Lions & other carnivores
Partner profile
Scientist: Amy Dickman
Nationality: British
Organisation: Ruaha Carnivore Project, WildCRU, University of Oxford
How PTES has helped me so far: PTES has been one of our longest-standing and most reliable partners. They have worked with us for years to provide invaluable support, and have also gone beyond that in sharing their expertise and networks. They have really listened to our needs, and have provided core support for things like staff salaries and camp costs, which are typically very hard to secure. They have also invested in community benefits, so that local people have tangible reasons to conserve wildlife, and are now supporting our expansion into the Selous landscape.
My journey
I have been fascinated by big cats for as long as I can remember. I did my degree in Zoology, and then joined the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford. Through them, I spent six years working on cheetahs in Namibia, and then after my Masters and PhD, received a Fellowship at Oxford to set up the Ruaha Carnivore Project.
Why I love lions
Lions have fascinated humans for as long as we have existed, and we have revered them in our stories, art and heraldry. They are one of the most iconic, charismatic and powerful species on the planet, and really symbolise African wilderness, so I think it would be terrible to have a world without them. People don’t realise that there are now fewer lions in Africa than rhinos, but our team is doing all we can to protect them while also empowering and benefiting local communities.
My goal
Our project focuses on reducing human-lion conflict, by reducing the costs of living with lions, and providing tangible benefits associated with their presence. If we can translate the immense global value of lions down to the local level, then we can demonstrate that this is an incredibly valuable resource and incentivise people to protect it for many generations to come.
What your donation can achieve
£25
could help us supply a village with a guard puppy and diamond mesh fencing to protect livestock.
£50
could help us encourage a young warrior to become a lion defender.
£100
could help us provide much needed veterinary assistance and food for school children.