African Lions

Description

Despite a sharp decline in their numbers during the Mozambican Civil War, lion numbers are increasing in Gorongosa thanks to concentrated anti-poaching efforts. Of the large carnivores in the park before the war, lions are the only ones whose population held on throughout. Between 2012 and 2016, researchers documented 104 lions in a 1,100 km² study area, and found the main threat to them was wire snares and steel-jaw traps set by bushmeat hunters.