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ABOUT
THE LION BREEDING PROGRAM:
Over the
past 40 years, the African lion
population has decreased by an
astonishing 80 – 90% with an estimated
number of lions in Africa today as low
as 32,000. Lion populations have
continued to decline, with up to 18
sub-populations believed to have existed
in 2002 having now been confirmed as
extinct.
This volunteer projects form part of the
ground-breaking Lion Rehabilitation
Program, which was launched in Gweru in
2004.
The
project has partnered with a non-profit
organization dedicated to the
conservation of the African Lion. In an
attempt to offset the rapid decline of
lion populations, they have initiated a
staged lion rehabilitation program that
aims to release cubs of captive bred
lions into appropriate national parks
and reserves across Africa where they
can one day have their own wild-born
offspring.
The
release program has so far successfully
released two prides into fenced-wild
areas, and these prides are having
wild-born cubs of their own. The two
prides are located in Gweru, Zimbabwe
and Livingstone, Zambia.
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ABOUT THE LION REHABILITATION PROGRAM:
The aim of
the Lion Rehabilitation Program is to
restore lion populations within Eastern
and Southern Africa through an
initiative that will also provide social
benefits to surrounding communities.
Since the launch of the Hands-on Lion
Conservation Volunteer Project at Gweru,
the project has made amazing progress
with the help of dedicated staff,
persistent visionaries, and passionate
international volunteers. The
rehabilitation program has expanded
across two more locations, and now have
a total of three lion conservation
projects working hard to raise
captive-bred lion cubs to be released
into the wild.
PRE-RELEASE STAGE:
Cubs are born to captive-bred
mothers and remain in her care for the
first three weeks of their life to take
advantage of the more nutritious milk
that mother's provide in the first days
post-partum. Thereafter they are removed
so that they can bond to a human handler
assigned to raise them so that they
build enough confidence in their
surrogate mother to follow them into the
African Bush; a vital part of their
pre-release training.
The mother
of the cubs is captive and therefore
does not have the skills that the cubs
need to learn to survive when given the
opportunity to fend for themselves. Much
of the issues people have regarding the
ethics of breeding lions in captivity
come from the images they see of people
holding cubs and bottle feeding them in
their arms, with no time to rest and
partake in species specific behaviours
necessary for their proper development.
This is not permitted at any of our lion
projects and the development of the
cubs’ natural instincts is priority.
In the
pre-release stage handlers take the
place of dominant members of the pride
and train the cubs only to the point
that they are safe for us to walk with.
The lions are given every opportunity to
build their confidence in their natural
environment both during the day and at
night. As their experience grows they
start to take an interest in the
wildlife they encounter on the walks,
and by the age of eighteen months are
able to hunt small antelope. By two
years old the lions are already seasoned
hunters, and we give them plenty of
opportunity to practice their natural
hunting skills.
RELEASE STAGES
In the Release Stages, the
lions are given the chance to develop a
natural pride social system in a
semi-wild enclosure of up to 10,000
acres. They have sufficient prey species
to hunt and their progress is monitored
closely by researchers, although all
human contact and influence is removed.
The release program has so far
successfully released two prides into
fenced-wild areas, and these prides are
having wild-born cubs of their own.
THE WILD
This is when lions that have
been born in the Release Stages can be
released into the wild in natural social
groups. Through these stages, we aim to
preserve the African Lion by producing
quality, disease-free gene pools,
rebuilding the diminishing numbers of
lions, and introducing the offspring
back into wild environments.
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“The lion
encounter was everything I expected and
more. The training and the guides make
you feel safe and giving back to the
community e.g. the orphanage was an
eye-opener to show the real side of
Zimbabwe, not just what the tourists
see.” Joanne Emmett
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DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN THE LOCATIONS: Gweru v. Victoria
Falls
GWERU
LOCATION
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This
is a private Game Reserve in the
Midlands of Zimbabwe, and volunteers
live and work on the Reserve.
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There
is an option to upgrade your
volunteer accommodation to a River
Lodge or a River Tent at an extra
cost.
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This
project can take a maximum of 22
volunteers.
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The
project is very animal-focused, and
volunteers will work with the
Reserve's lions, horses and
elephants.
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Approximately 90 lions are based on
the reserve, with 40 of those
awaiting release.
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This
is the largest of the lion projects
and the home of the breeding
program. Volunteers will help with
enclosure, cleaning and meat
preparation for the adult lions in
the breeding program, as well as
care for the walking cubs.
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Night
Encounters are conducted on the
Reserve.
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Optional activities are offered at
the Reserve, such as elephant rides,
fishing, game drives, horse rides,
canoeing, etc.
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Day
trips are occasionally available, as
well as a 5 day trip to Victoria
Falls which runs twice a month,
provided there is sufficient
volunteer interest.
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Once a
week on a Saturday, volunteers are
given the opportunity to visit the
nearby town of Gweru, as well as a
local orphanage.
VICTORIA FALLS LOCATION
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Volunteers are accommodated at a
Lodge in the beautiful town of
Victoria Falls, and travel out daily
to a privately-owned Reserve where
the lions are based.
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There
are between 3 and 5 lions on the
project.
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An
armed scout accompanies all lion
walks, as there are other wild
animals in the Reserve.
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This
project can take a maximum of 10
volunteers.
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Volunteers will enjoy interaction
with the local school children,
teaching conservation education, and
will also visit an orphanage in the
area once or twice a week.
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A
fairly strong emphasis is placed on
conservation education and community
assistance, as well as providing
help to the National Parks
Authority, when requested, such as
helping to clear alien invader
plants in the National Park.
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There
is a wide range of activities
available at Victoria Falls which
can be enjoyed during time-off from
the project including whitewater
rafting, river cruises, bungee
jumping, gorge swinging, etc. Other
optional trips are also available,
such as a visit to Miombo Lodge near
Hwange National Park, and a 4-day
trip to Antelope Park near Gweru.
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Gweru Location
Victoria Falls Location
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