Lions To Return To Rwanda: For The First Time In Two Decades, King Of The Jungle Will Roam Rwandan National Park

For the first time since they were wiped out during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, lions are set to return to the Akagera National Park.

When Rwanda was in the midst of the massacre that left an estimated 800,000 people dead, survivors and refugees fled the sites of mass murders, and many found themselves displaced in the middle of Rwanda’s national park that was, at the time, home to some 230 lions. In a bid to protect themselves as well as their livestock, those who fled to the park found themselves with no choice but to either drive out or kill the endangered beasts.

Now, more than two decades later, and with the help of animal reserves in South Africa, seven lions — two male and five female — will once more populate Rwanda’s Akagera National Park, according to Yamina Karitanyi, head of tourism at the Rwanda Development Board.

“[The lions are coming from] relatively small, confined reserves where it is necessary to occasionally remove surplus lions. It’s a breakthrough in the rehabilitation of the park. Their return will encourage the natural balance of the ecosystem.

“Visitors to the park will now have a chance to see one of Africa’s ‘Big Five’ animals in one of the continent’s most diverse national parks, cementing Rwanda’s status as conservation focused, all-in- one safari destination.”

The lions that are coming to Rwanda from South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province were chosen “based on future reproductive potential and their ability to contribute to social cohesion,” Karitanyi said.

The entire 112,000-hectare park that the lions will soon call home is fenced in and reinforced on the bottom to prevent other animals from digging their way under the fence. Additionally, each of the seven lions will be equipped with a “satellite collar” that reduces the chances of any of the lions entering inhabited areas, Peter Fearnhead, head of African Parks, told Discovery News.

“The collars have a two-year life, by which time the park team will have evaluated the pride dynamics and only the dominant individuals in each pride will be re-collared.”

The lions, which are being transported by special charter plane, will touch down in Rwanda after a 36-hour journey on June 30. Before they can be released into Rwanda’s national park, the lions will have to undergo a two-week quarantine that will also allow the lions to familiarize themselves with their new home, as well as each other.

After 21 years, tourists, conservationists, and Rwandans as a whole will happily once again be able to hear the lion’s mighty roar at Rwanda’s Akagera National Park. Given that Akagera is also home to a diverse food source — particularly antelopes, zebras, giraffes, and buffaloes — for the king of the jungle, it’s safe say that they will be pretty happy in their new home, as well.

[Image Credit: Matthew Poole/Friends of Akagera National Park Facebook page]