We all remember the Cecil the lion saga – probably the most famous of all lions – following his death at the hands of a trophy hunter in July 2015. The world’s outrage following his death by an American bow hunter will never be forgotten. The media and TV publicity surrounding Cecil’s fate highlighted just one of the risks facing lions in the wild in Africa today (trophy hunting) but there are others: ongoing conflict with humans living adjacent to protected areas, shrinking home ranges, and a demand for more farming land as a result of population explosion to name but a few!
It’s hard to believe that it is 6 years since Cecil’s death. But for those interested in lion population dynamics, is wonderful to see that Cecil’s legacy is alive and well in Hwange National Park. Just before Cecil was killed, he sired his last litter of cubs, one of which is now a mature 6-year-old male called Lesang.
Fittingly, Lesang has decided to take up residence in one of his father’s historic home ranges, namely Ngamo on the south eastern boundary of the park! This was Cecil’s home range/territory in his early days in Hwange, when he and his brother, Leander, entered the park in late 2008.
Leander was killed in a territorial skirmish with resident male Mpofu in 2009. Cecil was seriously injured but survived to continue his life journey and produce many cubs during his lifetime! Mpofu also succumbed to his injuries shortly after this fight for territory!
Lesang has teamed up with lioness Tengwane, and a few months ago produced a litter of 3 cubs (sex unknown) to build on the legacy of the lion king Cecil! It is early days, and many threats face Lesang and Tengwane as they raise these cubs to adulthood. Ngamo is located just a few kilometres away from the unfenced boundary of Hwange, so the immediate threat is Lesang moving across into community farming areas (as lions do not respect boundaries), so conflict with humans /farmers will be an issue – as will the very real threat of being caught or killed in a wire snare, but only time will tell!
Protecting his small family unit from other lions seeking new territories will be another challenge for both Lesang and Tengwane in the future, so we will try to keep our readers up to date on their progress from time to time. But isn’t it nice to know that Cecil’s legacy lives on in Hwange National Park!
Lesang with his 7-month-old cubs.
Tengwane with her 2-month-old cubs.
