Pride Dynamics
Twin Hill Sisters Pride
This consists of four females, including Nang’ida, a collared female with seven cubs that are 1.5 years old. This is a new pride formed by young females from the original Twin Hill pride, born in 2020.
They primarily reside in areas around Twin Hill, Esusunoto, Olchanioodo, and Olorish Imakati, all located in Ndutu. These areas are known for frequent conflicts due to the high presence of both livestock and people. This pride, particularly Nang’ida, has caused more conflicts than any other pride in Ndutu.
In 2023, Nang’ida notably fed her cubs with sheep from the local community. However, in 2024, especially in recent months, the pride has caused fewer conflicts compared to the previous year. This change is largely due to the recent invasion of new males, who chased away the resident males, killed five of the cubs, and left the pride with only four. As a result, the pride moved away from the livestock areas to avoid the new males and protect their remaining cubs.
The Twin Hill Pride
The group consists of 10 members, including four adult females, one of whom is Nadine, a prominent collared female. The group also includes two large males: Lopir, a collared male, and his brother LK147, both originally from the Lake Pride in Ngorongoro Crater.
Nadine from the Twin Hill Pride with her cubs
Additionally, there is one juvenile male, one juvenile female, two large cubs, and 11 small cubs. The pride experienced a major disruption when the coalition of five males from the Big Marsh, known as "Timu Tano," invaded and took over both the Twin Hill Sisters and the Twin Hill Pride.
This takeover resulted in significant losses, with 10 out of the 11 cubs being killed and the death of LK147, one of the large males. Lopir, the surviving male, has since left the pride and is now wandering alone in the Ndutu area.
Masek Pride
The pride consists of 15 lions, including four adult females, one of whom is Bessy, a female that had been collared, but the decision was made to remove the collar after multiple sightings of her spending time in low-conflict areas.
Bessy from the Masek Pride with her cubs - Roimen Lelya Kope Lion
The pride also includes 11 small cubs, all of whom are currently doing well. Although a large male from Big Marsh has taken over the pride, they have not experienced any losses or issues, as the cubs were not harmed.
The pride primarily roams near Ndutu Safari Lodge, the ranger post, and along the shores of Lake Ndutu. During the dry season, they occasionally move to areas with livestock and people, causing some conflicts, though not as severe as those caused by the Twin Hill and Twin Hill Sisters prides.
They also tend to move into Serengeti National Park during the rainy season when the wildebeest are abundant, and they return to Ndutu as the wildebeest migrate back.
Big Marsh Pride
This group is composed of three adult females, eight cubs, and five large males, famously known as "Team Tano." This coalition of five males originally belonged to the Big Marsh and the former Thin Pride, which no longer exists as a pride, leaving only one female named Lora, who mostly resides in Small Marsh.
Currently, the coalition of five males from Big Marsh Pride has taken over all the prides in Ndutu, causing major disruptions. They have been killing cubs and either killing or chasing away resident males, significantly impacting the stability of the local prides.
Collaring Efforts
In June, we successfully replaced Nadine's collar, which had stopped transmitting due to battery issues. In August, we decided to remove Bessy's collar, a female from Masek Pride, due to similar battery issues. However, we chose not to replace it since Bessy tends to spend most of her time in areas with less people and livestock, posing less risk of conflict.
We currently have three collared lions in the Ndutu area: Nang’ida from the Twin Hill Sisters Pride, Nadine from the Twin Hill Pride, and Lopir, who is now roaming alone after being displaced by a coalition of five males from Big Marsh. These collars give us a valuable opportunity to enhance safety by warning people in advance to keep their livestock away from areas where the lions are navigating, helping to protect both livestock and the lions.
Impact of Weather
During the dry season, lions in Ndutu experience a shortage of wild prey as wildebeest and other herbivores migrate to other areas in search of water and grass. This lack of wild prey has significantly altered lion behavior, causing them to switch from hunting wild prey to targeting livestock.
As a result, we experience a higher level of conflicts during the dry season compared to the rainy season, when wildebeest and other wild prey are abundant. We have also observed that cubs from prides located in areas with livestock have a higher chance of survival compared to cubs from Small and Big Marsh, where there is no livestock. In the past four years, we have not observed any cubs surviving in either Big or Small Marsh, despite females giving birth each year.
All cubs have died during the dry season due to the food shortage. This justifies that the higher survival rate of cubs from prides living in areas with livestock is largely due to their mothers hunting livestock during the dry season.
Conservation Efforts
Our team continues to engage with the local community to promote lasting coexistence between humans and lions. We have four Ilchokuti in Ndutu who work diligently to monitor collared lions and alert herders about their presence in pasture areas. Sometimes, they assist in moving livestock away from areas where lions are active. The Ilchokuti model is a community-led initiative that involves hiring young men from the community to help their people live alongside lions.
In addition to monitoring and tracking collared lions, pre-warning herders and the community at large, the Ilchokuti also assist with treating wounded livestock vulnerable to lion attacks, finding lost livestock, and reinforcing bomas for protection.In recent months, we have conducted several community meetings in the Ndutu area to develop a comprehensive joint plan for mitigating lion-human conflict and preventing both retaliation and traditional lion killings.
Roimen, our Lion Monitoring and Conflict Officer, with the support of William Oleseki, our Board Member and community meetings expert, organized and facilitated meetings between elders and warriors to propose a ban on traditional and retaliatory lion killings in the Ndutu area.
Additionally, during the dry season, when the risk of conflict between lions and people is high, we have had a vehicle on standby in Ndutu to provide urgent support to the Field Staff team when needed.
Looking Ahead
Ndutu is a vital area for lion survival and plays a key role in enabling connectivity between lions in Ngorongoro and other parts of the Serengeti ecosystem. Moving forward, we will continue to strengthen our efforts, particularly by investing in lion monitoring and working to prevent retaliation and traditional lion killings.
The Ilchokuti model is at the heart of Kopelion, and we are committed to investing in building their capacity across all areas to ensure they can perform their tasks effectively and achieve our goals. This includes ensuring that they have access to the necessary facilities and resources to carry out their duties.We will also focus on strengthening our relationship with the community, recognizing them as equal partners in our work to enable lasting coexistence between people and lions.
We will continue holding meetings with the community and providing support when needed. Additionally, we will maintain a good number of collared lions to keep the community alert to lion presence in areas where they could pose a threat to livestock.
Supporters and Collaborators
The success of Kope Lion’s work in Ndutu is made possible through the invaluable support and collaboration of several key partners. These include Ndutu Lodge, Masek Lodge, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), and, most importantly, the local community residing in the Ndutu area.
Our efforts in promoting lion conservation, managing human-lion conflict, and ensuring the safety of both people and wildlife in Ndutu would not be possible without their continuous support. The cooperation with these stakeholders is vital in enabling us to carry out our lion monitoring programs, provide training for the Ilchokuti, and engage in community meetings that foster lasting coexistence between humans and lions.
We greatly appreciate the role that each of these collaborators plays in helping us to protect lions and secure a sustainable future for both wildlife and local communities in the Ndutu region.
For more info on the Kope Lion Team, please contact Charlie Morison on 01931 713288 or via charlie@campbell-bell.com
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