Human-lion Conflict Management == == Scenery
Wednesday 1 August 2018
Human-lion Conflict Management
The Ugab male, Xpl-110 who was translocated to the mouth of the Ugab River, has returned to the White Lady Lodge. The lion has unfortunately become a risk to public safety. The Ministry of Environment & Tourism has been informed of the situation.
Early-warning and monitoring systems
During the past two weeks a large section between the Ugab and Uniab Rivers was surveyed for lion movements. The late and exceptional rainfall in April 2018 has complicated field work. Many of the river systems are still inaccessible due to flooding and the movement patterns of lions are unusual due to a shortage of prey. Several groups of lions were observed and the age and sex structures of the prides were updated.
A sub-adult lion that displayed unusually aggressive behaviour was observed in the Ugab River. The lion charged the research vehicle on several occasions. It is suspected that the lion had been harassed by vehicles in the Ugab River.
Summary of darting efforts and fitting EW radio collars
During the two months a total of 34 days were spent searching for lions to fit Early Warning radio collars (June = 14d, July = 20d). Darting lions can be very time consuming and difficult. This is reflected in the number of “Trap nights” (when the whole night is spent waiting at a bait) it requires to dart a lion. Six lions and two brown hyaenas were darted and fitted with collars. The overall darting success for lions was 18% and 40% for brown hyaenas. It therefore required 5.6 nights to dart one lion and 2.5 nights for a brown hyaena.
Trap Nights for June & July 2018
Scenery
Large areas of spectacular landscapes were covered in search of lions. The area between the Hoanib and Ugab Rivers was particularly beautiful.
The full moon and total lunar eclipse was observed at the Mik Mountain (Mikberg) on 27 July 2018 whilst attempting to dart members of the Huab Pride.
An ancient hunter-gatherer settlement was found in a secluded valley south of the Huab River with several rock engravings.
