Lions in the Balance: Man-Eaters, Manes, and Men with Guns

by Craig Packer

If you are a morani (warrior), you have your spear at the ready—you could be the hero, but you will have to wait until the morning light before you can go out and prove yourself. If it is a lion, you want to be the first to spear it—and if the lion turns on you, make sure it mauls you on your chest or stomach, on your face, shins, or throat. Any place where you can show your scars with pride, show the incontrovertible evidence of courage. A scar on your back would be a permanent reminder of cowardice, an ineradicable trace of shame. Monsters take many from man-eating lions to the people who hunt them, from armed robbers to that midnight knock at the door of a cheap hotel room in Dar es Salaam. And celebrated biologist Craig Packer has faced them all. Head on.With Lions in the Balance, Packer takes us back into the complex, tooth-and-claw world of the African lion, offering revealing insights into both the lives of one of the most iconic and dangerous animals on earth and the very real risks of protecting them. A sequel to his prize-winning Into Africa—which gave many readers their first experience of fieldwork in Africa, of cooperative lions on dusty savannas, and political kidnappings on the shores of Lake Tanganyika—this new diary-based chronicle of cutting-edge research and heartbreaking corruption will both alarm and entertain. Packer’s story offers a look into the future of the lion, one in which the politics of conservation will require survival strategies far more creative and powerful than those practiced anywhere in the world today.Packer is sure to infuriate millionaires, politicians, aid agencies, and conservationists alike as he minces no words about the problems he encounters. But with a narrative stretching from far flung parts of Africa to the corridors of power in Washington, DC, and marked by Packer’s signature humor and incredible candor, Lions in the Balance is a tale of courage against impossible odds, a masterly blend of science, adventure, and storytelling, and an urgent call to action that will captivate a new generation of readers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Africa

440 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2015

Reviews

[Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, the positives. An excellent insider's view of the corruption within the Tanzanian trophy hunting and National Parks concessions, showing how wildlife is exploited into local extinction by those within and without the country. Prof. Packer is an acknowledged global expert on lions in general and the Serengeti lions in particular with many of our best insights into lion social organisation and behaviour coming from his work, so the biology here is backed by strong evidence. Now, the negatives. This book has no narrative thread and jumps constantly between unconnected episodes which quickly becomes very jarring. Unfortunately, the narrator does not come across as particularly sympathetic or likeable character, which makes it difficult to fully support the idea that his approaches are always the best ones for Tanzanian lions.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good information but editor needs to be slapped. The book jumped around like crazy, had no narrative and this just ended.

[Wendelle]

I read this book because Dr. Craig Packer is a National Geographic Explorer. This isn't quite the book I expected and is not like other naturalist books of the same ilk-- this is not a book about how lions are complex creatures with feelings, or about lion ecology and behavior, or even about the author's adventures in the Serengeti bush. Rather, the bulk of this book is about selling his idea that the best, in fact the only, realistic way forward for lion conservation is to allow and support lion trophy hunting based on the rule of only culling lions six years old and above. The book then tells the ways he navigates the various bureaucracies and entrenched interests of the Tanzanian government, hunter businesses, and non-profit organizations.

Based just on this book, I'm a bit skeptical of how strongly he pushes the idea of lion trophy hunting above an age limit for several reasons. First, he appoints his wife as head of the trophy hunting certification enterprise he set up and keeps upselling, called Savanna Forever, which I assume is a paid position since his wife gave up her VP marketing job to land it. This seems like vested interests to me..

Second, the rectitude of his proposal of forever-continued trophy hunting rests on several factors, around which data is still foggy and debates still range:
a) the initial number of lions in existing populations
b)how much more income hunting provides over sustainable eco-tourism to the government, people, and conservation efforts of Tanzania and other lion-populated countries
c) correct ecological models that show the lower limit of lion numbers that could still be a viable population, without collapsing to extinction
d) individual lion deaths through luxury hunting are acceptable

a) still needs extensive surveys. For b), the author doesn't cite specific numbers, only arguing that hunting pays more and is a crucial crutch of funding for Tanzania based on the number of hunting 'blocks' or areas of the country that have been sold to hunting. As for c), the only model the author cites is the one his own graduate student wrote. Granted, that one was published in Nature, but I'm not sure if that model was independently verified, given the author's stature and exclusivity of access in African mega-vertebrate studies. Given that this study and proposal could guide conservation efforts, legitimize trophy hunting, and ultimately determine lion survival or extinction in the years to come, surely an independent verification of the work and assumptions of a graduate student sounds reasonable.

d) sounds a ridiculous debate but pictures of it are what energizes viewers. Thus the question again arises: is the funding from trophy hunting really worth it? They're businesses, how much of the money really funnels towards Tanzanians and conservation? And couldn't a combination of private donations, non-profit fundraising, eco-tourism, and foreign aid really supplant the money from trophy hunting? All this book seems to do is push, push, push trophy hunting of lions above six years old.

[David Rudin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lion biologist Craig Packer shares his world of equal parts African lion scientist, politician and social reformer. To conserve these magnificent creatures Packer is drawn in to Tanzania’s corruption, big game hunting and the extraordinary lengths he must go to to keep his projects funded.

Pulling back the curtain on the world of conservation in Africa, Packer tells amazing stories of his work in conservation, which as it turns out is very much in the political realm as well. Before this book, I thought it would be like George Schaller’s work writing of intense observations on nature with some funny tales. There is certainly plenty of that but it is the behind the scenes view of corruption, greed and money that occupy most of the book!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely informative, Craig Packer’s extensive efforts to study and protect the lions of the Serengeti. Decades of working with governments nationwide to stop the poaching of lions, especially under 4 years of age.

[Pamela Okano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Craig Packer is a well-known wildlife biologist, primarily focusing on African lions in Tanzania. African lions are now in trouble in Africa. Although this book contains several scientific observations about lions, it is primarily focused on the corruption (sometimes accompanied by violence) that prevents Tanzania from doing a proper job of conserving its lions. Packer is in favor of trophy hunting, claiming that if trophy hunters limited themselves to shooting adult males 6 yrs old and over, the lion population would still increase while allowing Tanzania to collect valuable hunting fees. But even he seems to recognize that his position depends upon the honesty of the trophy hunting industry in enforcing and reporting compliance. Such honesty appears to be limited to just a few trophy hunting companies. Furthermore, corruption in the Tanzanian government--at least as of the time this book was written (2015)--appears to be widespread up to the highest levels. Such corruption is, of course, not limited to Tanzania, or even to Africa. Wildlife biologists in many developing countries are often far more discouraged than they may let on publicly because government corruption prevents meaningful conservation efforts.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea, not what I expected.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was difficult to finish. There are definitely some useful and interesting facts and studies about lions here, but it is unfortunately buried within a couple hundred pages of a jumping narrative with no clear story (other than 'lions are in trouble/Tanzania is corrupt as hell'). Add to this the not very likable voice of the author (who admits he is rather arrogant as well as most likely made the situation worse for a time due to his meddling), and the continuous reference and descriptions of his PowerPoint slides in every chapter (of which you could probably give a presentation on his behalf by the time you finish reading) - and this book is probably next to impossible to finish if you do not have a vested interest in wildlife in general.

Overall, I enjoyed reading about his encounters with African culture, as well as the studies conducted while he was there, but I would not read this a second time, nor recommend it to someone other than a wildlife or biology student or researcher.

[Marianne Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected but still worth reading. Dr. Packer has been trying to save lions in Africa for decades. From corrupt politicians to hunting companies to incompetent NGOs (he calls out WWF), it seems like a losing battle. He admits his own behavior might not have helped. This book is very short on anecdotes about lions and long on hard reality. It's hard to finish it and think lions have much of a future in the wild.