Lions and their prey are threatened across most of their range but especially in West and Central Africa. Prey availability influences carnivore densities, social structure, prey preference and home ranges, and changes in prey are important for carnivore management. Scarcity of large prey in many West and Central African ecosystems has been described as leading to a preference for hunting smaller prey in smaller groups. Here we investigated the changes in prey selection of lions in Zakouma National Park (Chad), a restored protected area in Central Africa, by collecting feeding data through opportunistic observations and GPS cluster points of lion collars. Compared to pre-restoration data, lions preferred larger prey and fed in larger groups. Our results show that diet shifts due to prey losses can be reversed with restoration of the ecosystem, and we speculate that this may be true across large carnivores and across regions.

The civil war in Côte d’Ivoire between 2002 and 2010 led to a hike in human disturbances and the disappearance of African lions (Panthera leo) from the Comoé National Park (CNP). After the crisis, many efforts to conserve and restore this ecosystem and its biodiversity have been made and the management authority is considering the reintroduction of lions. We assessed the acceptance of the reintroduction of the lions by the local populations; through a sociological survey, we administered questionnaires to 307 people in 23 villages bordering CNP. A large majority (71%, n=218) were in favor of the return of the lions, with significant variation among ethnic groups. A general linear model analysis (GLM) revealed that apart from ethnic group, profession and origin (village) are significantly determinant for the acceptance of lion reintroduction to CNP. Most respondents had knowledge of the species (96%, n=296). The majority of respondents (81%, n=250) acknowledged having coexisted with lions, with previous conflicts with lions reported by 16% (n = 49) of respondents and a willingness to coexist with future lions reported by 81% (n = 248) of respondents. More than 84% (n=260) of respondents believed that there would be benefits associated with lion return to CNP and 52% (n=161) and 14% (n=44) of respondents believed that the potential benefits would be greater and less than the possible risks associated with lion return. Just under half of respondents (42%; n=129) confirmed the current participatory management of CNP while the majority (91%; n=280) confirmed the possibility of taking own precautions to prevent attacks from future lion. We recommend the improvement of the involvement of indigenous communities in any reintroduction and the implementation of environmental education projects as a condition for the potential reintroduction of lions.

Carnivores are threatened across Sub-Saharan Africa mostly due to retaliatory killing by people, the loss of prey species and their habitats. Due to their food and space requirements, they regularly come into conflict with humans. In many regions, information about carnivore occurrence and human-carnivore conflict remains poorly known particularly in parts of West-and Central Africa. Here, we assessed the local ecological knowledge on carnivores and associated conflicts in the forest-savannah transition zone in Cameroon. We conducted a semi-structured questionnaire survey with 649 local inhabitants from 23 villages around the Tchabal Mbabo Mountain Range, Yoko Council Forest and Mpem et Djim National Park. The majority of local people could easily identify the lions (73.8%, n=479) and correctly named (90.2%, n=432), whereas other species (e.g. leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, African wild dogs, as well as the medium-sized carnivores) were identified with more difficulty. Most respondents (71.3%, n=463) reported depredation of their livestock, mostly by lions, spotted hyenas, civets and foxes and half of respondents (50.2%, n=326) reported retaliation against predators as the main action resorted to protect their livestock. The use of poisons against wild predators was advocated by some respondents, an additional threat to wild carnivores. Local people suggested construction of enclosures (46.4%, n=301) as the most important mitigation measures. Our study provides baseline information on carnivore occurrence in Cameroon’s transitional forest savannah environments and threats to these animals from local people.