Death of XPL-69

XPL-69 in June 2018.

One of the great privileges of working closely with wild animals is getting to know individuals, their behaviors, tendencies, and quirks. Over the past few years the Lion Rangers have spent large amounts of time monitoring an older lioness known as XPL-69. This great privilege can also be a source of sadness when a known individual passes-away. This past week the body of XPL-69 was discovered by Dr. Stander after she died due to an apparent punctured lung from a porcupine. She was 13.5 years young. You can read his full account at desertlion.info.

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Images from the Hoanib River and Floodplain

During the Covid-19 pandemic the work of conserving the desert-adapted lions and other wildlife of northwest Namibia continues. While the Lion Rangers and IRDNC Rapid Response Team Leaders continue to partner with local communities to limit human-lion conflict, Lion Ranger co-founder Dr. Flip Stander has been hard at work along Namibia’s Skeleton Coast. Below are just a few of the images and videos Flip has collected in the past weeks. Flip’s work is central to better understanding the ecology of desert-adapted lions and other carnivores in the region and his insight is critical to the work of the Lion Rangers. You can learn more about Flip’s long-term research and work with the Lion Rangers at the Desert Lion Conservation website.

Male desert-adapted lion in the Hoanib riverbed.
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