OVERALL PROJECT SUMMARY

Across sub-Saharan Africa, interactions among endangered wildlife populations and under-resourced human communities increasingly result in conflicts such as livestock depredation, wildlife poaching, or human casualties. These human-wildlife conflicts have unsustainable ecological, sociocultural, economic, and health costs that disproportionately affect marginalized human and nonhuman communities. Given the integrated socio-ecological systems of our shared planet, safeguarding the wellbeing and future of people and other species requires human-wildlife coexistence and equitable conservation action. These goals are especially critical for the predator guild, wherein threatened carnivores and humans often come into conflict over shared resources.

In collaboration with local communities and institutions in Laikipia, Kenya, our project explores novel coexistence pathways for pastoralists and lions (Panthera leo) across scales. Our research studies human-lion dynamics particularly from the often-ignored perspectives of nonhuman individuals and marginalized identities. We combine interdisciplinary methodologies – including biologging (e.g., Species Movement, Acceleration, and Radio Tracking (SMART) lion collars, solar-powered GPS cattle ear tags), community social surveys, conservation genomics, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) environmental mapping – to collect high-resolution data about interacting lion, livestock, and human individuals in a shared landscape. By working with on-the-ground conservation organizations, supporting Kenyan scientific capacity, and integrating local pastoralist knowledge into all stages of the project, our work helps improve human, wildlife, and socio-ecological system wellbeing in an era of global change.

MAIN RESEARCH GOALS

Overarching Question: How can human-lion dynamics across scales promote ongoing socioecological coexistence that supports the wellbeing of diverse human and wildlife communities?

Main Objectives:

1) Assess how individual variation among lions impacts their interactions with humans and livestock.

2) Understand how identity and demographic variation affects relations with lions and conservation among pastoralists.

3) Develop socioecological models that identify key drivers of human-lion conflict and predict conflict hotspots across landscapes.

PROJECT TEAM

The C4 team includes Lucrecia Aguilar (PhD candidate at Harvard University and project lead), Dr. Andrew Davies (Associate Professor at Harvard University and PI), Alfred Kibungei (MPH student at Mount Kenya University), Elizabeth Nasieku Lelenguya (head research assistant), Summer Smentek (undergraduate thesis student at Harvard University), Mercy Cheruto Lopan (survey research assistant), James Mengich Apopong (survey research assistant), Nelson Justin Karkuli (survey research assistant), and Sam Kiuna (former research assistant), along with many other collaborators from Lion Landscapes, Mpala Research Centre, Mount Kenya University, Harvard University, Kenya Wildlife Service, and Laikipia conservancy ranches and pastoralist communities.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

This year, we have deployed over 100 solar-powered, GPS-enabled ear tags on cattle in various pastoralist communities and commercial ranches across northern/central Laikipia. These ear tags help us study cattle herd movements in relation to lion movements and behavior. Those lion movements and behaviors are measured using specialized lion collars with GPS and accelerometer sensors. In February, Mpala collaborated with Kenya Wildlife Service vets, Lion Landscapes, and Ol Jogi Conservancy to deploy two lion collars on Mpala and two on Ol Jogi to help manage human-lion conflict (especially livestock depredation). On Mpala, a female lion was captured and collared near Ranch House. She was mating with a large male the evening of the collaring; as soon as she woke up from the anesthesia, he returned to her side and they walked off into the night together! A male lion was later collared at Soingashi Dam; he is part of a coalition of four young males who like causing trouble with livestock. After the collarings, Mpala staff voted on names for the two lions: Naserian (meaning “peaceful one”) won for the female and Laigwanani (meaning “leader”) won for the male!