Abstract

Amy established the Ruaha Carnivore Project in southern Tanzania in 2009, one of the most important areas in the world for lions, leopards and cheetahs. This remote landscape had been largely ignored by researchers but suffers the highest rate of lion killing documented in East Africa, as lions and other carnivores impose high costs on poverty-stricken local people.  Amy and her Tanzanian team are researching the ecology of these vital populations and working to develop conservation plans and reduce human-carnivore conflict. The project focuses on reducing carnivore attacks on livestock, providing local communities with real benefits from carnivore presence, and training the next generation of local conservation leaders. It has been a challenging endeavour, given the remote location and the initial hostility of the secretive and little-known Barabaig tribe responsible for most lion killing. Amy will discuss the significance of this project, the difficulties of working in an area where witchcraft and mythology abound, and the conservation successes that are emerging from this important work