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Erasmus, W.N.
Lions on small reserves: an evaluation of ecological impact and financial viability
2008 Full Book
A founder population of lion (_Panthera leo_) was introduced into a 70km2 privately-owned, wildlife reserve in the Waterberg area of South Africa. The lion and prey species' populations were monitored between 2001 and 2004. In this period, 452 kills were recorded at a mean kill rate of one kill every 2.43 days. The lions killed 11 common prey species. Eland, warthog, kudu, wildebeest and zebra comprised 75% of the lion's diet. The lions consumed an average of 8% of the available common prey species population per annum. Innitially, the mean ungulate population growth rate was 30.9%, but this rate declined to -0.8% during the study period. Significantly more animals were killed in open habitats than in closed habitats. The loss in game value for the study period was over one million Rand. A formula was compiled to quantify the cost versus return aspects of introducing lion.
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