Male lions offer promising signs for Kgalagadi population
SANParks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust have launched a three-month survey of the lion population in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Researchers are monitoring the male-to-female ratio to assess the health of the ecosystem and population trends.
Why it matters
Monitoring lion populations in transfrontier parks is essential for biodiversity conservation and understanding the impact of environmental resources on wildlife health.
Updated Aug. 23, 2026, 2:41 p.m. | By Faith Modise
SANParks assistant section ranger Nomcebo Shabalala said the male-to-female ratio is one of the important things researchers are monitoring in a survey of lions in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
The survey is looking closely at the balance between male and female lions with conservation officials hoping to establish whether a pattern of more males than females is continuing.
The three-month survey, launched in August 2026 by SANParks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), aims to establish the number of lions in the park, where they occur and how they move across the landscape.
There is added significance to the survey because Kgalagadi's lions move through a vast transfrontier ecosystem spanning South Africa and Botswana.
Understanding their numbers and movements can therefore help inform management across the broader landscape.
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