Liwonde comprises a small yet vibrant landscape that, despite having suffered high levels of unsustainable resource harvesting in the past, has become highly productive, sustaining one of the largest elephant populations in the country, along with thriving populations of antelope, predators and birds. The restoration of key species has re-established Liwonde as one of the country’s iconic wilderness areas, today boasting healthy populations of numerous species including buffalo, hippo, elephant, and over 7,000 other animals.
Species Restorations
- In 2017, cheetah were reintroduced to Liwonde after a 20-year absence. In 2023, an additional two female cheetah from different reserves in South Africa were moved to Liwonde and a coalition of three males was translocated to South Africa to help maintain genetic diversity.
- In 2018, a founder population of 10 lion from South Africa and Majete Wildlife Reserve was introduced, decades after a breeding population was last present.
- In 2021 eight African wild dog were introduced from South Africa to Liwonde. In 2022, tragedy struck when the entire pack was lost to poisoning. To prevent such losses, comprehensive poisoning awareness training is provided for rangers and anti-poison awareness workshops in communities surrounding the parks.
- In 2019 in one of the largest international black rhino translocations to date, 17 black rhino were moved from South Africa to Liwonde to boost Malawi’s black rhino population and to aid regional efforts in conserving the critically endangered species.
Liwonde has become a reliable source of growing wildlife populations, so that it now provides a variety of species, including elephant, to other parks in Malawi. In 2016, the park was at the epicentre of one of the largest elephant translocations in history, when 261 elephants were relocated from Liwonde to Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve to reduce pressure on Liwonde’s habitats and mitigate human-wildlife conflict around the park. A second relocation took place in 2022, where 263 elephant and 431 additional wildlife including impala, buffalo, warthog, sable and waterbuck were moved from Liwonde to Kasungu National Park.
This is an example of how improving protection in Liwonde has had a far-reaching effect, contributing to the rehabilitation of other protected areas.
In 2015, vultures were entirely absent from the park. After the carnivore reintroductions, and the return of carcasses to the system, seven different species – four of which are critically endangered – began to be seen. In 2018, the first Rüppell’s vulture was sighted in the park, an endangered species with few strongholds in southern Africa.
Monitoring and Surveys
Populations of reintroduced species are intensively monitored, and are doing well, with new lion and cheetah cubs being born during 2023, as well as several new black rhino calves.
To improve species monitoring, five elephant, three cheetah and a lion were collared and three black rhino were fitted with Ceres satellite tags. The data received from this will aid key species population management.
Conservation Law Enforcement
Liwonde’s rangers continue to make significant gains. While fewer snares are being discovered each year levels of illegal harvesting in Liwonde remain relatively high. Intensive protection measures and community engagement has also helped to ensure that no net population decrease of any species have occurred.
The Liwonde Training Centre has become a critical hub for the region where rangers for all four Malawi parks managed by African Parks are trained. To date, in partnership with DNPW, the Centre has produced over 150 highly skilled rangers who work across the parks.
In 2022, Liwonde’s entire pack of wild dog was killed, victim to indiscriminate poisoning. Park management took immediate steps to prevent this recurring, including poisoning awareness refresher training for rangers and engagement with communities where illegal resource harvesting was discussed, as well as general conservation messages to build better community understanding of Liwonde’s conservation efforts.
Human-wildlife conflict with elephant, hippo and crocodile is one of most pressing threats for Liwonde and the thousands of people who live on the periphery.
Constructing and maintaining the park’s electric perimeter fence to reduce conflict and secure the park for the safety of both people and wildlife is an ongoing priority; by 2022, the entire Liwonde/Mangochi boundary fence was completed. The fence has drastically reduced conflict and has helped save lives as a result. Read more here.
Ongoing innovative measures include technological systems such as SmartParks and EarthRanger, which enable live tracking of wildlife and real time visualisations, improving the overall protection of Liwonde’s biodiversity.