Saving Senegal's Last Lions

Saving Senegal’s Last Lions

The vast 3,513 square mile Niokolo-Koba National Park holds the last remaining population of lions in Senegal and encompasses an area 10x larger than that of New York City. The LRF provided funding to Panthera for their protected area management support project that encompasses infrastructure (a radio network and ranger bases), bonuses for rangers, equipment and operational costs, and law enforcement monitoring. A second grant was issued in late 2019 to allow strengthening of law enforcement efforts and provide a platform from which Panthera can expand their operational footprint in the park. This grant was strategic because it enabled Panthera to unlock $380,000 of additional funding from Segre Foundation. A further substantial grant was issued to Panthera in October 2021 to enable them to expand support for anti-poaching across the entire park and thus significantly improve prospects for lion conservation. In 2022, the LRF provided further funding to Panthera that will enable them to provide more intensive support to ranger patrols park-wide, therefore accelerating lion recovery across the park.