Numerous successful rewilding projects in Southern and East Africa are providing a glimmer of hope that the decline in wild populations of iconic species such as lion – in only an estimated 7% of its historic range today – can be reversed.
Lions increasingly face pressure from habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, poaching and snaring. According to conservation charity LionAid, wild lions are extinct in 26 of the 48 African countries where they were originally found. Although exact figures are disputed, LionAid’s 2025 Synthesis of Lion Numbers in Africa estimates that just over 13 000 wild lions remain in Southern and East Africa.
Conservationist and Natural Selection Co-Founder Colin Bell says, while it is easy for these statistics to paint a picture of doom and gloom, the successful rewilding of newly created protected areas provides a blueprint for saving iconic wildlife species.
“There is no doubt about the severity of the decline. But, when we’re confronted with these figures, it’s more useful to look at the solutions rather than losing hope. While we’ve seen accelerated habitat loss over the past several decades due to rapidly expanding human populations, we’ve also witnessed encouraging examples of rewilding, which can be replicated across the region,” says Bell.
Success stories
Bell highlights South Africa’s Madikwe, Kariega, Babanango and Kwandwe private game reserves as examples of restored, thriving wildlife conservation areas where lions have been successfully reintroduced.
Another success story can be found at &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, which first reintroduced lions in 1992. In addition to establishing a population of 52 lions that roam across the Munywana Conservancy – a contiguous reserve established with two neighbouring farms – 107 lions have been translocated to reserves across South Africa, Mozambique and Rwanda. This includes the reintroduction of seven lions to Akagera National Park in Rwanda, in partnership with African Parks and the Rwandan government, in 2015. The population in Akagera has since grown to 62.
Munywana Warden and Conservation Manager Dale Wepener says the conservancy’s success is a result of combined conservation and community efforts, including strong security measures and meaningful partnerships between neighbouring properties.
“Careful genetic management has ensured a healthy, resilient population while expanded habitat has created room for lions to flourish. Through community engagement and school education programmes, the incidence of snaring has dropped and the use of wildlife for traditional medicine has been reduced.”
According to 2024 research led by the South African National Biodiversity Institute, a meta-population of approximately 900 wild lions exists in 60 well-managed, fenced reserves in South Africa.
Outside South Africa
Meanwhile, in the broader region, NGOs such as African Parks have – in partnership with government – successfully reintroduced lions into Malawi’s Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve in addition to Akagera.
Peter Lindsey, Director of the Lion Recovery Fund (a strategic funding partner of African Parks), says the emergence of these collaborative management partnerships (CMPs) is a positive and accelerating trend over the past two decades.
“CMPs have created vehicles that have been effective at harnessing funding and technical skills to support the management of protected areas and have resulted in some remarkable turnarounds in the fortunes of some critically important conservation areas.”
Central to the African safari
Naturalist and private safari guide Lex Hes points to the crucial importance of the lion for Africa’s eco-tourism industry.
“Somehow, if guests come away from an African safari without seeing a lion, they feel they’ve missed out. This places huge importance on these magnificent animals from a marketing point of view: it is a lot harder to sell safari destinations where lions do not occur.”
To secure the future of the lion, Hes emphasises the need for enhanced conservation strategies in game management areas (GMAs) bordering Africa’s national parks.
“These areas are considered to be buffer zones between people and wildlife and are often leased out to hunting outfitters who market hunting safaris – often with lion trophy hunting included. When territorial males are taken out, nomadic males often move in and kill the cubs of previous males, leading to months-long instability in populations. Lion hunting in these areas should be banned and the GMAs should become part of the national parks.”
