The lion in Ghana: its historical and current status

Abstract

Historically, the lion (Panthera leo) population in Ghana has been little studied and its status is poorly documented. Currently, after recent unsuccessful attempts to find signs of the presence of the species, many authors believe that the Ghanaian lion population is most likely extinct. In an attempt to gather more data, since 2005 we have been carrying out lion surveys in the most important parks and other protected areas of Ghana, mainly focusing on Mole National Park (MNP). We have also been extensively reviewing the literature in an attempt to reconstruct the history of the presence of the lion in the country. Although our research has not provided unequivocal evidence of the presence of the lion, we have collected circumstantial evidence that suggests that a small lion population might still be present in MNP and its surrounding areas.