IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Ikanda, D.K. | |
| Assessment of Man-Eating Outbreaks by African Lions _Panthera leo_ in Southeastern Tanzania | |
| 2007 Conference Proceeding | |
Sporadic and prolonged attacks on humans characterize human-lion interactions in southeastern Tanzania. Approximately 1800 lions survive in this vast unprotected region and up to 400 human lion-related fatalities have been recorded in the past 10 years (1997-2007). We used a statistical approach to distinguish between sporadic attacks and prolonged outbreaks in three affected districts, verifying each incident in the field through trace-backs of 340-recorded attacks. Three key sporadic attack locations and five prolonged outbreaks sites have been identified and mapped. Initial results suggest that human attacks are endemic and systematic with annual tolls of 0-5 fatalities in sporadic attacks and up to 10-40 fatalities in occasional prolonged (>18 mos) outbreaks. Sporadic attacks are less lethal, and offending lions less dedicated to human predation whereas prolonged outbreaks are characterized by bold acts of determined man-eaters. These findings will enable Tanzanian wildlife authorities to scale appropriate intervention efforts in the future. |
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