Species Use Database

African lion (English), Simba (Swahili)
Panthera leo

Used for Collection/display in Tanzania, United Republic of

A. Species

Scientific name: Panthera leo

Common name(s): African lion (English), Simba (Swahili)

Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Vulnerable


B. Location of use

Geographic location(s):

  • Tanzania, United Republic of

Country/Region:


C. Scale of assessment

Scale of assessment: Individual Site

Name/Details of location: The Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem, in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa north of Lake Rukwa


D. Timescale of use

Start Year: 1988

End Year: 2002


E. Information about the use

How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Type of use: Extractive

Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals

Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal

Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism

Purpose(s) of end use: Collection/display

Motivation of use: Recreational

Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law


F. Information about the Users

Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Non-local External


G. Information about the sustainability of use

Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: "legal hunting could be causing the apparent decline of lions in the Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem by eliminating individuals born in hunting blocks and males that disperse into hunt- ing blocks from the Park. Nonetheless, a reduced prey base resulting from illegal hunting may also be contributing to their possible decline." (p.113)

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded


Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species

"Legal hunting of lions needs to be reduced from the current quota of 23 males per annum to a lower figure, perhaps 10, and strict limitations need to be placed on taking males younger than six years of age (Whitman et al. 2004). An offtake of around 10% is too large for most mammal populations, es- pecially those suffering from additional adverse effects of infanticide generated by repeated re- moval of males." (p.114)


Record source

Information about the record source: scientific_pub

Date of publication/issue/production: 2008-01-01T00:00:00+0000

Source Reference(s):

Caro, T., 2008. Decline of large mammals in the Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem of western Tanzania. African Zoology, 43(1), pp.99-116.

Date of record entry: 2023-04-24