LIVING WITH LIONS
The Modisa Wildlife Project in Botswana is dedicated to protecting wild animals. Its staff are suddenly forced to act as mediators when two wild lions settle in the area and start preying on cattle belonging to nearby farmers.
Thato Cooper grew up in the heart of the Kalahari Desert, where he lives alongside lions. He works at the Modisa Wildlife Project, a reserve dedicated to the protection of wild animals. The reserve finds itself caught up in a conflict when wild lions settle in the area and start preying on cattle belonging to neighbouring farmers. For many people in the Kalahari, livestock farming is their primary source of income. Thato takes on the role of mediator, trying to find a balance that allows wildlife and farming communities to coexist. But concerns are growing within the reserve itself: Sirga, a semi-wild lioness, who was rejected by her mother at birth and raised in the reserve, is put at risk by the arrival of the wild lions. Farmers like Collin Peacock see the lions as an existential threat and he stands ready to shoot them if necessary. Others, driven by fear, are considering moving away. Living with Lions portrays those who fight to preserve wildlife in the Kalahari – and those who suffer the consequences. Their conflict reflects a global question: how much conservation is possible when it threatens human livelihoods?