Lions at the Majete Wildlife Reserve in Malawi were beginning to eat too well...
While the population of the predators in the park has grown from a mere three individuals that were introduced in 2012 to around 100 today, antelopes and other prey have become at risk of seeing their numbers dwindle. So, reports Mongabay, conservation nonprofit African Parks has been implementing a creative solution: administering lion birth control.
“In order to avoid those impacts from happening, we want to make sure that we reduce our lion population to a reasonable size,” Craig Thomas, conservation manager at the Reserve, explained to Voice of America. To that end, African Parks began administering deslorelin synthetic hormonal implants in 2022, targeting adult female lions that had already had litters.
Last year, reports Voice of America, the park expanded the initiative by performing vasectomies on male lions, and now 13 adult males have undergone treatment. The efforts so far appear to be a win-win, as no cubs were born last year, and park officials haven’t recorded any resulting negative impacts on the lions.
“The effectiveness of this method is also demonstrated in other parks managed by African Parks, where similar programs have successfully controlled lion populations without negatively impacting pride dynamics,” Thomas told Mongabay, adding: “The management strategy focuses on maintaining ecological balance, ensuring that predator and prey populations remain sustainable.”
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