Welcome to Desert Lion Conservation

For the past 12 years, since February 2006, the Desert Lion Conservation Project maintained an active website that presented current information on the research project and the activities of the desert-adapted lion population. The site provided a steady flow of information, especially between 2009 and 2016 with near-daily updates, that was valued by a wide range of interested parties, including the tourism industry, the local communal conservancies, conservation bodies and wildlife enthusiasts.

Between June 2017 and February 2019 website updates were done sporadically and contained less detailed data in an effort to avoid the mis-use of information by third parties. Notwithstanding, the research results and ecological data presented by the Desert Lion Conservation Trust on this website continued to be used out of context by people that can best be described as “armchair-conservationists” and “Facebook-warriors”. This resulted in these parties generating mis-information and “fake-news” to suit their agendas that were not in the best interest of the longterm conservation of Namibia’s desert adapted lions. As a result, updates to the website were stopped on 19 February 2019 until such time a solution to the encroachment could be found.

With the spread of the Corona virus pandemic and associated social-distancing and movement restrictions that enfolded during March 2020, the activities of the above-mentioned parties were curtailed. On the basis of our official research permit, the Desert Lion Conservation Trust were granted permission to continue with research activities as an essential service. We have therefore decided to continue with website updates in order to provide feedback and information to all our sponsors and supporters, and to the tourism industry that has become such valuable partners in conservation.

Website updates will now be done at least once per month and will be backdated to February 2019 during the next few weeks. In an effort to prevent the mis-use of information, we have decided to refrain from providing detailed data on individual lions and specific locations. The new approach should not detract from the value of the information and will include more video and visual material.

What we do

Desert Lion Conservation, or the “Desert Lion Project”, as it is often referred to, is a small non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of desert - adapted lions in the Northern Namib. Our main focus is to collect important base-line ecological data on the lion population and to study their behaviour, biology and adaptation to survive in the harsh environment. We then use this information to collaborate with other conservation bodies in the quest to find a solution to human-lion conflict, to elevate the tourism value of lions, and to contribute to the conservation of the species.

to the complete news list