DeLHRA Desert Lions Human Relations Aid — Kunene, Namibia
Two lionesses resting close together on a sandy dune with dry brush, warm golden light, calm mood

Our Work

Desert Adapted Lion Habitat

Desert adapted lions originate from Etosha and the surrounding area, mostly dispersing from their natal prides in times of plenty to find their own home ranges in the dry Kaokoveld and Damaraland.

Meet the prides

Origins and movement

From the Etosha pans to the Kunene

In earlier times the migration routes for animals between the Etosha pans and the dry Kaokoveld and Damaraland area were open. Young lions left the prides they were born into and travelled across this landscape to establish territories of their own.

Those routes were later affected by a veterinary fence built to control foot and mouth disease, which shaped where desert lions could travel and settle.

Wide view of a farm landscape in the Kunene region, with open dry ground and scattered vegetation under a clear sky

Key points

What shaped the home ranges

  • Desert adapted lions originate from Etosha and surrounds, dispersing from their natal prides in times of plenty.
  • Historic migration routes between the Etosha pans and the Kaokoveld/Damaraland area were open in earlier times.
  • A veterinary fence built to control foot and mouth disease affected these movement routes.
  • Communal farming activity compressed lion home ranges into overlapping "pocket-like" areas.
  • The Palmwag Concession area, originally a hunting concession, provided a safe haven for a small nucleus population of desert lions.

Where the lions live

Prides across the Kunene

Lioness and young lion photographed against the wide backdrop of the Huab valley, warm dusty tones

Huab and Ugab

Prides whose home ranges reach across the Huab and Ugab river areas of the Kunene.

See the prides
A group of lions walking together across open floodplain country, muted earth tones

Hoanib and Floodplain

Prides associated with the Hoanib river and its surrounding floodplain prides.

See the prides
Lion on the hunt in dry scrubland, tawny coat blending with the dusty terrain

Okongwe, Obab and Achab

Further named prides of the region, some ranging inside and outside the Palmwag concession area.

See the prides
Farming landscape in the tourism area of the Hoanib river, with dry fields and scattered structures

Living alongside farming

Livestock and the land

As communal farming expanded across the Kunene, lion home ranges were compressed into overlapping, pocket-like areas. Livestock husbandry and wild lions increasingly shared the same ground, which is the root of the human-lion conflict that DeLHRA works to reduce.

Our work with the farmers of the different conservancies addresses this pressure directly, supporting better protected livestock enclosures and reduced losses for the communities that share the habitat.

Farmers & conservancies

Keep reading

Follow the desert lions

Field trip reports, welfare updates and news on the ongoing challenges facing desert lions in the Kunene region are collected in our blog and news archive.

Blog & News