Antelope park in Zimbabwe is home to a lion conservation project known as ALERT. The chief aim of program is to breed lions and release them back into the wild. According to our guide there were approximately 200 000 wild lions in Africa in 1970. Now there are approximately 32 000. The conservation program has 4 stages.
In stage 1 lion cubs born in captivity are taken on walks to allow their natural hunting skills to develop. These are the lions I walked with. Liaila and Lewa were both about 17 months old. The cubs take the first initial of their mother when born to help researchers track the genetic pool. These lions were very playful and did display the beginnings of their natural hunting instincts. They started to stalk some impala but weren't quiet enough to make the kill! The impala got away from them quite easily.
In stage two of the research, the lions are put into a large enclosure ( minimum 500 acres) and given the time and opportunity to develop a natural pride. They have plenty of game to hunt and stay in this stage until they are completely self sustaining.
In stage 3 the pride from stage 2 are released into a larger managed Eco-system where they deal with competitive species. In this stage, the pride will give birth to new cubs. These cubs are raised in a pride and a natural environment with no human contact. Effectively, these are wild lions!
In stage 4, the cubs are released into the wild with all the instincts and skill of a wild-born cub. This is usually done at the same time as baby cubs would be kicked out of their natural pride by the dominant male. This separation mirrors the natural way lions separate themselves from a pride and make new ones.
If you think this is up your alley check them out online. You can come here and volunteer!
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