Desert Lions - Vanishing Kings of the Namib

It is a bizzare thing to see the desert and wonder how anything can survive, let alone a lion and more so, a pack of them. Like many, when i was junger who have never though that such a thing would be possible until one day, my father and I went camping around Brandberg and came apon lion tracks. It was some time later that I found out about this pride. The film "Vaishing Lions" tells of a lioness and her 2 female cubs who amoung them gave birth to 5 male cubs. These 5 brothers led by a 17 year old matriarch lioness take on the the oldest desert in the world, the Namib.

Despite a lifetime of dedication in reseach to these desert lions, Dr Philip Stander and his filming crew, after having made such a fantastic internationally aclaimed nature film and having donated all proceeds to the desert lion conservation programm, came apon the dead bodies of three of these lions in August 2016, after much investigation by the ministry of enviroment and tourism, it was determined that they were poisened.

The dilema of human wildlife conflict is a on going one. In the communal areas, locals dont keep their cattle with in fenced areas like the rest of the country, instead the cattle roam into areas where wildlife is found. Then when the locals find their cattle killed by lions, people take the law into their own hands, all be it criminal to kill wildlife without concent from the ministry and then things like the tragic killing of desert lions which is already so rare it could be considered a "phenomena"

It remains a ongoing challenge to educate people on the value of wildlife and the conservation of nature. Every success made in the name of concervation comes with the help of people like yourself who delight in the wonders of this world, who travel to places like Namibia and stay at a rest camp to see wildlife. 

The desert is home to the Desert Elephants and even rhino at save the rhino camp. Should you wish to aid in the conservation of animals like the lions, please look up the respective conservation foundations and make a donation or come visit and see the animals first hand.

Want to experience the wonderfully adapted wildlife of the Namib desert?

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Photo by: http://www.ultimateafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/VanishingKings_5-e1429915380435.jpg