Current Monitoring
Sunday 26 June 2022
Following the exceptionally good rainfall earlier in 2022, and considering the known mortalities of lions due to human-lion conflict and the lack of food due to the hyper-arid conditions during recent years, a concerted monitoring effort is underway to determine the current age/sex structure and size of the Desert lion population.
Hoanib Floodplain Pride
One of the three “Orphan” lionesses of the Hoanib Floodplain Pride (Xpl-106 “Alfa”) gave birth to a litter of cubs on the Floodplain during the last week of May 2022. During an unusual chance observation, tourists from Wilderness Safaris Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp filmed Xpl-106 with three small cubs. This is the first known sighting of her cubs. Detailed observations will follow to determine the sex-ratio and health of the cubs during the following weeks. The birth of these cubs marks the fifth generation of continuous monitoring of each individual of the Floodplain Pride. The first observations started with the lioness Xpl-5 in 1997 and followed with Xpl-10 (“The Queen:), the five Musketeers, Xpl-69, Xpl-114 “Charly” and many more.
The “Orphan” lioness Xpl-106 “Alfa” with her first litter of three cubs
- filmed by tourists from Wilderness Safaris Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp
Uniab River
Members of the Agab Pride, including the recently collared young lioness Xpl-142, Xpl-53 and a young male were located in the upper sections of the Uniab River.
Xpl-142 and a young male
Three Agab lions start moving at sunset in search of prey
Obab Pride
Several brown hyaenas and one of the Obab lionesss were observed along the coast. The Obab lioness Xpl-105 captured a Cape fur seal that she dragged across the gravel plains for 3.6 km to the shelter of a small rock outcrop.
Brown hyaenas along the Skeleton Coast
Drag marks of a lioness carrying a Cap[e fur seal across the gravel plains
Lioness feeding on a Cape fur seal 3.6 km from the ocean
