores within their former range is dependent on three key factors: methodological considerations, the biological requirements of the target species, and the involvement of local human communities for whom large carnivores pose a threat. We consider the role of these factors in the first 13 years of an effort to re-establish wild lions in northern KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. We employed soft-release methods to mitigate the characteristic problems associated with restoration of large carnivores. A pre-release captivity period facilitated acclimatization of reintroduced lions and promoted long-term bonding of unfamiliar individuals into cohesive groups. All individuals remained in the release area and established enduring, stable home ranges. Reintroduced lions successfully reproduced and raised 78% of their cubs to independence. Human activity was the cause of all post-release mortality. Despite rapid population growth and the re-establishment of the species at Phinda Private Game Reserve, the population is small and isolated with little prospect for re-colonizing additional areas where the species has been extirpated, or for connecting with other isolated lion populations in the region. Accordingly, although we essentially overcame the short-term technical and biological challenges facing lion reintroduction, the long-term value of the Phinda population for addressing the conservation issues facing the species remains equivocal.

Rapid Growth Rates of Lion (Panthera leo) Populations in Small, Fenced Reserves in South Africa: A Management Dilemma

“…However, in recent decades lions have been reintroduced into over 40 small (<1000 km 2 ), fenced areas, including private reserves, conservancies, protected areas, national and provincial parks, hereafter referred to as 'reserves' (reviewed by Funston 2008;Slotow & Hunter 2009). These lion reintroductions have been successful on the individual reserve level; however, the introduced lions are all intensively managed (Hayward et al 2007a;Hunter et al 2007) and increasingly genetically compromised (Trinkel et al 2008(Trinkel et al , 2010, the net effect of which reduces their conservation value on a regional scale (Slotow & Hunter 2009). It has been suggested that small reserves in South Africa need to move away from intensive management in isolation towards a managed metapopulation approach (Funston 2008;Slotow & Hunter 2009;Hayward & Kerley 2009;Trinkel et al 2010).…”

Walking with lions: why there is no role for captive-origin lions Panthera leo in species restoration

“…Resources and attention would be more productively steered towards securing existing lion habitat and mitigating anthropogenic killing of lions and their prey. This would help stem the rapid decline of the wild lion as well as enhance existing populations for further reintroduction opportunities as they arise (Hunter et al, 2007). Current proposals for reintroduction of captive lions contribute little to these issues and instead distract from meaningful efforts to conserve the lion in situ.…”

“…All of these efforts involved the capture and translocation of wild lions (for a detailed description of methods see Hunter et al, 2007). By 2007 at least 37 reserves totalling 6,467 km 2 had re-established lions using wild founders (Slotow & Hunter, 2009 (Lindsey & Bento, 2010;L.…”

Practical Considerations for the Reintroduction of Large, Terrestrial,Mammalian Predators Based on Reintroductions to South Africa's Eastern Cape Province

“…This would substantially reduce management costs and allow evolutionary processes to continue [9]. Without this, the value of these reintroductions into small isolated reserves for the conservation of threatened species is questionable [5].…”

“…Reintroduction is thus employed after conservation actions at a site have failed. Reintroduction of large predators has had a poor success rate in the past [1][2][3][4] and the overall conservation benefits in the long-term are questionable [5]. Despite carnivores being reintroduced more frequently than *Address correspondence to this author at the Marie Curie Fellow, Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Science, 17-230 Bia owie a, Poland; E-mail: hayers111@aol.com expected [6], conservation managers around the world are not expending equal amounts of energy and resources attempting reintroductions of top-order predators [1].…”