Lions once roamed freely across most parts of Africa. Having already disappeared from northern Africa, they are now found only in parts of southern and eastern Africa and in the southern part of the Sahara desert. With only 23,000-40,000 lions remaining, the African lion population is half of what it was in the early 1950s. Mozambique’s Niassa National Reserve is home to one of only five healthy lion populations left on the continent.

The Niassa Lion Project (NLP) views community participation as an essential element of long-term protection for the African lion and the many other imperiled species within its critical habitat. NLP is deeply engaged with local residents, the management authority of the Niassa National Reserve, schools, tourism operators, and the bordering nation of Tanzania in its spectrum of conservation, scientific, and educational activities.