The Saadani Lion Project is up and about! The project is a partnership between Macalester College, USA, A Tent With a View, TANAPA and TAWIRI, and the first phase of the project aims to estimate the distribution and density of this unique coastal-mangrove population of lions. This segment of the project is being supported by a grant from the Lion Recovery Fund. The project kicked off early August with a training workshop led by Professor Stotra Chakrabarti from Macalester (lead PI) and Dr. Nic Elliot from LRF. The workshop was held at the Research Center of A Tent With a View’s Simply Saadani Camp and was attended by lead field researchers of the project – Monty Kalyahe and Iddi Kilangam, 6 TANAPA rangers, and nature guides. Participants co-learned how to identify lions based on unique whisker profiles, collect high resolution pictures to identify them, develop a database of lions in the park, and monitor the lion population using an unstructured spatial capture-recapture technique. This monitoring protocol will allow us to understand the number and demographic picture of the prides existing within the park, thereby aiding in conservation management. The workshop was followed by intense fieldwork in search of lions.

After establishing the distribution and make-up of each group, the project will focus on lion behaviour, assess availability of prey species, investigate human/lion conflict resolution and will consider ways to monitor and protect this unique population of lions.

Protecting the wildlife of the unique coastal ecosystem that is Saadani NP whilst supporting the communities living in close proximity is a challenge mirrored globally. Most of the conservation issues we face in our global effort to protect habitat and biodiversity are present in Saadani, and are compounded by the uniqueness and fragility of this system. What we learn here will help support lion and biodiversity conservation on the local and global scale.”