The benefits of inclusive conservation for connectivity of lions across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

Abstract

Human impacts on the planet degrade natural habitats, often restricting wildlife to protected areas. If connectivity between such areas is lost, wildlife populations may lose genetic diversity, thereby increasing extinction risk. For large carnivores, connecting populations separated by human-occupied habitats requires dedicated effort to foster human–wildlife coexistence. Using lion observation data from 1962 to 2023 and movement data from GPS collars, we evaluated how inclusive conservation actions (i.e., directly involving local communities) in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), Tanzania, are affecting the ability of lions to use and traverse human-occupied habitats. Efforts to promote human–lion coexistence were positively associated with the number of lions moving across human-occupied habitats and the ability of lions to settle in human-occupied areas, suggesting that conservation activities are having the desired impact on connectivity. However, despite a reduction in negative human–lion interactions from 2016 to 2021, the number of retaliatory lion killings and livestock attacks both increased sharply during an extreme drought in 2022, before dropping again in 2023. Thus, although our results highlight the benefits of inclusive conservation for connectivity of large carnivore populations, recent events highlight continued challenges and the need for long-term, nimble approaches to maintain balance where humans and large carnivores coexist.