A Scoping Review of Academic Papers on Human Lion Conflict in Africa

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Abstract

Adopting a scoping review method, we examined peer‐reviewed academic papers published about human–lion conflict (HLC) (including coexistence) and identified knowledge gaps. We searched papers published between January 1981 and December 2023 using academic databases, with the key terms African lion, human–lion conflict, human–lion coexistence, and human–lion interaction. This produced 485 records, reduced to 137 after using additional criteria. Ninety‐eight papers were focused on lions in Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. Ten pan‐African studies were identified in our review. Our inductive analysis identified four themes related to HLC: attitudes and perceptions toward lions, causes of HLC, consequences of HLC, and mitigating HLC. Some limitations identified in systematic reviews of human–wildlife conflict have been addressed in recent years, such as broadening the geographical scale of research. However, some knowledge gaps remain, including a lack of assessment of mitigation strategies and studies on climate changes impact on human–lion conflict. Addressing the knowledge gaps highlighted in this review will require diversifying the disciplinary composition of the research teams and increasing researcher reflexivity.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere13178
Pages (from-to)(In-Press)
Number of pages13
JournalConservation Science and Practice
Volume6
Issue number8
Early online date23 Jul 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 23 Jul 2024

Bibliographical note

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providedthe original work is properly cited.

Keywords

  • African Lion
  • coexistence
  • human–lion conflict
  • indigenous knowledge
  • interdisciplinarity
  • knowledge gaps
  • scoping review

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
  • Environmental Science(all)
  • Psychology(all)
  • Social Sciences(all)

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