Transcript:

music; ambience: Lion roar

The lions of Kenya’s Tsavo region are in a tight spot. Wandering to look for prey can quickly take them out of a safe haven and into danger. Welcome to Pulse of the Planet’s Science Diaries, a glimpse of the world of science from the inside. Bruce Patterson, a zoologist at Chicago’s Field Museum, is studying the lions of Tsavo. In the darkness of the early morning hours, Patterson and his team are using spotlights to locate the lions, who’s eyes gleam as they reflect the light.

“This morning we drove out to where 5 lions had been seen 3 days earlier on a buffalo kill. As we approached in a short while we picked up eye shine alongside the road, that proved to belong to a male lion, at least 3 adult females, and at least one young adult female. The lions seemed almost disinterested in our presence there. Our suspicion is that these 5 lions had come recently from Tsavo East National Park where lion densities are high and where there is a steady rain of colonists leaving the park to find new homes outside. Those that find their way to the Taita/Rukinga Conservancy find a land with protection from ranchers and poachers, with abundant prey species, and ecological vacancies.”

But lions that choose to travel in other directions are not so lucky.

“Those that find their way to other ranches, where poultry and livestock are the only prey, shortly after arrival they come quickly into conflict with people, and death or deportation are inevitable results.”

Bruce Patterson estimates that 75% of the world’s lions have disappeared in the last 25 years.

Pulse of the Planet’s Science Diaries are made possible by the National Science Foundation.