Uganda's lion population has fallen by 45% in almost 20 years, from 493 to 275, mainly due to increasing human-wildlife conflicts, the Minister of Tourism and Wildlife said on Tuesday.
Minister Tom Butime, on the other hand, was delighted that other species saw their numbers increase, such as gorillas, which increased from 302 in the early 2000s to 459 in 2022.
“Lions have declined sharply due to deadly reprisals, resulting from conflicts between humans and wildlife.
The number of lions has increased from a peak of 493 in 2014 to 275 lions in 2023
,” he said while presenting a report on tourism in this East African country renowned for home to one of the greatest biodiversity in the world.
Numerous cases of poisoning
The majority of the country's lions (224) are found in Murchison Falls Park, in the northwest of the country.
Only 39 remain in Queen Elizabeth Park, where lions are known for their unusual ability to climb trees.
Numerous cases of poisoning have been reported in recent years in this park (9 in 2022, 6 in 2021, 11 in 2018, etc.).
Investigations rarely identified the perpetrators and few prosecutions were successful.
These poisoning practices are sometimes implemented by breeders in response to attacks on their livestock, but some also involve poaching.
In 2021, the arrest of four poachers led to the discovery of the decapitated heads of four lions and limbs, as well as bottles of poison, spears, a machete and a hunting net.
In a report last year, the government had already warned of the threats weighing on lions and chimpanzees in the country, which on the other hand saw its elephant population almost quadruple (to reach 7,975) during the last four decades.
During the same period, the number of giraffes increased sixfold (to 2,072) and that of buffalo almost doubled (to more than 44,000).
National parks are one of the pillars of tourism in Uganda.
The tourism sector contributed 7.6% of GDP in 2022, according to figures from the Ministry of Finance