Lion Collaring Techniques



This study will focus on accurately describing the lion population of Kuku. While indirect methods (such as spoor counts or opportunistic sightings) may provide reliable comparative data over a long period of time, at this stage knowledge of every individual is important. For this reason we have chosen to deploy radio-collars.

Predators are among the most difficult animals to study because they are usually secretive and nocturnal, especially where they are under pressure from humans. Biologists learned very little about these animals before the development of radio collars in the mid 1960’s, which gave us the ability to locate the animals, day or night, and follow them in their movements. A collar around the animal’s neck contains a small radio transmitter which sends out a constant, silent signal, which can be picked up by a suitable receiver. These collars are without doubt the most critical wildlife biology tool we have, and are directly responsible for most of the knowledge we have on many wildlife species, especially carnivores.