Lion Conservation in Zimbabwe (2026): Threats & Solutions

Quick answer: Lion conservation in Zimbabwe depends on maintaining large, well-managed landscapes such as Hwange, Gonarezhou, the Save Valley and the Mid-Zambezi Valley. Available published estimates are not a current national census: older assessments estimated about 750 lions in the Hwange–Matetsi complex, 350 in the south-eastern lowveld, 59 in Gonarezhou, 400 in Bubye Valley Conservancy and approximately 600 in the Mid-Zambezi Valley, but these figures come from surveys and reports dating mainly from 2011–2014.

Zimbabwe has genuine conservation strengths, including extensive protected areas, private conservancies, cross-border wildlife landscapes and long-running lion research. However, lions still face habitat fragmentation, prey depletion, livestock conflict, wire snares, poisoning, targeted poaching and uneven conservation funding.

Last reviewed August 2026. Conservation data changes — see the cited sources for the latest figures.

Why lion conservation matters in Zimbabwe

The African lion (Panthera leo) is a large social carnivore that requires space, prey and tolerance from people living around protected areas. Lions help regulate large-herbivore communities as apex predators, while their presence contributes to the ecological value and tourism appeal of Zimbabwe’s major safari landscapes.

Zimbabwe is important because its lion habitat is distributed across several interconnected conservation systems rather than one isolated reserve. The Hwange–Matetsi landscape, the south-eastern lowveld, the Mid-Zambezi Valley and private areas such as Save Valley Conservancy collectively provide habitat across different ecological and management settings.

The country also forms part of transfrontier landscapes. In north-western Zimbabwe, lions move between Zimbabwe and Botswana, and in some cases Zambia, within the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, or KAZA. Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust uses satellite collars to study these movements and identify corridors that need to remain protected and connected.

This connectivity matters because lions do not recognise national or reserve boundaries. A pride may use a protected area, community land and a private conservancy during the same period. Conservation therefore requires cooperation between the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, private landowners, communities, researchers and neighbouring countries.

Zimbabwe’s lion population: what the evidence shows

There is no single, regularly updated national lion estimate in the supplied research that can be presented as Zimbabwe’s 2026 population. The most responsible approach is to treat available numbers as historical baselines, not as a current census.

Landscape or area	Published estimate	Important limitation
Hwange–Matetsi complex	750 lions	Estimate reported in a conservation-status document using earlier survey and authority sources.
South-eastern lowveld	350 lions	Historical regional estimate; the area includes several different management units.
Save Valley Conservancy	150–175 lions	Historical estimate cited in the same assessment.
Gonarezhou National Park	59 lions	Historical estimate; the cited density was approximately 0.8 lions per 100 km² in the 2013 report.
Malilangwe	37 lions	Historical estimate, with a cited density of approximately 9 lions per 100 km².
Mid-Zambezi Valley	600 lions	Estimate covering Mana Pools and other national, safari and conservation areas.

The figures should not be added together to create a definitive national total. They were produced for different areas, years and methods, and some may overlap with wider landscape estimates. Lion surveys also become more useful when they identify individuals, prides, cub survival, movements and mortalities over time rather than relying on a single count.

Research has documented disturbing results in protected areas in Zimbabwe, while broader African studies show that lion populations generally decline where protection is weak and recover more readily in intensively managed areas. This does not mean every Zimbabwean population follows the same trajectory. Conditions vary substantially between a well-protected private conservancy, a national park with limited operational resources and a communal area bordering wildlife habitat.

The main threats to lions in Zimbabwe

Wire snares and bushmeat poaching

Wire snares are usually set to catch meat species, but lions can become unintended victims when they encounter snared prey or are caught directly. Bushmeat hunting also reduces the prey base on which lions depend. The Endangered Wildlife Trust identifies bushmeat snaring and deliberate poisoning as threats affecting lions in parts of the wider southern African region.

In Zimbabwe, Lion Recovery Fund support has been used to help the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority manage Chizarira and to support ranger capacity in areas affected by bushmeat poaching. The same programme reported that Chizarira held a substantial founder population capable of supporting recovery, but that protection and operational support were necessary.

Snaring is therefore both a lion issue and a whole-ecosystem issue. Removing snares protects lions, African wild dogs, leopards, hyenas and herbivore prey at the same time. Panthera supports an anti-poaching team working with Wilderness Safaris to remove wire snares from important lion habitat in the eastern part of Hwange National Park.

Targeted poaching and illegal wildlife trade

Conservation organisations have warned that criminal networks traditionally associated with elephant and rhino trafficking are increasingly targeting lions in parts of southern Africa. This diversification raises concern about deliberate killing for body parts rather than only accidental mortality or local retaliation.

The available Zimbabwe research does not provide a verified 2026 national total for lions killed in targeted poaching. It does, however, support a clear precautionary priority: protected areas need intelligence-led law enforcement, rapid response, mortality investigations and consistent recording of every lion death.

Travellers can read more about the wider enforcement context in SafariFind’s guide to anti-poaching and wildlife crime in Zimbabwe. Lion protection is closely linked to the security of the wider landscape, not just to patrols around individual prides.

Human-lion conflict

Lions may kill livestock when natural prey is scarce or when settlements and grazing areas overlap with wildlife habitat. Retaliatory killing can then follow, including shooting, poisoning or other forms of removal. The Zimbabwe conservation-status assessment recorded livestock predation in communal lands bordering national parks, including reports from Gokwe and Nyaminyami District.

The historical assessment recorded that, between 2002 and 2006, 58 lions were reported as “Problem Animals” across CAMPFIRE Rural District Councils, although only part of those reports resulted in confirmed removals or recorded outcomes in the cited extract. Because this information is old, it should not be used as a current conflict rate.

Conflict prevention is more durable than responding only after a lion has killed livestock. Measures can include better livestock husbandry, improved night enclosures, early-warning systems, community reporting and locally appropriate compensation or benefit arrangements. Wildlife Conservation Action, founded by Zimbabwean biologist Moreangels Mbizah, places coexistence with communities at the centre of its work in Mbire District.

Habitat loss, fragmentation and prey decline

Across Africa, lion range has contracted as agriculture, settlements, roads, mining, infrastructure and encroachment fragment habitat. Declining prey populations, driven in part by bushmeat hunting and competition with livestock, further reduce the capacity of landscapes to support lions.

Zimbabwe’s cross-border corridors are particularly important in this context. A lion that moves between protected areas may encounter fences, roads, livestock, snares or people. Protecting corridors requires land-use planning as well as wildlife law enforcement, and it must account for the rights and livelihoods of communities living alongside wildlife.

Climate pressure and limited funding

Climate change can alter water availability, prey distribution and lion behaviour, although the supplied research does not provide a Zimbabwe-specific 2026 climate impact estimate. WildCRU is studying how changing landscapes affect lion habitat and behaviour across Africa, while its Zimbabwe work includes carnivore monitoring and research into competition between wild dogs and larger carnivores.

Funding is a practical conservation constraint. A study of African protected areas found that areas with lions require substantially more funding to reach baseline effective management, estimating a need for an additional $0.9–$2.1 billion annually across Africa beyond the funding available at the time of the study. For Zimbabwe specifically, the study noted that state funding existed but that substantial proportions were committed to salaries, leaving limited amounts for other management needs.

What is being done to conserve lions

Monitoring movements and populations

Satellite collars provide detailed movement data that can reveal corridors, boundary crossings, dispersal routes and potential conflict hotspots. Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust uses collars to track lions in north-western Zimbabwe and to support efforts to keep important KAZA corridors connected.

WildCRU’s carnivore population monitoring in Botswana and Zimbabwe aims to establish baseline densities, track population trends and identify threats. Its wider lion research has also informed mapping, national conservation planning and understanding of conflict, poaching and hunting impacts.

Reliable monitoring should combine spoor surveys, camera traps, photographic identification, collar data, reports from field teams and records of births and deaths. A centralised African Lion Database supported by the Lion Recovery Fund is intended to help conservationists compare trends across landscapes and plan evidence-based action.

Protected-area management and anti-poaching

Zimbabwe’s national parks and safari areas remain central to lion protection, but legal designation alone is not enough. Rangers need transport, communications, field equipment, training, reliable deployment and the ability to investigate threats. The Chizarira support programme illustrates how funding for vehicles and ranger operations can strengthen a protected area with recovery potential.

In Hwange, anti-snaring work supported by Panthera and Wilderness Safaris targets a threat that harms both lions and their prey. This type of intervention is most effective when paired with broader law enforcement, community engagement and monitoring of whether lion survival and prey availability improve over time.

WildCRU reports that long-term engagement in the Hwange ecosystem has helped reduce threats and improve the conservation outlook for lions and other species, while its research has also contributed to adjustments in hunting policies intended to make their impact more sustainable. The statement is encouraging, but it is not evidence that all threats have been resolved across Hwange or Zimbabwe.

Landscape-scale cooperation

KAZA demonstrates why lion conservation must extend beyond a single wildlife safari park. North-western Zimbabwe’s lions share a landscape with Botswana and Zambia, so corridor planning, compatible monitoring and cooperation between wildlife authorities are essential.

Private conservancies can also contribute habitat, prey protection and funding, but their role should be assessed by measurable conservation outcomes and by how benefits are distributed. The same principle applies to community areas: local people must be partners in decisions about wildlife, not simply treated as a source of risk or labour.

Community conservation and tourism’s role

People living beside lions bear real costs when livestock is lost, access to land is restricted or safety is threatened. Conservation programmes that ignore these costs are unlikely to secure lasting tolerance. Community-led approaches aim to reduce conflict while creating tangible reasons to maintain wildlife habitat.

Tourism can help when visitor spending supports park operations, conservation organisations, guides, local employment and community projects. The link is not automatic: travellers should ask lodges and operators how conservation fees are used, whether communities benefit and which organisation is responsible for the work.

A responsible lion safari should prioritise animal welfare and low-impact viewing. Keep a respectful distance, never pressure guides to approach a pride, avoid baiting or manipulating wildlife, and do not support captive-lion interactions promoted as conservation. These choices protect natural behaviour and encourage tourism models based on wild, free-ranging lions.

SafariFind travellers can book conservation-supporting safaris through the marketplace, while checking each operator’s conservation claims and local benefit arrangements before booking. For a wider explanation of how local people and tourism can contribute to protection, see SafariFind’s article on community conservancies in Zimbabwe.

Results and setbacks: a balanced 2026 assessment

Zimbabwe’s positive outlook rests on several factors: extensive lion landscapes remain; some protected areas and conservancies can support larger populations; monitoring technology is improving; and long-term partnerships in Hwange, KAZA and other ecosystems are generating information for management.

There are also wider regional grounds for cautious optimism. African Parks reports that lion populations rose approximately 11% in countries with well-funded and properly managed parks, including Zimbabwe, during the period it analysed. That regional comparison should not be mistaken for a current Zimbabwe-wide increase, and it does not remove the need for site-specific evidence.

The setbacks are equally important. Zimbabwe’s most readily available area estimates are dated; funding remains uneven; snaring and bushmeat poaching can remove prey and kill lions; targeted poaching networks are adapting; and conflict persists where people and carnivores share space.

The strongest measure of progress will be whether individual landscapes show sustained increases in adult survival, pride recruitment and secure habitat, alongside falling rates of snaring, poisoning, conflict mortality and illegal killing. A single sighting, collaring success or tourism season cannot demonstrate population recovery on its own.

How travellers can help responsibly

• Choose operators that explain how park fees, conservation levies or donations support field protection and local communities.
• Prefer wild-lion viewing and reject walking, petting, breeding or “cub interaction” experiences that make unverified conservation claims.
• Follow guide instructions, remain quiet near prides and never encourage unsafe approaches for photographs.
• Support organisations with transparent programmes in monitoring, anti-snaring, conflict prevention or corridor protection.
• Ask whether a lodge employs local residents, buys locally and contributes to community-led conservation.
• Combine lion conservation with wider habitat protection. Safaris that support elephants, rhinos, wild dogs and prey species also help maintain functioning lion ecosystems; SafariFind’s overview of elephant conservation in Zimbabwe explains this broader landscape connection.

Zimbabwe’s lions will not be secured by one intervention. Their future depends on reliable data, adequately funded protected areas, connected habitat, effective anti-poaching, conflict prevention and conservation partnerships that respect the people who share these landscapes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many lions are left in Zimbabwe in 2026?

The supplied research does not provide a verified 2026 national lion census for Zimbabwe. Historical estimates include about 750 lions in the Hwange–Matetsi complex, 350 in the south-eastern lowveld, 59 in Gonarezhou, 400 in Bubye Valley Conservancy and approximately 600 in the Mid-Zambezi Valley, but these figures are from older surveys and should not be treated as a current national total.

Are lions endangered in Zimbabwe?

African lions are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. In Zimbabwe, conservation status varies by landscape, and the main pressures include habitat fragmentation, prey decline, conflict, snaring, poisoning, targeted poaching and limited conservation funding.

Where can you see lions in Zimbabwe?

Important Zimbabwean lion landscapes identified in the research include Hwange National Park and the wider Hwange–Matetsi complex, Gonarezhou National Park, the Save Valley Conservancy and the Mid-Zambezi Valley.

What is the biggest threat to lions in Zimbabwe?

There is no single threat everywhere. Human-lion conflict, bushmeat snaring and prey depletion are major concerns, while conservation organisations have also warned about targeted poaching for lion body parts in southern Africa.

How does poaching affect Zimbabwe’s lions?

Bushmeat poaching can kill lions through snares and can reduce the prey available to them. Targeted poaching is an additional concern because criminal networks are reported to be diversifying into lion trafficking in parts of southern Africa.

What is being done to protect lions in Hwange?

Conservation work includes anti-snaring operations supported by Panthera and Wilderness Safaris, lion research and monitoring by WildCRU and other partners, and wider protected-area management to reduce threats and maintain prey and habitat.

Why are satellite collars used on Zimbabwean lions?

Satellite collars track movements across protected areas and national borders, helping researchers identify corridors, understand habitat use and support decisions about keeping KAZA landscapes connected.

How can tourism help lion conservation in Zimbabwe?

Tourism can contribute through park fees, conservation levies, local employment, community benefits and direct support for conservation organisations. Travellers should verify how an operator’s money is used rather than assuming every safari automatically funds lion protection.

What should I look for in a responsible lion safari?

Choose wild-lion viewing with guides who maintain respectful distances and follow animal-welfare standards. Avoid baiting, manipulated sightings and captive-lion interactions marketed as conservation.

Can lions recover in Zimbabwe?

Yes, recovery is possible where habitat is secure, prey is sufficient, threats are controlled and management is adequately funded. However, Zimbabwe needs more current, landscape-specific monitoring before a nationwide recovery claim can be made.