Abstract:
The South African lion (Panthera leo) population is highly fragmented. One third of its wild lions
occur in small (<1000 km2) reserves. These lions were reintroduced from other areas of the
species’ historical range. Management practices on these reserves have not prioritised genetic
provenance or heterozygosity. These trends potentially constrain the conservation value of
these lions. To ensure the best management and long-term survival of these subpopulations as
a viable collective population, the provenance and current genetic diversity must be described.
Concurrently, poaching of lions to supply a growing market for lion bones in Asia may become a
serious conservation challenge in the future. Having a standardised, validated method for
matching confiscated lion parts with carcasses will be a key tool in investigating these crimes. We evaluated 28 microsatellites in the African lion using samples from 18 small reserves and
one captive facility in South Africa, two conservancies in Zimbabwe, and Kruger National and
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Parks to determine the loci most suited for population management
and forensic genetic applications. Twelve microsatellite loci with a match probability of 1.1 x 10-
5 between siblings were identified for forensics. A further ten could be added for population
genetics studies.
