Research overview: African lion pride ranging and the Hwange lion project

This overview synthesizes telemetry research on African lion movement and pride ranging, drawing on long-term projects such as the Oxford-led study in and around Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. GPS collars on lions have revealed how prides hold and patrol territories, how males range more widely and contest pride tenure, and how lions move along and across protected-area boundaries into community lands. The overview discusses key findings on edge effects, where hunting and conflict on reserve margins draw lions out of safety, and on how human pressures shape where lions go. Movement data have informed protected-area design, the management of trophy hunting, and conflict mitigation with pastoralists. As an intensely social big cat, the lion offers contrasts with solitary felids, and its ranging research is central to understanding how social structure and human pressure jointly govern movement.