Dr. Craig Packer, the world’s leading lion biologist, will present a summary of his life’s work studying the behavior and ecology of the African lion. He will recount stories from his more than 40 years in Africa and his perspective on how to conserve lions in the future. Packer led the Serengeti Lion Project for over 35 years and is the founder and Director of the Lion Center at the University of Minnesota.
Packer is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. He is a fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has published over 200 scientific papers and three books: Into Africa, which won the John Burroughs Medal; Lions in the Balance; and The Lion: Behavior, ecology, and conservation of an iconic species. He was named wildlife conservationist of the year by the Cincinnati Zoo and received the Dawkins Award in Conservation from Balliol College, Oxford. He currently serves as Scientific Director of the Mara Predator Conservation Program in Kenya.
A native of Texas, Packer first traveled to Africa in 1972 as a field assistant to Dr. Jane Goodall in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. His PhD research was on olive baboons' ecology and sociality. In 1978, he took over leadership of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Lion Project, which he ran for 35+ years.
Packer’s research on lions has focused on three main topics: lion behavior and ecology, human-lion conflict, and trophy hunting. Some of the research questions he explored include why lions have manes, why they are the only social cat, how they cope with changing environments and infectious diseases, and how they interact with hyenas. But his research also explored more controversial topics, including wild lions' man-eating tendencies and the impact of trophy hunting on lion populations.
Working with hunters and governments, Packer used science and data to transform the hunting industry in an effort to ensure the sustainability of harvested lion populations over time. His research showed that hunting only older males would allow the population to survive, which led to a change in national legislation in Tanzania.
Packer also has used cutting-edge and novel technology to help answer ecological questions. His lab set up the massive citizen science project Snapshot Serengeti, which allowed volunteers from around the world to review and analyze trail camera footage from Serengeti National Park, contributing to scientific advances. This project was so successful it led to the ever-larger Snapshot Safari project.
As top predators in Africa, capable of killing adult humans and giraffes, lions have immense ecological and social importance. Lion conservation can, therefore, be a complicated and controversial topic. Should they live with people outside national parks? How many remain in Africa? Do fences protect wildlife? Packer will wrestle with these topics and more during his talk, which will end with a discussion on the future of one of the most iconic species on the planet.
About Catawba College’s Center for the Environment
The Center for the Environment was founded in 1996 to educate the college community and the public about environmental stewardship and sustainability, provide value-added education for students through interaction with thought leaders and opportunities for experiential learning, and bring diverse people and groups together to catalyze sustainable solutions to our most persistent environmental challenges. For more information, visit CenterForTheEnvironment.org.
