U-M-led study investigates lions' interactions with humans in a diminishing habitat

U-M-led study investigates lions’ interaction with humans in a diminishing habitat

Infographic by Sarah Markes, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford

By Denise Spranger |

October 17, 2023

A new University of Michigan study highlights the combined impacts of human activity and climate change on lion populations.

Lions tend to avoid human-dominated areas unless they are facing food scarcity and habitat fragmentation, according to the study's lead author, Kirby Mills (MS ’19), a postdoctoral research fellow at U-M's Institute for Global Change Biology at the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS).

The findings suggest that expanding human land use and climate change could increase the risk of human-lion conflict, which could threaten lion populations.

The study was published online October 17 in Communications Biology. SEAS Associate Professor Neil Carter co-supervised the study.

Read the full press release on the Michigan News website.

Read the study: “Tradeoffs between resources and risks shape the responses of a large carnivore to human disturbance”