Hunting for sustainability : lion conservation in Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania

The Selous Game Reserve (SGR) in Tanzania, at 47,500km² is large, and is reliant on trophy hunting by tourists for revenue. The study of lions (Panthera leo) in SGR therefore offers the opportunity to investigate sustainable resource utilization as a tool in conservation. Using a combination of methods the lion population of SGR was estimated at 4300 (range 1700-6900), representing Africa’s largest lion population. The north and west of the reserve had higher densities of lions. The population of an 800km² intensively studied area in northern SGR at Matambwe has remained relatively constant since 1997, but the adult sex ratio has decreased from roughly 1 male : 1.3 female in 1997 to 1 male : 3 females in 2009.

The ecology of the Matambwe lions of northern SGR was studied from 2006-2009, and lion distribution in this area was best explained by lean or dry season prey biomass. Two different methods were used to work out the lion carrying capacity. Environmental and anthropogenic factors that best explained lion distribution in northern SGR were distance to the reserve boundary and villages and soil type of an area.

The SGR is divided into 43 hunting blocks which are leased by companies. The management of trophy hunting in SGR and Tanzania is driven by a quota system set through educated guesswork by the government for each hunting block. Based on a study of lion hunting off-take, a reduction of the lion hunting quota to one lion 1000km⁻² for SGR is suggested. Attempts to estimate the lion population per hunting block and then suggest a quota based on a figure below ten percent of the adult male population also leads to a reduction in the hunting quota.

The impact that length of block tenure by companies has on trophy hunting of lions in SGR was investigated. The blocks in SGR with the most lions shot 1000km⁻² annually were the blocks that experienced the steepest declines in trophy offtake from 1996 to 2008 and tended to be under short-term tenure. These short-term blocks, however, brought in the greatest amount of revenue for the government.

The important factor in the long-term survival of the lion will be human attitudes and actions. Detailed interviews with key informants and general questionnaires highlighted many different possible ways to reform lion trophy hunting in SGR. Many of the necessary reforms are not new, yet there seems to be reluctance to embrace these reforms.