Wildlife officials have described a rising number of poisoning cases involving lions. Conservationists have warned that such poisonings could have knock-on effects on wildlife in east Africa.
"Poisoning of the animals in the parks has been going on for a while," UWA spokesman John Gesa told German news agency DPA. "Cases of poisoning of wildlife especially of big cats are serious and are on the increase."
The authority said it was possible that landless herdsmen had poisoned the lions for fear of their cattle being attacked.
Uganda's lion population is estimated to number 400.
Not the first time
It is not the first time several lions have been poisoned in east Africa. Earlier this year, the Ruaha Carnivore Project (RCP) warned that poisoning lions could have knock-on effects on wildlife in the region.
RCP said one of its collared lions was found dead after eating a cattle carcass laced with poison. At least 75 critically endangered vultures also died from the incident after feeding on the lion's carcass.
"Just an attempt by one person to kill wildlife can have extremely severe consequences, particularly when poison is used," RCP said in its monthly report published earlier this month.
Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve: Paradise at risk
The Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania is Africa's largest wildlife reserve and a World Natural Heritage site. But will it remain one? The government wants to build a dam there. Environmentalists are raising the alarm.
Image: WWF Deutschland/Astrid Dill
Pristine wilderness
The Selous Game Reserve is one of the Earth’s largest nature reserves and the biggest in Africa. It covers 50,000 square kilometers (31,000 miles) of steppes and savannah over several regions of southeast Tanzania. The park is home to hippos, elephants, giraffes, buffalo, lions, crocodiles, cheetahs, antelopes and more than 400 bird species.
Image: WWF Deutschland/Astrid Dill
Colonial past
The wildlife reserve was created by the German colonial power in 1896. After taking over the colony, Great Britain amplified the reserve and named it after Frederick Selous, an English officer and big game hunter. He was killed in World War 1 and buried in the park. In 1982, UNESCO declared the reserve a World Natural Heritage due to its unique fauna and flora.
Image: Imago/BE&W
World heritage at risk
UNESCO and several conservancy organizations consider the unique ecosystem in Selous to be at serious risk. Three years ago, the reserve was placed on the "red list" of threatened World Heritage sites. Despite protests by the Tanzanian government, UNESCO recently decided to keep it on the list.
Image: WWF Deutschland/Astrid Dill
A dam in the reserve?
The Rufiji River is a lifeline of the reserve. It crosses Selous for 600 kilometers (370 miles) and flows into the Indian Ocean south of Dar es Salam. Recently. President John Magufuli announced that he would build a dam that has been in the planning for decades "as soon as possible". Electricity is scarce in Tanzania and the president wants the Rufiji River to generate power.
Image: WWF Deutschland/Michael Poliza
Wall in the nature
"That would be a terrible blow for nature," said the nature conservation organization World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Plans for the dam include a wall 130 meters (142 yards) high and 700 meters (766 yards) long in the so-called 'Stiegler Canyon.' It will create a lake of more than 1,000 square kilometers (621 square miles), flooding an area larger than Berlin.
Image: WWF Deutschland/Greg Armfield
"Industrialization of the wilderness"
Erecting the dam implies building roads, industrial plants and residences for workers in the game reserve. The WWF fears "the destruction of pristine wilderness and one of the most important habitats for endangered species." Plans for the construction of the dam are likely to turn into a headache for the German government too.
Image: WWF Deutschland/Michael Poliza
Germany's bid to preserve Selous
A day before Magufuli’s announcement that the dam would be built soon, his government and the German ambassador in Tanzania signed the "Selous Conservation and Development Program", Secad for short. It is meant to protect and conserve the park as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage. Germany paid 18 million euros for the project.
Image: Getty Images/MCT/A. Anderson
Uranium extraction in the south
Criticism is also being aimed at concessions by Tanzania’s government for the exploitation of oil and gas reserves, and one uranium mine at the southern end of Selous. Radioactive material is to be extracted on the headwaters of the Rufiji. The first holes have already been drilled. The WWF has warned that this could contaminate the river and reach the groundwater.
Poaching under control?
The Tanzanian government rejects all criticism and points to its success in fighting poaching instead. It is true that the number of elephants in Selous has increased somewhat. There used to be more than 100,000. But poaching and contraband of ivory reached such a scale that between 1982 and 2014, nearly 90 percent of the elephants were lost.
Commercial game hunting is allowed in Selous. It is a source of revenue for the reserve and most of the 1.2 million people who live at the edge of the park. In some areas in the north no hunting is allowed. The areas can however be visited by tourists on a safari. But there are significantly less visitors than to Serengeti National Park, although the Selous Game Reserve is three times as large.
