LION-CHEETAH INTERACTIONS IN THE

The impact of human-induced threats on biodiversity is a constant concern for the conservation community. Conservation projects are designed to decrease biodiversity loss by removing threats towards species or ecosystems e.g. the creation of protected areas to remove hunting pressure on a species. Sometimes, the creation of a protected area isn’t enough and there is a need for additional human intervention e.g. removal of diseases or invasive species. The Serengeti National Park (SNP), which was created as a human intervention against game species depletion, is home to populations of two very charismatic cats: the African lion Panthera leo and the cheetah Acinonyx jubatus. In the plains of the SNP, they both persist in small populations. Unfortunately, the status of National Park is not enough to guarantee the survival of either population residing in the plains. The lion is vulnerable to a disease called canine distemper virus (CDV) due to the huge population of domestic dogs (reservoir for the CDV) surrounding the park. The cheetah, on the other hand, is under the pressure applied by lions as they kill cheetah cubs. There may be the possibility of eradicating the CDV from the Serengeti by vaccinatin