An update on the lion queen of Liuwa Plain National Park, Zambia

Lady Liuwa, the movie star in the National Geographic film “The Last Lioness”, has taken on the role of grande dame of her pride in Zambia’s Liuwa Plain National Park.

For more than nine years she was the solitary, lonely lioness roaming the grassy plains of the park in search of fellow felines with whom to mate and hunt, the sole survivor after massive poaching and illegal trophy hunting wiped out the species in the region in the 1990s. The extraordinary story of how she turned to humans for companionship and how they, the conservation team at Liuwa Plain National Park, went about finding her a family became one of the most moving wildlife films of all time to screen on National Geographic TV in 2010.

Now, at an estimated 13 years old and in her twilight years, this lioness has been seen limping intermittently for the past three months and is sometimes not able to take on a prominent hunting role. That task has fallen to her protégé, one of two young females introduced from Kafue National Park in 2011. Her sister was killed by a snare and the surviving one, traumatised by the experience, ran away towards Angola. In a dramatic rescue mission, the young lioness was darted and airlifted back to the park. She was placed in a quarantine fenced area along with Lady Liuwa and after two months the two females had formed a strong bond, prompting park management to re-release them both back into the wilds. The two lionesses have been inseparable ever since.

Last year, two male lions, introduced in 2009 to Liuwa Plain National Park, also headed to Angola, walking 150 kilometres before turning back. One was shot dead by local villagers in Angola when he approached too close to their community. His companion made an about-turn and proceeded back to Liuwa. He is now the resident male in the pride with Lady Liuwa and her protégé and the three are a common sight, united, roaming the plains together.

The male has been seen mating on several occasions with both Lady Liuwa and her protégé. Earlier this year the latter was spotted with swollen mammary glands and it was believed she was pregnant. In May however it was evident that she had lost her cubs, probably due to inexperience as a first time mother. She and the male lion have however continued to mate regularly and the team at Liuwa Plain are optimistic that she will bear cubs in the near future. Sadly, Lady Liuwa’s cub-bearing days are almost certainly past, but the world-famous lioness who has a dedicated Facebook and other social media profiles, and who has featured regally and playfully in film documentaries and the international media, continues to grace the open expanses of this national park.

"Lady Liuwa has become a legend in her own lifetime and an Ambassador for Liuwa Plain. While her story has several fairy-tale and poignant elements to it, on a conservation level it is but one example of the success of the management model introduced in 2003 and the combined efforts by African Parks, the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE), "said Liuwa Plain Park Manager, Raquel Filgueiras. "Lady Liuwa has however undeniably become the recognisable symbol of our joint conservation successes.”