Two lionesses released into the Addo Elephant National Park in December have made themselves at home; their presence will help diversify the gene pool, strengthening the lion population in the park.
Eastern Cape, South Africa (05 March 2025) – Two newly introduced lionesses that were released into the Main Camp/Colchester area on Monday, 3 March 2025, are roaming the game-viewing area of Addo Elephant National Park (AENP) near Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.
The two-and-a-half-year-old sisters were brought in from the !Khamab Kalahari Reserve on the south-eastern edge of the Kalahari over December and have been acclimatising to the area in one of the Park’s bomas.
The lionesses are a valuable addition to the lion population in the Park, as they bring with them strong, healthy genes that will add to the genetic variety in the Park. There are five other lions in the game viewing area and a further three in what is known as the Nyathi section.
The two lionesses are both collared for ease of monitoring so that rangers and researchers can observe what habitats they use, their proximity to the males and other predators and which species they prey on. The collars will also enable management to reach a fine balance of managing the lion population carefully in relation to the size of the Park and their impact on prey species.
Their management forms part of a larger initiative to mimic natural processes that regulate lion social behaviour and population growth, which includes swapping individuals between parks to ensure constant introduction of new genes.
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