Research overview: lion edge conflict and mortality around Hwange, Zimbabwe

This overview synthesises long-term research on lions ranging at the boundary of Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, where the park abuts communal farmland and trophy-hunting concessions. It reviews evidence on how lions leaving the protected core encounter livestock, retaliatory and trophy-hunting mortality, and snaring, creating an edge where survival drops sharply. The literature examines source-sink dynamics, the demographic impact of conflict and offtake on pride structure, and mitigation through boma fortification, fencing, and community engagement. The survey frames Hwange as a well-studied system illustrating how protected-area edges concentrate lion mortality, and how depredation, retaliation, and hunting interact to shape the fate of lions in unfenced, multi-use landscapes.