The Rwandan government is expecting a tourism boom once lions are introduced into the Akagera national park. After a whole months separation under observation, seven lions have been introduced into the park wilderness of the Akagera National Park in the Eastern Province. Among the seven lions imported from South Africa’s African Parks; are five females and two males, were brought to Rwanda late last month and have been staying in a boma within the Akagera national park, from where they have been closely monitored and observed by veterinary doctors and other park management employees. In particular, among the seven five females came from Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve and two males from Tembe Elephant Park, exported to Rwanda in bid to promote ground-breaking conservation effort for the Land of a thousand hills.
Sunday July 2015 was the big day when the gates of the quarantine boma were opened to allow the lions to exit the temporary enclosure and join the wilderness in the savannah. The journey started by placing a waterbuck carcass just outside the park entrance to lure them into entering the park says one of the members of the Rwanda Development Board, under whose docket falls tourism and conservation in Rwanda.
Once ushered into the wilderness all seven lions are fitted with satellite collars, for tracking by management to observe their behavior as they adopt to their new environment.
Travelers to the land of a thousand hills now have the opportunity to see the lions in the savannah of Akagera while doing their game drive in the park. This is now going to put Akagera national park on sit for tourists and a must visit national park while in Rwanda. Most Importantly travelers can have a 1, 2 and 3 day short tour to Akagera given the fact that the park is accessible on a 2-3 hours drive from Kigali, which means a tourists can go visit Akagera even on a tight schedule, small budget and weekend holiday.
The isolation of the lions has allowed them to adjust to their new surroundings, bond with each other, and recover from what was likely the longest wild lion translocation in conservation history which lasted over 45 hours.
According to a source in the RDB, the lions will be given names in the “near future” and will be named by the people who have helped in the translocation of the lions
The King of the Jungle had been extinct from the park after many were killed by residents surrounding and mostly during the Rwandan genocide but according to RDB, the government as put a lot of measures in place to ensure minimal contact between animals and the communities around the park. As tourism today is the country’s backbone and is jealously protected, just last year, tourism fetched $304.9 million (about Rwf218 billion), representing a four per cent increase from the $293.6 million (about Rwf210 billion) generated in 2013.
Akagera National Park is home to the big five game which make it a best destination for game viewing experience on your Rwanda safaris. Game drives in Akagera can be added on other activities in Rwanda such as the famous mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park and chimpanzee watching in Nyungwe Forest National park.