Rangers in Mozambique’s Zinave National Park were excited by signs of a new lion in the sanctuary. Their first sighting, however, of an extremely skinny young male, galvanised them into action. The lion had a cruel wire snare around his neck, that was cutting deep into his flesh.
He was clearly in extreme pain and in need of food and they needed to keep him where they could find him again. The park team immediately mobilised to try and help him. He refused their offering of a carcass, but they found signs that the lion had managed to take down a waterbuck, which in his condition was an incredible achievement.
Knowing that he now at least had food, the team moved quickly to get wildlife vets on site to remove the snare and treat the wound.
Mozambique’s Wildlife Alliance’s wildlife vets, Dr Hugo Pereira and Dr Mafalda Iria did not hesitate to respond to Zinave’s call for support and were flown straight to the park where the team was preparing for a rescue operation.
That night they set a bait for the lion close to where they had last seen him on one of the camera traps. Much to their relief, he came to investigate. Dr Pereira was ready and his aim was true. The darted lion went down, and the team set about tackling the gruesome task of removing the snare from the deep cut encircling his entire neck.
“Poachers place these snares, which are nothing other than a home-made wire noose, on game trails, fence lines and close to animal burrows. They are the most terrible things. The animals that get caught struggle to escape and the noose just gets tighter, cutting into their flesh, often leading to a slow and agonising death. This lion was lucky that he managed to pull the snare loose, but he paid a dear price. The wound is very deep.” says Antony Alexander, Programme Manager for the Great Limpopo and Lubombo transfrontier conservation areas.
Zinave used to be a hunting area before it was declared a national park by the Government of Mozambique in 1972. In 2015, the Mozambican Ministry of Land, Environmental and Rural Development, and Peace Parks Foundation, signed a co-management agreement whereby the Mozambican National Agency for Conservation Areas (ANAC) and Peace Parks would work together to develop and protect the park as part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area.
Since 2016 a staggering 36 700 snares have been removed from in and around this park alone, which today stands protected by 95 rangers. Zinave’s 186 km2 sanctuary is teeming with life thanks to a massive rewilding effort undertaken by ANAC and Peace Parks, made possible by generous donor funding. In total, 2540 animals have been introduced here. Translocated keystone species, like elephant, leopard and rhino grace the landscape, together with thousands of grazers. The latter, of course, attracting the lions that are coming to find sanctuary all on their own.
“They come in small prides of two or three animals, or like the most recent arrival, by themselves. We think that the lions find their way to the riches of Zinave from Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe or Limpopo National Park in Mozambique – which each lie around 200 km west of the sanctuary. As snares are seldom found in Zinave’s core area, it is expected that this lion was snared somewhere outside of the park during its treacherous journey through the ecological linkages between the parks of the transfrontier landscape.” says Antony.
The team managed to remove the snare, which they estimate had been around the lion’s neck for around a week, and then they cleaned and medicated the wound, before giving the lion an antibiotic to protect him from infection. A full recovery is expected.
“Whilst it is a fantastic second chance for this young lion, who we hope to see in Zinave for many years to come, the real winners of the day are the hard-working men and women of ANAC, the Mozambique Wildlife Alliance, the Endangered Wildlife Trust, and Peace Parks who stuck it out over long hours and in tough conditions to help him. They executed their tasks to the highest standards, and I know they would do it all again at a moment’s notice. It is truly an honour to work alongside them,” says Dylan Rice, Counter Poaching Unit Assistant Co-ordinator for Peace Parks Foundation.
Mozambique’s National Directorate of Land (DNTDT) and ANAC are working with Peace Parks to develop ecological corridors or wildlife dispersal areas, specifically between Zimbabwe’s Gonarezhou and Mozambique’s Zinave, Banhine and Limpopo national parks in this transboundary landscape.
Sharing the benefits of Great Limpopo with those living in the surrounding area has been an important objective from the outset.
“We need to have the communities on our side in the fight against wildlife crime, and in order for us to achieve that, they need to know that their needs are addressed.” says Antony.
Peace Parks engages with communities, building resilience in the landscape. By helping to develop alternatives to snaring, we ensure that this kind of thing happens less and less.
