Two male lions from the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park have been released into the Karoo National Park outside Beaufort West today, 7 February 2013.
There are now nine feline predators in the Park to nine. The decision to introduce two three-year-old male lions into the Karoo was to prevent inbreeding as a result of an island effect (no migration of other lion individuals into or out of the population) and to increase genetic diversity in the Park.
The two have been housed in a temporary enclosure since their arrival in November to adapt and acclimatise to their new environment. The lions called Niklaas and Witwarm were released from a lion enclosure in the eastern section of the Park . Niklaas is named after former Kgalagadi Park Manager and now Karoo National Park Manager Nico van der Walt. Witwarm is named after Nico’s son Hano’s nickname – when they lived in the Kgalagadi.
Park Management predicts they will most likely develop their own fixed territories within the Park and defend them from the other resident males.
In 2010 a small founder population of lion was introduced into Karoo from Addo Elephant National Park outside Port Elizabeth. The group was originally all from Kgalagadi or offspring from the original group of Kgalagadi lions that were introduced to Addo in 2003 . They have settled well into the Karoo National Park and two cubs were born in November last year.
Van der Walt says, “The introduction of predators into Karoo National Park forms part of attempts to restore the ecological processes in the Park, specifically to re-establish the process of predation. This will help to control herbivore numbers naturally and decrease the need for capturing and culling, which is in line with SANParks’ ‘minimum interference’ philosophy”.
In protected areas with no large predators, herbivore numbers can soar to unnaturally high densities that could in return be detrimental to sensitive ecosystems like the Karoo. The lion fulfill their ecological role by removing older and weaker animals from the system and by impacting on the herbivore population size in the Karoo National Park.
It is hoped the two sub-adult males will take over the role of dominant males at a later stage, when the two older males reach their “retiring age” and lose their control over the pride.
Kgalagadi lion are known for their impressive dark brown manes and enhance the tourism product offered. “Introducing more lion into the Park has an economic spin off as it improves the eco tourism value of the area. Large carnivores are charismatic species which people like to seeand they even just like to know they are present in an area,” van der Walt added.
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