Zambian lioness Lady Liuwa update

This video from Zambia says about itself:

The Last Lioness (Full Documentary) HD

Dec 11, 2011

A haunting call echoes across the Liuwa Plain. There is no answer, there hasn’t been for years. She has no pride, no support – she alone must safeguard her own survival. Her name is Lady Liuwa, and she is the Last Lioness. Isolated by a scourge of illegal trophy hunting that wiped out the rest of her species in the region, Lady Liuwa is the only known resident lion surviving on Zambia’s Liuwa Plain. For four years, cameraman Herbert Brauer watched her lonely life unfold, until, in her solitude, she reached out to him for companionship.

All rights belong to The National Geographic Society.

From Wildlife Extra:

Lady Liuwa update – Surviving lions have formed a small pride

Male and young lioness mating regularly

January 2013. After the younger of the 2 new lionesses was killed in a snare in June 2012, the second new lioness left the park and headed towards Angola. She was captured just before she crossed the border, and a decision was taken to put Lady Liuwa and the young lioness in a holding boma for several weeks. The decision proved to have been a wise one, and the two lionesses were released in October having bonded together well.

The lioness bonded well, and Lady was quick to establish her dominance over the young lioness (who in turn has shown appropriate submission) but has been tolerant, allowing the youngster to share wildebeest carcasses with her. Apart from a few growls at meal times, there has thankfully been no real aggression.

Wandering males leads to a lion death

On an unfortunate note, the two males (introduced into Liuwa in 2009) wandered north-west out of the park, with satellite tracking of the one collared male showing that he strayed 40 kilometres into Angola before doing a U-turn and hurrying back to the park. The second male did not return to the park and subsequent reports from local communities indicated that he had been killed in Angola after straying close to a village. The coalition of these two magnificent males was a stirring sight on the Liuwa plain and the loss is tragic.

Mating

Happier news ensued as the remaining male teamed up with Lady Liuwa and the young lioness, and the three have been co-existing as a unit ever since. The male and young lioness have been seen mating in November and there are hopes for cubs in 2013.

Liuwa National Park is managed by African Parks. African Parks is a non-profit organisation that takes total responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. African Parks currently manages seven parks in six African countries – Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Zambia. The total area under management covers 4.1 million hectares, an area as large as The Netherlands.

Related articles

• Lady Liuwa – Daily Mail Newspaper Poster Girl RE – Banning of Lion Hunting in Zambia (greatcatsoftheworld.wordpress.com)
• The lonely lioness (retrieverman.net)
• Two new lion cubs at Bristol Zoo (bristolculture.wordpress.com)
• You looking at me? Curious lioness ignores dinner and gets up close and personal to photographer’s camera (dailymail.co.uk)