BTO Acting CEO,Brian Dithebe with
BotswanaPost CEO, Pele Moleta (Pic By Bashi Kikia)
BotswanaPost and Botswana Tourism Organisation have launched the Lions of Chobe commemorative stamp, which is expected to showcase the country’s tourism around the world. The stamps will be sold for one year. According to officials, it was decided on the lions from that
part of the country to express their plight since they still face tremendous threat, although surveys show they are not that dangerous to people as many would say.
These cats that attract thousands of tourists to the country are predominantly present in and around The Okavango Delta, Chobe, Central Kalahari and areas around Kgalagadi Transfontier Parks.
“…we deliberately chose to commemorate the Lions of Chobe or Savuti Lions as they are also known for the reason that, like elsewhere in the range, the Chobe lion population extremely still faces noticeable threats compared to other areas,” Botswana Tourism Organisation Acting
Chief Executive Officer, Brian Dithebe said.
“The main threat to lion conservation in Chobe is retaliatory killing in response to livestock predation, i.e. human lion conflict. An overwhelming majority of lion mortality is attributed to retaliatory killing”.
He highlighted other threats being depletion of prey, habitat reduction and fragmentation and diseases. In addition, due to Chobe location along international boundary, threat to these lions has a trans-boundary dimension as well, he said.
“That said, of recent an emerging threat that is anticipated to grow significantly has since been recognised. This is a complex act of poaching of live cubs for sale in breeding facilities and the emergence of the use of lion parts as substitute in traditional medicine in some continents,” Dithebe revealed.
Commemorative Stamps are usually printed in smaller quantities and circulated for a much shorter period of time. Events that these stamps
normally depict include outstanding national and international interests such as culture, wildlife, achievements, flora and fauna of
the country.
South African Post Office and Nelson Mandela Foundation recently launched a commemorative stamp to commemorate the life and legacy of
the late Nelson Mandela (may his soul rest in peace).
Lions face a threat in Africa. It was predicted that around 1980, the African lion population stood at 75 800 and the current estimate is 32
000, which indicates a rapid population decline of 50- 60 percent in the past three decades and contracted distribution to about 17-22
percent of historical range in Africa.
“The bulk of this population is found in East and Southern Africa with the two accounting for just over 90% of the current African lion population”. Botswana carries the largest population of free ranging lions in Southern Africa estimated at about 3000 and constituting 30%
of the regional lion population. Most of this population is concentrated in northern Botswana and recent estimates puts lions in
Chobe at between 325 – 400 and the population is assessed as stable.
Dithebe acknowledges that Botswana tourism faces competition from other destinations and advised that other avenues are needed to boost
the industry. “However, Botswana faces growing competition from other Nation States who have similar product offerings for tourism and diverse landscapes,” he warned. “We can no longer be competitive based solely on the product and advertising through media. We should utilise other channels to sell our country. A stamp is an ideal example as it carries a strong message to promote Botswana in other parts of the
country,” he advised.
