Lion Hunting in Africa: Facts, History, and Controversy

Nov 06, 2025 0

Lion hunting is the act of hunting lions, and it is a subject of controversy in modern times. While the practice of lion hunting has existed since ancient times, perspectives surrounding the topic have shifted. Currently, the lion is listed as a vulnerable species by the IUCN, and some subspecies are listed as endangered.

Historical Perspectives

In Ancient Egypt, lion hunts were usually reserved for pharaohs. These hunts nearly resulted in the extinction of the local lion population by 1100 BC. In ancient Assyria, lion hunting was a ritualized activity reserved for kings. The Assyrian kings hunted lions for political and religious purposes, to demonstrate their power.

To get the lion out of his cage and onto the Syrian plains, a servant would raise a door and start running. Then the lion would get beaten by dogs and beaters, so that the lion would go to the king. The king would kill the lion from a chariot with his bow and arrow or spear.

Sometimes the king would kill it on foot with a sword. He would do this by holding it by the mane and then thrusting the sword into the lion's throat. Then, when the lion was killed, the king would pour a liquid over it and give a speech to the city's god to thank him, so the lion's evil spirit wouldn't come back and haunt him. Expert spearmen and archers would protect the king.

The first South African Legislation on the Killing of Predators was established in 1656. Six realen were awarded to those who shot or captured lions. During the last decade of the 19th century, more than 4,000 lions were killed in Kruger National Park, and its surrounding territories. The first 30 years of the 20th century, park rangers killed another 1,200 lions.

Read also: Hunting Lions with Dogs

Maasai Lion Hunting as a Rite of Passage

The Maasai people have traditionally viewed the killing of lions as a rite of passage. Historically, lion hunts were done by individuals, however, due to reduced lion populations, lion hunts done solo are discouraged by elders. Most hunts are now partaken by groups of 10 warriors. Group hunting, known in Maasai as olamayio, gives the lion population a chance to grow.

However, in Kenya, where this practice is illegal, olamayio may be used as a reason for retaliatory killing against lions suspected of killing livestock. Maasai customary laws prohibit killing a sick or infirm lion.

Empikas (warrior delegation) plan a lion hunt in advance in secret. Only the warriors are permitted to know about the day of the hunt. The secret is considered so important that Ilbarnot (young warriors) from the same age-set are denied information regarding the hunt, due to the older warriors fearing discovery from anti-hunt groups.

If a warrior is found guilty of spreading rumours, he is punished through beating. Solo lion hunting requires confidence and advanced hunting skills, requiring a dedicated warrior.

The lion hunt starts at dawn, when elders and women are still asleep. The warriors meet discreetly at a nearby landmark where they depart to predetermined areas. The Ilmorijo (older warriors) filter out the group in order that only the bravest and strongest warriors take part. The resulting group is known as Ilmeluaya (fearless warriors). The rejected young warriors are commanded by older warriors to keep the information of the hunt confidential, until the return of their favoured colleagues.

After a successful hunt, a one-week celebration takes place throughout the community. The warrior who struck the first blow is courted by the women and receives an Imporro, a doubled-sided beaded shoulder strap. The warrior wears this ornament during ceremonies.

The Maasai do not eat game meat, and use the bodies of their killed lions for three body parts: the mane, the tail, and the claws. The mane is beaded by women of the community, and given back to the hunter, who wears it over his head on special occasions. After the meat ceremony, when a warrior becomes a junior elder, the mane is thrown away and greased with a mixture of sheep oil and ochre. The lion's tail is stretched and softened by the warriors, then handed over to the women for beading. The warriors keep the tail in their manyatta (warriors camp), until the end of warriorhood.

Methods of Lion Hunting

There are various methods employed in lion hunting, each with its own set of challenges and requirements:

Walk-and-stalk: A walk-and-stalk hunt is very action packed when the encounter occurs. Lions are unpredictable, nimble and fast, meaning that if it was not killed in the first shot, it can be very vindictive. Lions largely prefer to inhabit wooded savannah grasslands, meaning that hunting them during the summer is a very difficult task, as the mane camouflages well with the underlying undergrowth.
Hounding: Throughout history all manner of pariahs, hounds, terriers and mongrels have been used by man in the pursuit of lion in Africa and (in ancient times) the Middle East. Most notably among these lion hunting dogs is the Rhodesian Ridgeback. This method of lion hunting involves the hunter releasing a pack of dogs bred for this purpose in an area known for high levels of lion activity or over fresh spoor/tracks.
Baiting: This common method involves the hunter lying in ambush from a constructed blind about 30-50 yards off from a bait, usually an ungulate carcass, after hanging or fastening the carcass to a tree in a likely area. The bait is then checked every day until there is evidence of a hungry lion present in the area. A large spoor or long black-tipped hairs on the bait signal the building of a blind.

Hunting there is much more regulated than in most other countries in Africa. Tanzania’s hunting season runs from the end of June to the end of March. Hunting from a vehicle, or over a water hole is prohibited. One of the best areas to hunt lion in Africa is in the Selous Game reserve. It is reached by an air charter from Dar es Salam. It’s very remote and full of wildlife. It has good lion available. This area is a great place to book an all-around safari where numerous animals will be hunted.

Another great area for lion is in far western Tanzania. The area is known for its big-maned, large-bodied lions, and some real monsters have been taken from there. Over the years, C.A.R. has seen a number of political changes, however hunting has continued through all the turmoil. Hunting areas in the C.A.R. are quite large and are not fenced, making for true free range hunting.

The hunting areas range from 250,000 to 3,700,000 acres, and as would be expected, the habitat is quite varied. Most of the C.A.R. Due to the lack of roads, and the long distances involved, travel by vehicle is not practical. Charter flights from the capitol of C.A.R., Bangui, average 2-3 hours.

Some hunting is done on foot directly from the camp, but more often a safari truck is driven to the hunting area, then the hunter continues on foot once spoor has been found. The eastern and central part of the C.A.R. is relatively flat, making tracking relatively easy.

Ethical and Conservation Considerations

Lion hunting is a subject of controversy in modern times. Currently, the lion is listed as a vulnerable species by the IUCN, and some subspecies are listed as endangered. Fewer than 20,000 survive in the wild, a reduction of 60% in the last two decades. This decline is mainly due to poaching of them and their prey, further influenced by excessive legal trophy hunting and habitat destruction.

In addition to the direct population loss from trophy hunting, opponents argue that trophy hunting of lions primarily kills large males, leading to a smaller and potentially less healthy lion population.

There are around 1,800 huntable male lions in Africa, and trophy hunting claims an unsustainable 665 of them per year. Trophy hunting hasn’t proven itself a sustainable venture. It also features several harmful facets, such as bating lions out of protected areas, exceeding the quota and destroying prides’ males.

Into the Grasslands of Laikipia – Thrilling Lion Hunts in Kenya’s Rugged Plateau | Invasive Species

Trophy hunters lead people to believe that a lion’s value will increase in order to influence rural communities to conserve the big cats. This is a misconception, as there is no scientific proof backing this practice. Lions are being hunted under the guise of education and conservation, threatening their numbers in the wild.

Sustainable and responsible lion hunting benefits lions because it allows the safari operator enough funding to set up proper anti-poaching units; provide benefits and assistance to rural impoverished communities. The outfitter should also educate the communities on the importance of nurturing wildlife. They will not nurture wildlife unless they derive sustainable and ongoing benefits from it. This, once achieved, reduces poaching and it enhances the lives of very poor people living alongside wild animals in vast rural areas.

Huge chunks of Africa are not conducive to eco-tourism (photo safaris). This is where hunting operations play a crucial role-and one of the most important species in assisting operators in protecting these vast tracts of land is the lion. If the hunting operator leaves then the wildlife is doomed and the first to go will be the large predators.

There are many examples of this in Africa where communities are benefiting from hunting operations. A classic example is our Sankuyo Concession in Botswana where, after hunting was stopped, this community was left abandoned and destitute. They were promised that a photographic safari operation would replace our hunting operation. This never happened and now a community is unemployed.

Kenya lost 80 percent of its wildlife since they stopped hunting in 1977. To the contrary, South Africa’s wildlife population has expanded from about 1 million in the late 1960s to an estimated 18-plus million head today. Namibia has had a similar success story, as have certain regions of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. South Africa was home to about 500 rhinos in the 1950s, but today we have 20,000 despite the poaching epidemic.

Lion Facts

Here are some interesting facts about lions:

In the wild, there are two formally recognised lion subspecies. The African lion (Panthera leo leo) is found in Africa, south of the Sahara desert.
Most male lions grow impressive manes the older they get. However, not all male lions have manes. ‘Maneless’ male lions are common in parts of Africa, such as Tsavo National Park in Kenya.
A pride of lions is usually made up of related females and their cubs, plus a male or small group of males who defend their pride.
Lions are highly adaptable and can live in very dry areas like the Kalahari Desert.
Interestingly though, lions also hunt during storms. When hunting, lionesses have specific roles.
Lions are the only known cat species where individuals roar together - with even young cubs joining in with their mews.
There are thought to be as few as 23,000 lions left in the wild. They’re also killed for the illegal wildlife trade.

Lions have always had an association with royalty and leadership. Their power is reflected in their impressive size and the fact that their lifestyles allow them to sleep a lot - up to 18 hours a day. They are awesome animals, with males weighing up to 225kg and females up to 150kg.

Lions are the biggest, and most social, of the African cats, living communally in prides. Lions favour open woodlands and thick scrub, the type of landscape that allows them to get as close to their prey as possible without being seen. As a rule, lions hunt mostly at night and rest during the day but are often active at dawn and dusk and on cooler days.

Lions hunt either collaboratively or by themselves. Collaborative hunting usually involves the males approaching the intended prey upwind with the intention of driving it towards lionesses hiding in the bush downwind. They will attempt to get to within 30m of their prey before charging.

In a successful hunt, the prey is knocked off balance, dragged down and then killed with a bite to the back of the neck or the throat. In some cases, a kill can be a bloody, drawn out procedure. Buffalo have been known to fend off lion attacks for hours before succumbing to loss of blood and energy.

The strongest male lion will eat first, followed by other members of the pride. Ever wondered what animal can kill a lion? Lions sometimes become the victims of their intended prey. The short answer is quite a lot.

In Kruger, lions have a broad diet with 37 animal species on the menu, including ostriches, quelea nestlings, tortoises and small crocodiles. Natural history artist Charles Astley Maberly - who rode through the Park on his bicycle sketching the wildlife in the 1920s - said that, in his experience, lions had a particular preference for waterbuck.

Another lion fact not commonly appreciated is that lions are not just hunters, but scavengers as well, often chasing smaller predators - like cheetah - off their kills. In some instances, up to 50% of a lion's diet can come from scavenging rather than hunting live prey.

During periods of drought, lions sometimes go on a killing spree when they come across herds of weak animals. The territorial behaviour of lions is complicated because prides split up and re-unite, and hunting grounds shift as the seasons change and the game moves around.

At any one time, a pride's territory in Kruger measures approximately 10 square kilometres. Territories may be defended vigorously by both males and females, but there are instances when prides share the same overlapping hunting zone yet deliberately avoid confrontation.

Clashes occur between prides when game migrations force lions to move beyond their territories in search of food, or when nomadic males challenge pride hierarchies. If the challengers win, the defeated males are expelled and, in turn, become nomads themselves. The lionesses accept the new regime.

Usually the conquering males kill all the cubs of the conquered pride. Scientists believe that territorial challenges are good for the survival of the species - they ensure diversity in the gene pool and dominance of the strongest genetic characteristics.

Lionesses typically give birth to litters of between two and four cubs. They are kept hidden in the bush for about six weeks. During this time, the lioness hunts exclusively for her cubs. Males provide no help.

At this time, male cubs are expelled from the pride while females are nurtured within it. These young males often form groupings of nomadic bachelors and either find new territories or challenge males in existing prides, and so the cyclical struggle for dominance goes on.

In collaborative hunts, it is usually the lioness who initiates the kill. The stomach is usually the easiest point of entry into the carcass, and this is the route most often taken by lions. It also gives them direct access to some of the most nutritious parts of the body, such as the kidneys and liver of the prey.

Lions usually rest after an initial feed, lying a short way away from the carcass so that they can still defend their kill against scavengers. In a short time vultures are certain to begin to arrive. The first are usually the white-backed vultures and then come the lappet-faced and others.

Scavengers like hyaenas and jackals will be attracted by the vulture activity and will patiently wait at a safe distance until the lions have had their fill. Lionesses often synchronize their breeding, enabling all the mothers in the pride to mutually suckle each others cubs.

Legal Aspects and Costs

Unfortunately, in certain parts of the continent, lion hunting in Africa remains permissible to this day. While mounting public pressure has caused some countries to begin altering their approach to the issue, many countries known for their extensive lion populations, including South Africa, have yet to ban it outright.

According to current estimates, lion hunting can cost anywhere between $15,000 and $70,000 USD.