The owners of Humane Wildlife Conflict Resolution, LLC are animal conservationists at heart. In December 2009, they traveled to Antelope Park in Gweru, Zimbabwe to volunteer at a lion conservation project. The purpose of the project is to increase the population of lions in the wild of Zimbabwe and all of Africa. In the 1970's there were approximately 200,000 wild lions in the wilds of Africa. Today, there are only 30,000. The decrease in numbers is due to human conflict.
The lions are bred at Antelope park and other conservation programs. They are raised by their mothers until they are three weeks old before being removed. Since their mothers are in the breeding program, they won't be able to teach their young how to survive in the wild. It is up to humans to teach the baby lions how to hunt and survive. The lions are assigned lion handlers. The lion handlers walk with the lions in the bush every day twice until they are two years old. During those walks, they are encouraged to practice hunting the prey animals in the bush. At two years old, the lions are placed into prides based on their personality strengths and weaknesses. That pride is then taken out to hunt by the handlers once a week. Their instinct takes over and hunting becomes natural. At about four years old, the pride is released into a carefully monitored park where their every hunt and kill is documented. If the lions are successful as a pride, they are released into a safari park to live out the rest of their lives.
The pictures you see here were taken by Tyler and Lynn at Antelope park in December 2009.
