Baseline Assessment of Sudan's Lions

Baseline Survey and Needs Assessment of Sudan’s Lions

Dinder National Park is a huge protected area of 10,000 km2 on the border with Ethiopia. Across the border an additional 5,000 km2 or so of protected areas exist, including the Alatash National Park. Consequently the landscape represents a potentially very significant one for lions. A preliminary site visit during 2016 indicated that a significant population of lions in Dinder persists. Wildcru have been allocated a grant to complete a comprehensive survey of the lion population in Dinder and to conduct a thorough needs assessment for the park. Dinder has not benefited from any significant donor or NGO involvement, and Wildcru hope to identify how external support could best support the efforts of the Sudanese authorities to help protect the park and the lions therein. Dinder has potential to hold a very significant population of lions. As the last stronghold for lions in Sudan, the park fits a key component of our strategy – which is to invest in sites to help prevent any further national level extinctions of lions.