BotswanaPost CEO, Pele Moleta (Pic By Bashi Kikia)
BotswanaPost and Botswana Tourism Organisation have launched the Lionsof Chobe commemorative stamp, which is expected to showcase thecountry’s tourism around the world. The stamps will be sold for oneyear. According to officials, it was decided on the lions from that
part of the country to express their plight since they still facetremendous threat, although surveys show they are not that dangerousto people as many would say.
These cats that attract thousands of tourists to the country arepredominantly present in and around The Okavango Delta, Chobe, CentralKalahari and areas around Kgalagadi Transfontier Parks.
“…we deliberately chose to commemorate the Lions of Chobe or SavutiLions as they are also known for the reason that, like elsewhere inthe range, the Chobe lion population extremely still faces noticeablethreats compared to other areas,” Botswana Tourism Organisation Acting
Chief Executive Officer, Brian Dithebe said.
“The main threat to lion conservation in Chobe is retaliatory killingin response to livestock predation, i.e. human lion conflict. Anoverwhelming majority of lion mortality is attributed to retaliatorykilling”.
He highlighted other threats being depletion of prey, habitatreduction and fragmentation and diseases. In addition, due to Chobelocation along international boundary, threat to these lions has atrans-boundary dimension as well, he said.
“That said, of recent an emerging threat that is anticipated to growsignificantly has since been recognised. This is a complex act ofpoaching of live cubs for sale in breeding facilities and theemergence of the use of lion parts as substitute in traditionalmedicine in some continents,” Dithebe revealed.
Commemorative Stamps are usually printed in smaller quantities andcirculated for a much shorter period of time. Events that these stamps
normally depict include outstanding national and internationalinterests such as culture, wildlife, achievements, flora and fauna of
the country.
South African Post Office and Nelson Mandela Foundation recentlylaunched 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, theAfrican lion population stood at 75 800 and the current estimate is 32
000, which indicates a rapid population decline of 50- 60 percent inthe 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 withthe two accounting for just over 90% of the current African lionpopulation”. Botswana carries the largest population of free ranginglions in Southern Africa estimated at about 3000 and constituting 30%
of the regional lion population. Most of this population isconcentrated 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 fromother destinations and advised that other avenues are needed to boost
the industry. “However, Botswana faces growing competition from otherNation States who have similar product offerings for tourism anddiverse landscapes,” he warned. “We can no longer be competitive basedsolely on the product and advertising through media. We should utiliseother channels to sell our country. A stamp is an ideal example as itcarries a strong message to promote Botswana in other parts of the
country,” he advised.