Coexistence from a lion’s perspective: Movements and habitat selection by African lions (Panthera leo) across a multi-use landscape

Diminishing wild space and population fragmentation are key drivers of large carnivore declines worldwide. Persistence of large carnivores in fragmented landscapes often depends on the ability of individuals to move between separated subpopulations for genetic exchange and recovery from stochastic events. Where separated by anthropogenic landscapes, subpopulations’ connectivity hinges on the area's socio-ecological conditions for coexistence and dispersing individuals' behavioral choices. Using GPS-collars and resource- and step-selection functions, we explored African lion (Panthera leo) habitat selection and movement patterns to better understand lions’ behavioral adaptations in a landscape shared with pastoralists. We conducted our study in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, a multiuse rangeland, that connects the small, high density lion subpopulation of the Ngorongoro Crater with the extensive Serengeti lion population. Landscape use by pastoralists and their livestock varies seasonally, driven by the availability of pasture, water, and disease avoidance. The most important factor for lion habitat selection was the amount of vegetation cover, followed by the distance to human settlements and the interaction between those two variables, with selectivity strengths varying with season and time of day. All lions were more willing to approach human settlements at night and during the dry season, selecting strongly for cover when moving closer to humans during the day. Resident females most consistently used areas close to humans, but also relied more consistently on cover than males. Connectivity of lion subpopulations, facilitated by nomadic males, does not appear to be blocked by sparse pastoralist settlements and nomadic males avoided humans on the landscape more strongly than did resident lions. These results are consistent with lions balancing risk from humans with exploitation of livestock by altering their behaviors to reduce potential conflict. Our study lends some optimism for the adaptive capacity of lions to promote coexistence with humans in shared landscapes.