ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on the history of human-lion coexistence in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole and looks at greater detail at West, Central, Sudan, the Horn of Africa and East Africa. Access to lion range areas may be limited by conflict, inaccessibility of terrain or unwillingness of governments to permit research. The lion populations in West and Central Africa are smaller, more fragmented and vulnerable than those in East and Southern Africa. Human-lion conflict is a major problem across the region, deriving from rapidly increasing populations, the desire to raise more stock and encroachment on the lion estate which that entails. A few large-scale surveys have been conducted in Tanzania to compare populations over time, mainly in national parks. Lions were widespread in Uganda at independence, but there was no clear idea of numbers, as no surveys had been carried out.