Research overview: bovine tuberculosis in wild lions

Bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, established itself in some African lion populations, notably in Kruger National Park, after spreading through prey species such as buffalo, raising concerns about chronic disease, debilitation, and long-term population effects. The disease illustrates how pathogens can move through ecosystems from livestock into wildlife and predators. This overview synthesizes the wildlife-disease literature rather than one citation, describing how lions acquire infection through their prey, why chronic tuberculosis can undermine individual health and population stability, and the challenges of monitoring and managing the disease in free-ranging predators. It matters because bovine tuberculosis in lions exemplifies the complex, multi-host disease dynamics that wildlife veterinarians must understand to assess threats to big cat populations sharing landscapes with livestock and infected prey.