Pride in Our Prides welcomes Dr. Florian Weise to the field team!

Pride in Our Prides Team: Eric LeFlore, Mr. Mwezi of DWNP, Pro Tomeletso and Dr. Florian Weise

Flo arrived on site to continue with PiOP’s project activities as Eric is getting ready to analyze results from the first 21 months of lion conflict work in northern Botswana.  Together with “Pro”, PiOP’s trusted project assistant and local lion guardian, they met the livestock kraal builders, wildlife officials, and village chiefs to introduce Flo.  One chief in particular stressed that lions are the main cause of problems for communities surrounding the Okavango Delta as the cats frequently take to livestock predation.  Often, villagers have little means to deal with the conflict and may resort to persecution – the reason why PiOP was launched in 2014.  While investigating a lion conflict site in the field, the team also had an exciting (and rather close) encounter with an elephant herd of 35!  The ellies moved on, as will PiOP with its continuous efforts to mitigate human-lion conflict and increase tolerance for these majestic cats outside protected areas.  Enjoy some photos of Flo’s first day in the Seronga area…

Pro and Flo having a laugh by the village water pump

The Village Kgotla