Abstract
A voluntary citizen science approach was used in a pilot study of the relict population of the Critically Endangered western African Lion Panthera leo in Niokolo-Koba National Park (NKNP) in Senegal. In total, 93 observations involving 253 lion sightings were made by NKNP guides and their clients over a period of four and a half years in the central tourist area of the Park which represents about 3% of the total area of NKNP. Identification sheets were produced for 10 individual lions on the basis of whisker spot patterns measured from photographs contributed by the tourists. Although we were not able to identify a sufficient number of individual lions to estimate the lion population in the zone, extensive data on the geographic distribution, age-class and sex, and behaviour of the observed lions are presented. Data are also presented to tentatively support a relationship between the annual variations in lion observations and the total rainfall in the preceding year. The advantages of this citizen science approach in terms of complementing mainstream science, as well as in promoting tourism development and conservation sensitisation, are discussed, and recommendations are made for pursuing this cooperative effort at a higher level of effectiveness.
Highlights
The African Lion Panthera leo has attracted particular attention as an example of the recognised critical decline in biodiversity worldwide, having declined to 35,000 individuals occupying 25% of its historic range (Henschel et al 2014)
Study of mitochondrial DNA (Bertola et al 2011) showed that western and central African Lions form a distinct clade which is more closely related to Asiatic Lions than to the southern and eastern African Lions, which can be explained by a Pleistocene extinction and subsequent recolonization of western Africa from the Middle East; the relationships among the different African and Asiatic lion populations were recently further refined through whole genome studies (Bertola et al 2019)
This decision was based on the findings of Henschel et al (2014) who had estimated the total number of West African Lions to be only 406, using survey data which confirmed the presence of lions in only four large protected areas in the region, including Niokolo-Koba National Park (NKNP) in southeastern Senegal
Summary
The African Lion Panthera leo has attracted particular attention as an example of the recognised critical decline in biodiversity worldwide, having declined to 35,000 individuals occupying 25% of its historic range (Henschel et al 2014). The current status of the isolated western African population is especially worrisome, and it has been listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN (Henschel et al 2015). This decision was based on the findings of Henschel et al (2014) who had estimated the total number of West African Lions to be only 406, using survey data which confirmed the presence of lions in only four large protected areas in the region, including Niokolo-Koba National Park (NKNP) in southeastern Senegal (see Figure 1). A more recent report established by IUCN (Tiomoko & Van Merm 2015), states that the census conducted by the Park authorities in April 2015 noted positive signs of increased wildlife and in particular that the “lion, assumed absent from the property [sic] for several years, is present.” Regular surveys and scientific studies of the lions of NKNP (Bauer & Van Der Merwe 2004; Henschel et al 2014; Kane et al 2015) have not yet provided complete data on their number, distribution, physical, and behavioural characteristics, probably in part due to the difficulties in mobilising sufficient funding and human resources towards this goal
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