Denver Zoo joins fight to save Africa’s declining lion population with new Ugandan partnership

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) – They may be the kings of the jungle — but in the wild, the population of African lions continues to decline at an alarming rate.

According to the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance (DZCA), fewer than 22,000 African lions remain across the continent – a devastating 30% decline over only the past 20 years. In Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) in southwestern Uganda, there are only about 40 lions left, and they face numerous threats to their survival, DZCA said.

In response to the troubling decline, DZCA has formed a new partnership with the Kyambura Lion Monitoring Project (KLMP), a Ugandan conservation initiative dedicated to protecting the few remaining QENP lions.

“We spent more than a year and a half researching and consulting with lion experts across the globe to gain a deeper understanding of the threats to African lions,” Dr. Lynn Von Hagen, Regional Conservation Director for Africa at DZCA, said. “We wanted to find the right landscape and partner to align with our field conservation strategy to make the most impact possible for this extraordinary species.”  

DZCA is now helping the group track lion populations daily, conduct an annual census of the lions, leopards and hyenas in the park, and learn new scientific techniques to monitor the animals.

“The work on the ground would not be possible without the backbone funding and support that Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance is providing,” Dr. Alex Braczkowski, the Scientific Director for KLMP, said. “We are so, so grateful for this real boots-on-the-ground research that Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance is providing us. It would not be possible without their support.” 

A multifaceted approach to saving African lions

The zoo says the DZCA-KLMP partnership focuses on several key initiatives:

• Annual wildlife census: Covering more than 7,000 kilometers every year, this survey tracks lions, leopards, and hyenas across Queen Elizabeth National Park, helping conservationists adjust their strategies based on population trends.
• Daily monitoring: The team maintains a database of known lions at the park through tracking their unique whisker spot patterns. Daily monitoring helps researchers know where all lions are in the park and ensure they don't approach nearby communities, DZCA said.
• Local training: KLMP trains Ugandans from local villages in wildlife monitoring techniques. With DZCA’s support, three new local team members will join the project in 2025. DZCA will also provide more equipment to make lion detection easier.
• Rapid response team: The KLMP team remains on alert to respond to wildlife emergencies, such as lion sbeing caught in hunters' snares or approaching human settlements. The team also works with the Uganda Wildlife Authority to assist with monitoring injured animals.

This partnership is part of broader African conservation efforts by DZCA, which in 2024 also launched initiatives to protect critically endangered mountain gorillas and endangered grey crowned cranes in Africa.

For more information about DZCA’s field conservation work in Africa, Asia, Latin America and here in Colorado, visit DenverZoo.org.  

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