Addo Elephant National Park Strengthens Lion Population With New Males From Kgalagadi Park

Two male lions from the Twee Rivieren section of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park have been released into Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape. Estimated to be around seven years old, the lions were released on July 10 after several weeks of acclimatisation in a boma.

Their arrival follows the March 2025 introduction of two lionesses from !Khamab Kalahari Reserve. The two-and-a-half-year-old sisters, along with new males, bring genetic diversity to Addo’s lion population. There are now nine lions in the park’s main game viewing area and three in the Nyathi section.

The two males are collared to enable monitoring of their movements, habitat use, interactions with other predators and prey selection. The collars also support broader management efforts to regulate lion population dynamics within the park’s ecological capacity.

The transfer is part of a national initiative to manage lion populations by simulating natural processes, including the strategic movement of individuals between parks to enhance genetic diversity and manage social structure.

As part of this process, two older males from Addo, Niklaas and Witwarm, were relocated to Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock, Eastern Cape. They are currently in a holding boma before their release into the park.