How DSWF is protecting Lions

DSWF has been funding conservation in Uganda since 1998. Our funding has been focused on Murchison Falls National Park, the biggest remaining lion stronghold in the country. Murchison was once abundant in wildlife, but from the 1970s onwards, poaching exploded, and the park was essentially lawless, with rebel groups controlling large swathes of the area. Wildlife populations resultantly collapsed.

DSWF has supported projects to restore Murchison to its former glory.  Key to this has been extensive ranger patrols and snare sweeps, alongside vast improvements to the infrastructure of the park, including new ranger stations and a vastly improved communications system which now covers over 80% of the park, (compared to 5% previously). Huge challenges remain; budgets are low, especially following the pandemic and given the impact of global price rises – and Murchison remains a difficult park to protect, given the deep bush in many places and the inaccessibility of other areas in the rainy season.

The project protects lions through anti-poaching patrols but also through innovative use of technology, tracking them with satellite collars and using Earth Ranger. The collaring work is still in its infancy, but as more lions are collared, a clearer picture will emerge of threats facing the lions and how to protect them. It is thought lion populations in Murchison have at worst, stabilised, and are perhaps slightly increasing – hugely encouraging news, especially given declining populations in the rest of Uganda. Just as importantly, the population of the lion’s main prey, the Ugandan kob, are exploding, meaning there is a more than healthy prey base, capable of supporting a larger and more robust population of lions in the future.