The story of a lion called Goose

By Julian Brookstein,
Camp Hwange, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.

With thanks to Julian Brookstein and Camp Hwange for allowing us to repost this story.

The story as I know it of Goose….

Anybody that stayed with us at Camp Hwange last season would have surely heard of or been lucky enough to see Goose. Goose is a male lion that was resident on our concession for much of last season. He was named Goose when he was first darted and collared by the Hwange Lion research team in 2005 at around age five. He was darted at Dwarf Goose pan which happens to be on our concession. After this he more or less took up residence in the Nehimba area which is to the east of Camp Hwange.

Goose....this photo was taken end of last year behind Camp Hwange Zimbabwe. He was over thirteen years old here. A pensioner in the lion world.

Hwange is blessed with a very healthy lion population. Almost at its carrying capacity, so with this in mind it tells us that all the good lion “real-estate” is taken. Goose held this Nehimba area for around seven years on his own as far as I know. This is a massive achievement considering that there are always other lions looking to take over your area. He was still holding that area at age thirteen which is basically very seldom done in the lion world. Generally a male lion has around three years between the ages of five and eight to make the most of things as this is when he is in his prime. There are cases whereby older lions are kicked out and may become nomadic and them team up with other males possible younger than them and try and hold a territory again.

Goose in his time as King of the Nehimba area sired many cubs. The ones that are most known to us at Camp Hwange are Daniel, Day and Lewis. Of which we now have Day and Lewis left after Daniel was shot. He is also the father of a lion called Vusi.

Last year in August two new lions that we had never seen before appeared on our concession. One looked much older than other and had a collar. We contacted lion research and they told us these two were called Naxha and Vusi and had come from an area about fifty kilometers away.

Naxha and Vusi when they first came onto the Camp Hwange concession.

Those of you that have read my stories will know the circumstances of how Daniel was shot. After Daniel was shot his two Brothers Day and Lewis stopped coming into our area and moved towards Masuma. I believe that this is what opened the door for Naxha and Vusi to enter our area. They soon realized that there were no dominant male lions in this area patrolling and calling so moved in. They spent a bit of time here and I think realised that to go west meant to go where Day and Lewis were and that going east was to where Goose was. They went east and after a big dust up chased Goose from the area that he had held for all that time.

From left to right...Day, Lewis and Daniel.

After this Goose came to our concession, when we first saw him he was in bad shape after the fight and we were not sure if he would make it. He pulled through though. Then not long after that we found him again looking thin and in a very bad way after he had decided to kill a porcupine and had lots of quills in his chest and face. We though he would not make it. Luckily for him at the time it was the dry season so there were elephants dying from lack of water. He managed to find some of these dead elephants and put weight back on and the quills worked loose and again he bounced back.

We were very happy to have Goose on the concession as we could just about find him daily within a few kilometers of the camp. He hung around for some months and all the time acted like he owned the place. Defiantly roaring and scent marking as if to remind the two that kicked him out that he was still around. He was always known as an angry lion. Lions have personalities as do most things. His was just plain angry. Despite having seen vehicle for most of his life he would still charge the car, sometimes after you had been sitting with him for half an hour already!

At the end of the year Naxha and Vusi again came into our area and this is when Goose left our area for good. Obvioulsy not wanting another fight as by now he was basically a pensioner in the lion world. He left and ended up heading towards the main camp area. However he was constantly on the move as wherever he went there were younger fitter stronger lions that he had to stay out of the way of.

Sadly Africa is not what it once was and these magical animals don’t have the territory that they need to roam in. Recently Goose left the park and went into the communal areas that border on the park. The lion research team made the surrounding villages aware that there was a lion in the area. He was I am sure looking for an easy meal in the way of a cow or donkey.

Very sadly a child was sent in the night to get some matches and Goose killed the child. He was shot at the site.

What a very sad way for a child to lose a life and for the story of such a magnificent animal to end.

By Julian Brookstein,

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'The Long Shields' - lion guardians of Hwange

The lion is an iconic symbol of Africa, yet co-existing with lions poses hardships for many African communities. Lion depredation on domestic livestock and has negative impacts on the livelihoods of livestock owners. Carnivores are impacted when retaliatory action is taken against them.

Globally, human populations are expanding and this has resulted in increasing human-carnivore conflict and declines in many carnivore populations across the world. In the case of the African lion, populations across Africa are shrinking and lions are now absent from 85% of their historical range.

Great ingenuity, dedication and the will and support of local communities are needed to solve the problem of human wildlife conflict. The ‘Living with Lions’ project in south western Kenya has hit upon a unique solution. Maasai warriors were recruited to work alongside conservationists to protect both their community’s livestock and the predators in their areas.

This ‘Lion Guardian’ programme has enjoyed significant success in reducing human-lion conflicts. Following the notable achievements of the Kenyan programme, a number of similar projects have been initiated in community areas across Africa, including Ruaha and Ngorongoro in Tanzania and around Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.

The Hwange programme has been named the ‘Long Shields’ and is run by the Hwange Lion Research Project with sponsorship from Panthera, Great Wall Motors and SATIB Trust. The programme name has local resonance; in the late 19th Century the Matabele were known as ‘the people of the long shields,’ so named because the fearsome warriors of the tribe carried tall rawhide shields for protection in battle.

Our modern usage of the name communicates the protective role that the contemporary Long Shield officers play in their communities, protecting both village livestock and their community’s natural resources, including the predators that are so valuable to Zimbabwe’s tourism industry.

In late 2012, after fruitful discussions with the Tsholotsho and Hwange Rural District Councils, CAMPFIRE officers and local traditional leaders, the programme was launched around Hwange National Park. The programme is led by the Hwange Lion Research Project’s Brent Stapelkamp and Lovemore Sibanda and has, over the last few months, recruited seven men and one lady from candidates put forward by the local chiefs.

Each Long Shield is equipped with a rugged mountain bike (donated by Des Stephens of SATIB insurance), a cell phone to communicate with project co-ordinators and GPS to record information about conflict incidents in their area. As fearless as the warriors of old, the Long Shields actively mobilise villagers to deter would-be stock raiding lions with loud noises and bright lights and by lighting watch fires.

They also warn their neighbours to move their cattle away from areas where lions are present. This strategy appears to work well and we have monitored the movements of these lions as they move back into the National Park to avoid this unwelcome disturbance. The Long Shields also monitor local wildlife, assist and advise local people with livestock protection.

The Long Shields lion guardian programme is part of ongoing long term research being undertaken by the Hwange Lion Research Project in close collaborative partnership with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

Since 2007 the project has focused on understanding the causes and extent of human conflict with lions in the Hwange area. This programme has been extended to the Victoria Falls region in partnership with Roger and Jess Parry of Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust.

Links:
WildCRU