When a Wild Lion’s Collar Stops Working
Members of the Tintswalo Safari team (a lodge in Greater Kruger) were recently involved with assisting with a recollaring expedition in Selati Game Reserve, and the process fascinated us.
Preparing to Find and Sedate a Lion
At the beginning of the procedure, Matt from the Tintswalo Team explained: “We have two things planned for this afternoon: we have a lion recollaring. Recollaring means she already has a collar, and either the battery or the solar power has stopped working, so we’re going to replace that collar. And then we are going to be working on a rhino this afternoon that has quite a bad gash on the back of its leg.”
But the first course of action was to find and sedate the lioness, which is no easy feat, especially considering that her collar was no longer working. However, the expedition was serious, and the team consisted of experts in every field, including trackers who were able to locate the lioness who happened to be away from her pride.
Content by The Virtual Safari @ Tintswalo
The Lion Recollaring Procedure
Once the team had located the lioness, they began with the sedation process. For lions, this comes in the form of anaesthesia, which is delivered through the use of a dart that is propelled from a dart rifle. Again, this part of the expedition went smoothly, and with the lioness sedated, the veterinarian gave her a few taps on her buttocks to ensure that there was no responsiveness.
Content by The Virtual Safari @ Tintswalo
Content by The Virtual Safari @ Tintswalo
Early Checks and Tips to Age a Lion
With the safety measures, the rest of the team came in to commence a few basic checks. The veterinarian explained: “She is, I think, about a two-and-a-half-year-old. So, how we age it is: for every year, the nose gets darker. At two years, it's about 20% black, and at three years, it's 30% black. Here we can look, and this is probably about 20–30% black. Her teeth are also in really good nick, which is what we expect with a lioness this age, so it is consistent.”
Content by The Virtual Safari @ Tintswalo
How Tight to Make a Lion Collar
The actual recollaring only began once the veterinarian was happy with all of the first checks. Of course, the lioness was closely monitored throughout the procedure. It was really interesting to hear the expert’s take on how tight the collar needs to be (something that we have all debated for our fur babies on a much smaller scale).
Content by The Virtual Safari @ Tintswalo
Content by The Virtual Safari @ Tintswalo
The veterinarians’ take on the matter was that, “You don't want the collar too loose because it can actually come over the head and sometimes it gets stuck in the mouth, but that's more in cheetahs that have a shorter jaw. So you measure that.”
Content by The Virtual Safari @ Tintswalo
Final Checks and Success
With the recollaring process going as smoothly as possible, the team had enough time for a few last checks, which was a bonus for anyone part of the expedition needing to log practical experience. What they decided to do was examine the lioness’s claws. Again, the veterinarian was quick to provide some valuable insight as he pointed out the biggest claw the lion had, and explained that it was far smaller than a male lion’s claws.
All-in-all, the first chapter of this expedition was a fantastic success. The team did go on to examine a badly injured rhino, so what a day it must have been. You can see exactly how it went on the video posted by Tintswalo.
