Could tourists save lions from extinction?

The situation for Africa's lions is dire. Since the 1960s, we have lost at least 70% of them, even though a few thousand years ago they were still living in large parts of Europe, Asia and the Americas. There are now only about 20,000 left. Habitat loss and human expansion are largely to blame; in Kenya and Tanzania, for example, lions are shot when they regularly kill domestic animals. Not to mention trophy hunters who still shoot lions in the wild in countries where it is allowed. Examples include Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

However, to complete the story, it is important to highlight that living with these large predators is not easy. For many people in rural areas of Africa, livestock covers school fees and hospital bills, as well as providing insurance against bad luck. Given this, it is perhaps not so surprising that many lions that live near humans end up being shot or poisoned. But it doesn’t have to be that way! A study, in which Grant Hopcraf, a research fellow at the University of Glasgow, was involved, suggests that when humans directly benefit from lions they become more tolerant of them.

You can never have enough lions: the Serengeti experience

They focused their research on an area in a protected zone around the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, which is in the Serengeti ecosystem. These fertile grasslands are home to the Maasai, who share them as semi-nomadic herders with over a million wildebeests and their predators. The Maasai have always thrown spears at any stray lion that dared to interfere in the lives of their animals. Today, there are many more people and livestock, and much less room for lions. However, many of those living on the northern edge of the Mara have wisely realised the premiums tourists are willing to pay for the Serengeti experience.

The lions help attract more than 350,000 visitors to the area each year. This alone generates $90 million, only in entrance fees. Beyond the national reserve, many families have combined their land holdings into community nature reserves, which also welcome visitors for a fee. These areas attract wildlife by managing and protecting wildlife, water and unique habitats. And revenues are distributed equitably within the community to avoid conflict. Other families have not taken advantage of this opportunity and rely solely on their livestock for their livelihoods.

382 lions tracked over 5 years

In the northern part of the Masai Mara National Reserve, a 1,500-square-kilometre nature reserve and other privately owned grazing areas have been established. In the reserve – where no one lives -, the lions roam free. This provided the perfect opportunity to conduct a three-way natural experiment to test the impact of the reserves on lions. Sara Blackburn and Laurence Frank spent five years tracking the life histories of 382 lions in this area. This was the first time anyone had looked at individual lion survival rates in relation to reserves, rather than just counting population size.

The natural lifespan of lions in the wild rarely exceeds 13 years. When they compared the survival of lions outside national parks, their results clearly showed that survival is not determined by the number of prey animals available or the quality of the habitat – both of which are sufficient to sustain this population. Nor does the number of livestock in the lions’ territory affect survival.

The only factor that consistently shortens a lion’s life – sometimes reducing the chance of survival by up to 40% – is the number of households in its territory that are not part of a community conservation area. Households that are members of a protected area do not negatively affect the lions’ chances of survival. This suggests that when people earn income from lions through ecotourism, they become more tolerant and the lions survive. There is a good chance that the same could be true for other animals in decline in the region. For example, giraffes and impala.

Fight for territory

Cecil the Lion, shot by an American hunter in 2015. His death raised public awareness of the need to protect these remarkable predators. The event sparked heated debates about the role of trophy hunting and the possibility of protecting lions with fences. And a few months later, footage of an excited lion walking through the streets of Nairobi emerged. All these events highlight the ongoing struggle for space. In this worrying situation, however, the research that has been done shows how this story can end happily. Community nature reserves are a viable and workable alternative for wildlife conservation. Although they exist in many places in Kenya and Tanzania, governments should continue to be encouraged to develop similar opportunities for local communities.

The idea may sound bizarre at first. But ecotourism could be the solution, allowing locals to benefit from wildlife in the most humane and safest way possible.