Maasai Steppe Carnivore Conservation Trust (MCCT) is a grass-root Non-Profit Organization working in the Maasai steppe of northern Tanzania famously also known as the Tarangire-Manyara Ecosystem (TME). The focus of MCCT is to support and promote programs that implement innovative research and conservation projects to mitigate human-carnivore conflicts and promote coexistence between people and large carnivores. 

Results from the applied research and adaptive management are used to inform the conflict mitigation strategies that we advocate and implement within the surrounding communities to maximize chances for carnivore conservation success. 

The MCCT programs encompass various research and conservation initiatives, one of which involves the monitoring of large carnivore populations within the landscape. A significant component of this initiative is the Tarangire Lion Project (TLP), established in 2003. The TLP is devoted to the long-term research and monitoring of the lion population within the Tarangire-Manyara Ecosystem (TME). The project’s focus is primarily on ecological studies and population demographics, along with assessing lion population abundance in core-protected areas (National Parks) and the neighboring game reserve, wildlife management areas, game controlled areas, as well as communal lands within this predominantly human-populated landscape. By employing individual recognition methodologies, TLP has managed to assemble a comprehensive dataset that provides valuable details about the demographic trends and life histories of these lions. This invaluable data has notably enhanced our existing knowledge about lion conservation in the Tarangire-Manyara Ecosystem.