Kenya’s big cats under pressure – cattle push lions away

SAME AS THEY DO TO WOLVES IN NORTH AMERICA

Cattle herds are driving lions and other wildlife away from their habitats in Kenya, even though herders enclose their livestock at night when predators are most active.

Aarhus University

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On the Kenyan savannah, lions and livestock essentially live in shifts: cattle graze during the day and are enclosed at night when lions are active. Nevertheless, lions are being pushed out of their habitats by large numbers of cattle. This affects both the ecosystem balance and the nature-based tourism on which many Maasai communities in Kenya depend on.

This is shown in a new study from Aarhus University, led by Niels Mogensen, a PhD student at the Department of Biology.

Together with local collaborators, Niels Mogensen recorded different groups of animals – lions, other predators, and grazing livestock – in the Masai Mara Conservancies, a conservation area in southwestern Kenya. The area is roughly the size of Lolland and a large part of Falster and is known for its high lion densities and the annual wildebeest migration.

The Masai Mara is also one of Africa’s most popular tourist destinations, especially for visitors hoping to see the “Big Five” (lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, and buffalo). Lions in particular are under pressure from the Maasai’s large cattle herds. According to Niels Mogensen, the study is extensive, with a large dataset collected over nine years and covering several conservancies.

“Even though cattle are supervised by herders and brought into enclosures at night when lions become active, the wildlife is still indirectly affected. Lions have a natural fear of cattle and their herders, and as cattle numbers increase, it is the lions that retreat. They simply change their behaviour,” explains Niels Mogensen.

Data collection was carried out by dividing the study area into one-by-one-kilometre grid cells. Each time the researchers drove through a cell, they recorded all lions and livestock and the distance travelled. The data were then analysed using spatial modelling methods, meaning that geographical or spatial factors were taken into account.

Less space creates new problems

Nearly 70 percent of Kenya’s wildlife now lives outside national parks, often in the same areas that local communities use for grazing their cattle. In the community-run Masai Mara conservancies, the goal is for wildlife, tourism, and livestock farming to coexist.

But finding that balance is difficult, says Niels Mogensen.

“Even though lions and cattle are not on the grasslands at the same time, our data show that lions avoid  areas where cattle graze. It is very rare for people to kill lions or directly threaten them in the conservancies. Nevertheless, human use of the landscape has created areas that lions are afraid to enter,” he says.

The consequence is that lions have less space to move, creating new problems.

“Lions may be pushed into unsuitable habitats, their ability to reproduce may be affected, and they may be driven into the territories of other lion prides. At the same time, the risk increases that lion prides move closer to villages, creating insecurity.”

Create more refuges

Niels Mogensen points to several solutions, one of the most important being more targeted grazing management.

“The more cattle there are, the harder it becomes for lions to find space. It is therefore crucial that livestock numbers are kept low in areas preferred by lions, especially near rivers and in areas with dense vegetation,” he says.

Another recommendation is to establish clear boundaries for where livestock may graze and to rotate grazing so that some areas experience periods of rest.

“By rotating grazing between different areas, pressure on the most important habitats for lions and other wildlife can be reduced.”

Lions’ safe resting areas should also be better protected. This applies especially to areas along rivers and places with dense bush or forest cover, where lions can hide and rest during the day.

“These areas function as refuges for lions. If they disappear, lions lose some of the last places where they can feel safe,” he explains.

He therefore advises against allowing cattle to graze in these lion refuges and stresses the importance of maintaining a varied landscape.

Use data in management

A third recommendation is to use data more actively in the management of the conservancies. According to Niels Mogensen, knowledge about where lions and livestock actually occur should play a much larger role in grazing planning.

“We now have a detailed picture of how lions respond to livestock. That knowledge should be used directly in management so that grazing decisions are based on evidence rather than assumptions,” he says.

Finally, Niels Mogensen emphasises the need for continued monitoring.

“When lions are pushed into smaller areas, it can have long-term consequences that we do not yet fully understand. That’s why it is important to keep monitoring developments closely,” he says.

Future studies should, among other things, examine how denser populations affect lions’ social structure, pride stability, and cub survival.

 

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Journal

Biological Conservation

DOI

10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111599 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Human-driven landscapes of fear for Africa's largest terrestrial predator in human-used conservation landscapes

Body-focused (FEMALE) teens more likely to experience anxiety and depression at 20

A cluster analysis of health behaviors and their relationship to weight stigma, neuroticism and psychological wellbeing

University of Warwick

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Teenage girls who maintain a ‘normal’ body weight through constant dieting and exercise may look ‘healthy’ but should be seen as a vulnerable group according to new research from the University of Warwick.

The study, led by Dr Dimitra Hartas, finds that 17-year-old women of normal weight who closely manage their bodies through strict regimes of diet and exercise – focused on “clean eating”, fitness, and constant self-monitoring rather than food deprivation – face heightened risks to their psychological health. Many reported experiences of weight stigma, high levels of anxiety-related traits, and thoughts of self-harm and suicide.

By the age of 20, these young women were more likely to experience symptoms associated with anxiety and depression, alongside psychological distress and poorer overall wellbeing.

The research challenges the widespread assumption that dieting and regular exercise are always markers of good health. Instead, it highlights how body management has become closely tied to identity, self-worth, and social acceptance – particularly for young women.

“In an image-saturated culture, young women are praised for being fit and slim,” said Dr Dimitra Hartas, Reader at the University of Warwick. “But beneath this veneer of health lies a troubling reality. For many, managing body weight is not about wellbeing – it is about meeting cultural expectations and earning a sense of worth.”

The study points to a broader societal shift in which personhood has become a project of constant self-optimisation, where the ‘ideal body’ is narrowly defined and weight is treated as a measure of personal worth.

In social media culture, body satisfaction has become a form of currency, with ‘slim’ increasingly seen as synonymous with ‘worthy’. As a result, young women often work hard to look like the best version of themselves, rather than to feel or be well.

“This pressure for the female body to shrink is a form of social control,” Dr Hartas said. “It restricts women’s physical and symbolic space, shaping how they see themselves and how society permits them to exist. The mental health cost of this pressure is significant and too often overlooked.”

The findings sit within a wider and worrying context. Recent studies show that one in three women aged 16–24 report experiencing mental ill health, with rates of self-harm among young women having quadrupled since 2000.

Dr Hartas argues that recognising young women of normal weight who engage in constant dieting and exercise as a vulnerable group is essential for improving mental health prevention, education, and support.

“Health messaging needs to move beyond weight and appearance,” she said. “We need to ask not just how young women look, but how they are actually doing – psychologically, emotionally, and socially.”

“These findings show that schools and colleges need to do much more to support young people’s health,” said Dr Michael C Watson from the Institute of Health Promotion and Education (IHPE). “We need to move beyond BMI and weight management towards promoting exercise, sleep and healthy eating, while also tackling body image and fat shaming. This is a complex challenge that won’t be solved by one-off or isolated interventions.”

ENDS

About the University of Warwick 

Founded in 1965, the University of Warwick is a world-leading institution known for its commitment to era-defining innovation across research and education. A connected ecosystem of staff, students and alumni, the University fosters transformative learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and bold industry partnerships across state-of-the-art facilities in the UK and global satellite hubs. Here, spirited thinkers push boundaries, experiment and challenge convention to create a better world.

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Journal

Current Psychology

DOI

10.1007/s12144-025-08652-8 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

A cluster analysis of health behaviours and their relationship to weight stigma, neuroticism and psychological wellbeing in adolescents and young adults: a population-based study

Article Publication Date

16-Jan-2026

 

A new method to unlock vast lithium stores

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a faster, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly way to extract this critical mineral

Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science

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Demand for lithium is skyrocketing as factories across the world churn out electric vehicles and the massive batteries that make wind turbines and solar panels reliable sources of energy. Unfortunately, current methods for producing lithium are slow and require high-quality feedstocks that are found in relatively few locations on the planet. Ironically, the environmental costs are also significant: refining the mineral behind clean energy requires large amounts of land and pollutes water supplies that local communities depend on.

In a new paper, researchers from Columbia Engineering describe a new method for extracting lithium that could dramatically shorten processing time, unlock reserves that existing methods can’t tap, and reduce environmental impact. Their technique uses a temperature-sensitive solvent to extract lithium directly from the brines found in deposits across the world. Unlike the current technologies, this approach can efficiently extract lithium even when the mineral is found in very low concentrations and contaminated with similar materials.

The results, detailed in a paper published today in Joule, show that the innovation, called switchable solvent selective extraction, S3E (pronounced S three E), can extract lithium with strong selectivity: up to 10 times higher than for sodium, and 12 times higher than for potassium. The process also excludes magnesium, a common contaminant in lithium brines, by triggering a chemical precipitation step that separates it out.

Improving on Solar Evaporation

Roughly 40% of lithium production begins with a salty brine that’s found in large reservoirs that form under deserts. Nearly all of that lithium is extracted using a technique called solar evaporation, where the brine is pumped into sprawling ponds that bake under the desert sun — for up to two years — until enough water evaporates. This is only feasible in dry, flat regions with vast amounts of land, such as Chile’s Atacama Desert or parts of Nevada. It also consumes large volumes of water in places that can scarcely afford it.

“There’s no way solar evaporation alone can match future demand,” said Ngai Yin Yip, La Von Duddleson Krumb Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University. “And there are promising lithium-rich brines, like those in California’s Salton Sea, where this method simply can’t be used at all.”

Unlike conventional lithium recovery methods, S3E doesn't rely on binding chemicals or extensive postprocessing. Instead, the process exploits the way lithium ions interact with water molecules in a solvent system that changes its behavior based on temperature. At room temperature, the solvent pulls lithium and water from the brine. When heated, it releases the lithium, along with water, into a purified stream and regenerates itself for reuse.

An Approach with Tremendous Potential

In lab tests using synthetic brines modeled on the Salton Sea, a geothermal region in Southern California estimated to hold enough lithium to supply more than 375 million EV batteries, the system recovered nearly 40% of the lithium over just four cycles with the same solvent batch. That suggests a viable path toward continuous operation.

“This is a new way to do direct lithium extraction,” said Yip. “It’s fast, selective, and easy to scale. And it can be powered by low-grade heat from waste sources or solar collectors.”

The team emphasized that this is a proof-of-concept study. The system hasn’t yet been optimized for yield or efficiency. But even in this early form, S3E appears promising enough to offer an alternative to evaporation ponds and hard-rock mining, the two approaches that dominate the lithium supply chain today and come with steep tradeoffs.

As the global clean energy transition picks up speed, technologies like S3E could play a crucial role in keeping it on track—by making it possible to extract lithium faster, more cleanly, and from more places than ever before.

“We talk about green energy all the time,” said Yip. “But we rarely talk about how dirty some of the supply chains are. If we want a truly sustainable transition, we need cleaner ways to get the materials it depends on. This is one step in that direction.”

Interested parties seeking collaboration, licensing, or application of the technology may express their interest here.

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Journal

Joule

Article Title

A New Method to Unlock Vast Lithium Stores

Article Publication Date

21-Jan-2026

 

Lithium study yields insights in the fight against HIV

Study in human cells finds low-cost drug keeps virus dormant through an unexpected pathway, pointing the way to new treatments

McGill University

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Lithium, a widely used treatment for bipolar disorder and other mood disorders, has shown early promise in suppressing HIV, McGill University researchers report.

A new study published in iScience found lithium can prevent infected cells from reactivating, and that it does so through an unexpected biological mechanism.

The findings point toward future treatments designed to mimic lithium’s beneficial effects while avoiding its broader impacts on the body.

“One major thrust in HIV cure research is asking whether existing drugs can be repurposed. Because lithium is inexpensive and already approved for other uses, it offers a faster starting point than developing a new drug from scratch,” said senior author Andrew Mouland, Professor in McGill’s Department of Medicine and Head of the HIV-1 RNA Trafficking Laboratory at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research.

The results do not mean people with HIV should take lithium, he said. The psychoactive drug can cause significant side effects and has not yet been tested in humans as an HIV treatment.

A step toward a ‘functional cure’

An estimated 40.8 million people around the world were living with HIV in 2024. Even with effective antiretroviral therapy, the virus can remain hidden in immune cells and rebound if daily treatment stops.

A “functional cure” aims to overcome this challenge. Rather than eliminating the virus entirely, the goal is to keep HIV dormant, so it cannot restart infection, potentially reducing the need for continuous daily medication.

“In our experiments, lithium directly suppressed HIV reactivation in lab-grown human cells, something that had not been clearly demonstrated before,” said first author Ana-Luiza Abdalla, who conducted the work as a PhD student at McGill and is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Montreal Neurological Institute.

As well, the team gained new insights into the mechanism involved.

Earlier research suggested lithium might work by activating autophagy, the cell’s recycling system. Because many drugs studied in HIV cure research affect this pathway, scientists assumed autophagy was responsible for keeping the virus dormant.

This study challenges that assumption, made possible by a fluorescence-based test developed by University of Manitoba researcher Thomas Murooka that allows scientists to distinguish between dormant and active virus in cells.

“What surprised us was that the effect persisted even when we disrupted autophagy,” Abdalla said. “That suggests other pathways are involved, possibly ones HIV relies on to restart.”

About the study

“Lithium attenuates HIV-1 latency reversal in an autophagy-independent way” by Ana-Luiza Abdalla, Gabriel Guajardo-Contreras, Meijuan Niu, Thomas Murooka and Andrew J. Mouland was published in iScience. Funding was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

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Journal

iScience

DOI

10.1016/j.isci.2025.114085 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Article Title

Lithium attenuates HIV-1 latency reversal in an autophagy-independent way