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In Eastern Tanzania, lions of all ages have been attacking, and sometimes killing, humans. These attacks happen in agricultural fields, right outside people's huts, and even in the middle of villages.
AAAS S&T Fellow Hadas Kushnir has conducted extensive research on human-lion conflict. She spoke with survivors and family members, looked at attack sites, and went to neighboring villages to figure out what factors influence the lion's aggressive behavior. She found that humans sleeping in their fields, often to protect them from foragers like bush pigs, led to an increased number of assaults. So she worked on measures to stop nocturnal animals from eating agricultural fields. This research has led Kushnir to work on other agricultural programs in Africa with USAID.
Hadas Kushnir sat down with MemberCentral to talk about her research and shared pictures from her time in Africa.
More:
University of Minnesota: Lion Research Center
Kushnir paper: Human and Ecological Risk Factors for Unprovoked Lion Attacks on Humans in Southeastern Tanzania
National Geographic also interviewed Hadas Kushnir for their video Man Eating Prides.
This research also contributed to a study on the relationship between the full moon and lion attacks.