Manager of the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group’s African Lion Database
PROFILE
Dr Samantha Nicholson is the manager of the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group’s African Lion Database (ALD) and is based at the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa. She is a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, the African Lion Working Group and South Africa’s Wild Dog Advisory Group (WAG-SA).
As the manager of the ALD, she plays a critical role in coordinating and overseeing the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data related to African lions. The ALD, under her management, is an essential resource for monitoring lion populations, understanding their distribution and status, and aiding in conservation efforts. Samantha works closely with conservationists, researchers, Range States, CMS, CITES, the CatSG and other conservation organizations to ensure that the database provides accurate and up-to-date information, contributing to the protection and preservation of African lion populations across the continent. Her work supports evidence-based conservation strategies and policies aimed at securing the future of this iconic species.
Samantha completed her PhD in Ecological Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2024, where her thesis assessed and conservation status of African Lions (Panthera leo). Broadly, her dissertation assessed the socio-political and ecological fragility of lion subpopulations in Africa, the perceived threats to the species across Africa, current methodologies for surveying lions and the current conservation status of lions.
Prior to this, she earned a Master’s Degree in Zoology with distinction from Rhodes University in 2013, where her thesis conducted a feasibility assessment on the potential reintroduction of Endangered Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) into a reserve in South Africa. This included conducting a population viability assessment and determining, through questionnaire surveys, the attitudes of local stakeholders. Samantha completed an Honours Degree in African Vertebrate Diversity at Rhodes University in 2012, following her Bachelor of Science Degree in Zoology and Environmental Science from the same institution in 2011.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Towards effective and harmonized lion survey methodologies: a systematic review of practice across Africa
Socio-political and ecological fragility of threatened, free-ranging African lion populations
Threat analysis for more effective lion conservation
A 20-Year Review of the Status and Distribution of African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) in South Africa
South Africa’s private wildlife ranches protect globally significant populations of wild ungulates
Towards effective and harmonized lion survey methodologies: a systematic review of practice across Africa
Understanding the population status of a species is vital for their conservation. Over the last two decades, multiple methods for surveying lion (Panthera leo) populations have been designed and tested. Each have strengths and weaknesses, with different applications, and varying levels of reliability, accuracy and precision. We conducted a PRISMA systematic review to identify and assess survey methods for estimating lion population abundance. We searched the Web of Science and Google Scholar for peer reviewed papers between January 1991 and December 2022. Sixty-five papers were included, with some using multiple methods or multiple study sites; when these were separated, 93 studies were identified. Seven broad population survey methods for lions were identified: call ups (34.8% of studies), spoor counts (32.5%), direct observations (15.7%), direct observations with capture recapture elements (12.4%), camera trap-based capture-recapture analysis (4.5%), genetic surveys (3%) and distance-based surveys (1.1%). Our literature review suggests that the most reliable methods for determining lion density or abundance are direct observations and camera trap-based capture recapture surveys. Genetic surveys combined with spatially-explicit capture recapture analysis also hold significant potential. Due to their lack of reliability and tendency to over-estimate populations, call ups and spoor counts are not recommended for determining population abundance. We further recommend that harmonized methods be developed that can produce comparable and reliable estimates, which can be used to inform conservation decisions across the species range.
Socio-political and ecological fragility of threatened, free-ranging African lion populations
Lions are one of the world’s most iconic species but are threatened with extinction. Developing effective range-wide conservation plans are crucial but hampered by the relative lack of knowledge on specific threats facing each population and the socio-political context for conservation. Here, we present a range-wide examination of the relative fragility of lion populations, examining socio-political factors alongside ecological ones. We found Ethiopia’s Maze National Park had the most ecologically fragile geographic population while Kavango-Zambezi was the least. At a country level, lion populations had highest ecological fragility in Cameroon and Malawi. When we examined socio-political fragility, Somalia was the most fragile lion range country, followed by South Sudan. When socio-political and ecological fragility were combined, lion populations in Maze National Park and Bush-Bush (Somalia) and more broadly, Somalian and Malawian lion populations were the most fragile. These insights should help inform more nuanced and appropriately targeted lion conservation plans.