Large carnivores, such as lions, are generally difficult to study, especially in a desert environment such as the Kunene Region. Lions, like all other felids, are "stalkers" - they make use of cover and camouflage to stalk up to their prey, followed by a quick final rush. As a result, lions are difficult to locate and spot in the vastness of the Namib Desert. The two examples below illustrate how they use the habitat and blend into their environment.

The study area is covered systematically by tracking spoor, setting out bait and using sound playbacks to locate and capture individual lions. Adult and sub-adult lions are captured and individually marked with a hot brand, and several lions in each sub-group are marked with a radio collar. (Click on photos to view enlargement)

A light aircraft is used to systematically locate radio-collared animals. Aerial locations are followed-up by ground observations to record group composition in relation to individuals and age/sex structure, and the ratio of marked to unmarked individuals. Life tables are constructed and updated to compute survivorship and mortality rates. The population dynamics of lions are evaluated by monitoring, since 1999, a core group of 13 radio-collared lions. These analyses include several population parameters, such as birth rates, mortality, fecundity, exponential rate of increase, and age-specific survivorship. Home range analyses are based on locating the daytime resting spots of lions by radio telemetry, with at least 24 hours between fixes. Home range size is calculated using the Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) and Kernel Contour methods (Harris et al. 1990).

Video (to view download QuickTime)

Darting of young male lion in Mudorib River (2001) dartlion.mov 00'07 / 664Kb