A team of conservationists from the Government of Chad and the Wildlife Conservation Society have released a stunning image of a healthy female lion in Sena Oura National Park, where lions have not been seen for nearly two decades.
The photograph was captured by a remote camera and showcases a muscular female lion in her prime, described by the team as "beautiful" and "in great health".
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), lions are technically extinct in Sena Oura, which is part of the larger Bouba N'djida-Sena Oura Landscape along the Cameroon/Chad border.
The region was ravaged by organised poaching more than a decade ago, which had led to the drastic decline in wildlife populations, including lions.
However, the governments of Cameroon and Chad have shown a strong commitment to conservation, which has led to better protection of national parks, and wildlife populations are now starting to recover.
Conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have been conducting on-the-ground wildlife surveys in the region, including camera trapping, to support park guards in the area.
The Bouba N’djida National Park in Cameroon, which is adjacent to Sena Oura, has seen an increase in lion populations, and they are now recolonizing parts of their former range, including Sena Oura.
Although lions are classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, the West and Central African populations are particularly small and fragmented and have declined by an estimated 66 percent since the early 1990s, making them critically endangered.
The WCS conservationists' efforts are contributing to the recovery of lion populations in the region, which are genetically distinct from those in East and Southern Africa, making their recovery even more valuable.
The sighting of the female lion in Sena Oura National Park is a significant step towards the recovery of the region's wildlife, and the conservationists' efforts give hope for the future of these magnificent animals.
