A community effort, the Twenty Four Lions
project requires the cooperation of locals,
game managers, anti-poaching teams and
funding to ensure long-term success.
and anti-communist forces grappled for
control. The Mozambican Civil War lasted
until 1992, and both sides were guilty of
human rights violations, massacres, the
use of child soldiers and salting much of
the countryside with landmines.
More than a million Mozambicans
were killed in the fighting or starved
due to interrupted food supplies, and
an additional five million left their
homes in an attempt to escape the
violence. Much of Mozambique’s rural
infrastructure, including hospitals, rail
lines, roads and schools were destroyed
during the 15 years of infighting.
In addition to civilians, the country’s
wildlife was caught in the crossfire.
Displaced by warfare and used to feed
militias and civilians alike, wildlife such
as Cape buffalo, sable, zebra and lion
populations were slaughtered.
“After the civil war and rampant
poaching, animal populations were
decimated throughout the Zambeze
Delta,” said Dan Cabela of the Cabela
Family Foundation, world-renowned
sportsman’s stores and Sportsmen’s
Alliance Board of Directors member.
“After the war, there were only 1,200
buffalo, now there’s over 20,000. There
were only 44 sable, and now there’s
more than 3,000. Fewer than 10 zebras
were left, and now there are hundreds.
“All the game in that area has come
back due to hunting. It speaks for itself.
You can look at every animal in that
area and numbers are through the roof,”
he continued. “That’s all hunting and
anti-poaching. The model works – and
it’s all paid for by hunting and hunters.”
The geography and topography of the
delta and presence of villages created
issues for some species, however. “All
this wildlife has come back to pre-war
time, but the lions never came back,”
said Cabela.
In early 2017, Ivan Carter, founder of
the Ivan Carter Wildlife Conservation
Alliance, which supports large landscape
and ecosystem restoration projects
throughout Africa, brought an ambitious
idea to the Cabela Family Foundation:
restoring the area’s lion population.
Preparing Locals,
Protecting Lions
Before the time, planning and expense
of a transcontinental relocation was
undertaken however, the team needed
the acceptance and cooperation of the
locals to ensure success.
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