Not until 2015 when seven lions were reintroduced in Akagera National Park from South Africa. The African lions were extinct in Akagera National Park for over 15 years, a consequence of poaching and wildlife-human conflict that followed the resettlement of the Rwandans in the park area upon their return from Tanzania, Uganda, and Congo, where they had taken refuge during the 1994 Rwanda Genocide.
Prior to all this, a population of about 300 lions used to occupy the Savannah plains of Akagera National Park.
All of these were killed to extinction by the people who settled around the park and encroached on the park land, which made the lions prey on their livestock.
In turn, the pastoral Rwandans killed the lions to protect themselves and their livestock.
On the bright side, the King of the Jungle adapted well to its new home, and since the translocation, the lion population in Akagera is growing steadily.
The successful restoration of the lion in Akagera is a result of the extensive conservation efforts of the Rwanda Development Board in partnership with African Parks, a non-profit conservation organization with which they established the Akagera Management Company.
Visit Akagera National Park and take part in game drives at different times of the day for a chance to see the thriving population of the African Lions in a park where they were once nonexistent for over a decade.
