The Lion Research Center has two main goals. First, to promote research into the basic biology and conservation of African lions. Second, to make our research findings available to the public. Our current activities stem from the 30+ year studies of the lions in the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania. We are also interested in the research done by colleagues elsewhere including South Africa, Asia, and captive facilities around the world.

Our basic research centers around one question: what factors contribute to the successful survival and reproduction of individual lions? The answers to this fundamental question are relevant to understanding such diverse question as why lions are so remarkably cooperative and sociable, why males have manes, and why females show the equivalent of a menopause.

Our research also has important practical applications in conservation. What limits lion population numbers? What are the minimum habitat requirements for a viable population? What is the impact of close inbreeding on the future of small populations? What are the consequences of human activity in game reserves and national parks?

We have designed this web site to provide information on the biology of lions and on our research to individuals with varying degrees of interest. To this end, we have included some very general pages and some with more depth on this web site. For those interested in more detail, watch for citations to journal articles and books given throughout the site.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. 9709212 and 9903416.

Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Thank you for visiting The Lion Research Center Web site.