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conservation continues...  Lion social behavior dictates that young males are forcibly expelled
from their birth pride in order to find females in other areas, thus avoiding genetic
inbreeding. So young males wander. In an unexpected twist, they started to wander through
breaks in the surrounding fence onto private farmland. Since 1973, at least 500 lions have
been shot outside the Park, resulting in a crash of the lion population to only 240 or so
animals. Legally, a farmer has a right to protect his livestock. One male lion, on a two
year killing spree, supposedly killed over a hundred cattle, donkey and goats before being
shot by a farmer. While some farmers act responsibly and contact the authorities, allowing
the trespassing lion to be darted and transported safely back into the park, many farmers
will shoot an animal for so much as a footprint on their land. In at least one case, a
farmer even coaxed lions out of the park by baiting them, giving paying hunters an
opportunity for trophies. For the sake of the animals that slip through the fence, a
cooperative relationship between park wardens and the farmers is essential, with  compensation
given for livestock and help provided for trespassing predators. But still there are
problems. Two male lion cubs, returned to Etosha after their mother was shot on a nearby
farm, await an uncertain fate. Unable to fend for themselves, they are confined in a cage
while efforts to re-locate them are worked out. The safe future of Etosha's lions is
vital, not only to Etosha itself, but to other parts of Africa. Feline immunodeficiency
virus (FIV), which is common and lethal in domestic cats, is a lentivirus similar to HIV in humans. The virus can mutate quickly, and therefore poses a potential
threat to FIV positive lions. To date, all of Etoshašs lions have proven FIV free, while
79 percent of lions in the Serengeti and the 83 percent in Kruger
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are FIV positive. Etosha's lions are highly attractive to the restocking of lion
populations elsewhere, especially in FIV positive regions, and may prove elemental in the
future survival of the species. 
