The Niassa Carnivore Project (NCP) was founded in 2003 and serves to conserve large carnivores and their prey in Niassa Special Reserve (NSR, formally known as Niassa National Reserve, NNR) by promoting coexistence and through a shared respect for people, their culture, wildlife, and the environment. Our team values are respect (for each other and the environment); “Tsova-Tsova” (a Cyao term for meaning you push, I push), communication, inclusion, teamwork, and opportunities to learn.

As the Niassa Carnivore Project we independently monitor lions, leopards, hyaenas and African wild dog threats and trends across NSR for the NSR management team, ANAC and global conservation efforts. We look for ways to reduce specific threats to these carnivores in partnership with ANAC and our activities and conservation outcomes are presented in detail in the report. Our goal is to find solutions that work and to scale these through collaboration and knowledge sharing. It is very important that we share not only our successes but also our failures and our journey.

NSR supports a growing population of more than 58,000 people resident across 44 villages inside the protected area. Some of the poorest people in the world are living in this region and are the custodians of these carnivore populations. Major current threats to the carnivore population in NSR are bushmeat snaring where lions, hyaenas and leopards and their prey are caught as by catch in snares set to catch animals for wild meat and the increase in poisoning for bushmeat, skins, bones, teeth and other body parts. Unlike other areas, conflict with large carnivores is low, largely due to the absence of cattle inside NSR, but still needs to be managed to reduce attacks on smaller livestock and on occasion, people.

In NSR at present, lion (932 (810-1084) and spotted hyaena populations (3649 (3100-4100) are declining and are showing a patchier distribution compared to 10 years ago with source and sinks areas and increasing threats. A consilience of indicators converges on a conclusion that both lion and hyaena populations are declining (trend in call up survey, pack sizes, illegal mortality, intelligence). Leopards are likely to be declining as threats are increasing and the leopard skin trade continues. In total over the past seven years (2013-2019), a minimum of 82 leopards, 103 lions, 70 hyaenas and 34 African wild dogs were killed illegally (excluding sport hunting). In 2019, we have specific data on 21 lions, 9 leopard and 24 hyaenas killed illegally. This is likely to be an underestimate as given low scout presence in many areas, poison and snaring events are likely to be overlooked. There were an additional 8 lion and 17 leopards shot by sport hunters as well as 17 hyaenas (n=13; 60% female). There is also a large amount of bushmeat poaching, both subsistence and commercial that is likely to be affecting prey populations.

This is a very different landscape to 18 years ago when we first arrived. Given the size of Niassa Reserve and the logistics it is critically important that we regularly assess and refine our approach to take on new threats and approaches. Most importantly given the new zonation plan, we need to ensure that the community development areas do not become
sinks for carnivores or hotspots of conflict as the large carnivores try and traverse the development zones. To find a way forward that improves the conservation outcome for carnivores in NSR and improves wellbeing for people and finds a way for carnivores and people to coexist, NSR needs to urgently develop clearly defined goals and conservation and development outcomes (in some cases species specific), with clear indicators that can be measured and reported on each year. All the different partners and stakeholders can then work together, bringing their different expertise, funding and time to different aspects of this plan.

Without a coherent reserve level plan and excellent leadership of all the partners, with strong collaboration NSR is unlikely to be successful. We remain committed to help move this forward.