News

David Macdonald up-dates followers of Cecil’s lion community who are asking us for news of his cubs and pride

I have heard from people who are concerned at yet another spate of unfounded rumours that the cubs have been killed (it is a mystery to us where the Press gets these unfounded reports). Happily we can report that all is well, and the private lives of these lions continue to unfold, and we at the WildCRU continue to document them. This, by the way, is not easy. Even with satellite tracking, which gives us a location, it is difficult to watch the tagged lion in thick bush (remembering also that these are dangerous animals). Furthermore, while we have tracking collars on many of the males, most of the lionesses are not tagged (an economy that works OK because sooner or later, and generally sooner, the males lead us to the females).

Anyway, the good news is that WildCRU’s Brent Staplekamp yesterday got an excellent “visual” on Jericho (and a great photo – attached) he was in a territory we call Kennedy and was resting alone under a tree, surrounded by the torn ground where a herd of buffalo had galloped by – more than likely with Jericho in pursuit. A few days earlier the field team saw the spoor of the lionesses and cubs, with no evidence at all of any problem.

Right now these lions are operating in an area rich in prey and devoid of competing lions. Of course, these are wild animals, and their lives will unfold according to the laws of nature and, doubtless, will be full of surprises, but we are there to watch, and learn, and to work for their conservation.