Deceased

Lady Liuwa

Also known as The Last Lioness · Queen of the Liuwa Plain

c. 2000 – 9 August 2017

Born in an unrecorded place

Lady Liuwa was a lioness of Liuwa Plain National Park in western Zambia, and for years the only lion there. In the 1990s, after the turbulence of the Angolan civil war, poaching, illegal trophy hunting and retaliatory killing wiped out every other lion in the park. She was first recorded in 2002 and spent the following years wandering the open floodplain entirely alone. Starved of her own kind, she sought out people instead: she would lie by the campfire at Matiamanene Camp, beside the staff tents or even on a tent’s veranda, watching with a gentle, tilted-head look that the park manager said had been through thousands of nights of loneliness.

In 2003 the conservation organisation African Parks took over the management of Liuwa with Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife and the Barotse Royal Establishment, and set about finding her a pride. The first male brought from Kafue National Park in 2008 died after translocation, but in 2009 two more males arrived and within a day she had accepted them. She never had cubs, and it was believed that her years alone had left her infertile. Her story reached the world through the National Geographic documentary The Last Lioness.

In 2011 two young lionesses were brought in; one was killed in a poacher’s snare, and the other, Sepo, fled towards Angola and had to be flown back by helicopter. Placed in a boma with Lady Liuwa, the two bonded and from then on were inseparable. Lady helped to raise Sepo’s litters as if they were her own, and at last had a pride. She died of natural causes on 9 August 2017, the day before World Lion Day, at about 17, an extraordinary age for a wild lion. The pride she anchored has continued to grow.

~17Age at death

1Lion left in the park

7+Years alone

16Lions in Liuwa after her

Profile

Identity

Name: Lady LiuwaThe name she is best known by
Nicknames: Lady, the Last Lioness
Origin of the name: Named after Liuwa Plain National Park, Zambia
Sex: Female
Distinguishing features: A dark spot on the left side of her muzzle, below the noseKnown for an unusually calm, tilted-head way of looking at people
Weight: Information not availableFor reference, adult lionesses usually weigh 110–180 kg

Birth & Family

Born: c. 2000Her exact age was never known; she was believed to be about 17 when she died, and some estimates say up to 19
Birthplace: Information not availableNot known. She was first recorded in Liuwa Plain National Park, Zambia, in 2002
Birth pride: Information not availableNot known. The lions of Liuwa had been wiped out by the 1990s; she was the only survivor
Father: Information not available
Mother: Information not available
Siblings: Information not available

Pride Life

Role in the pride: Lone survivor; later the senior lioness of the new Liuwa pride
Prides: The new Liuwa Plain pride, built around her from 2009
Pride size: Information not availableLiuwa’s lion population later grew to 16
Years in the pride: About 8 years with a pride (2009 – 2017), after years alone
Pride-mates: Two males from Kafue National Park (from 2009), the lioness Sepo (from 2012), and a third male introduced in 2016
Coalition: Information not available
Home range: Liuwa Plain National Park, Western Province, Zambia, especially the south of the park around Matiamanene
Territory size: Information not availableThe park covers about 3,369 km²

Death

Died: 9 August 2017The day before World Lion Day
Age at death: About 17 yearsEstimates range from 17 to 19
Cause of death: Natural causes, old ageThere was no sign of human activity
Place of death: Liuwa Plain National Park, Zambia
Burial: Information not available

Names & Meanings

Lady LiuwaName

Named after Liuwa Plain National Park, the only place she ever lived. Park staff simply called her Lady.

The Last LionessTitle

From the National Geographic documentary about her years as the only lion on the Liuwa Plain.

MambetiLocal legend

According to a local story, she was the reborn spirit of Mambeti, the daughter of a Lozi tribal elder. This is folklore, not a name she was known by.

Family & Lineage

Not knownParentsLions of the original Liuwa population, all of which had been killed by the 1990s.

The Last LionessLady Liuwac. 2000 – 2017

Adopted familySepo’s cubsLady Liuwa never had cubs of her own, but she helped raise the litters of her companion Sepo as if they were hers.

Life Story

1990s
After the turbulence of the Angolan civil war, poaching, illegal trophy hunting and retaliatory killing wiped out every lion on the Liuwa Plain but one.
2002
First recorded in the park: a lone lioness on the floodplain.
2003
African Parks took over the management of Liuwa with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and the Barotse Royal Establishment, and began securing the park.
2002 – 2009
Lived alone for years, seeking out people for company and often lying near the fire at Matiamanene Camp.
2008
A male lion was brought from Kafue National Park to join her, but died shortly after arriving, believed to be a reaction to the sedatives.
2009
Two more males from Kafue were introduced with a revised method. She accepted them within a day, and the three moved together across the plain.
c. 2010
Her story was told in the National Geographic documentary The Last Lioness.
2011
Two young lionesses were brought to Liuwa to start a pride.
2012
One of the new lionesses was killed in a poacher’s snare. The other, Sepo, fled towards Angola and was flown back by helicopter. She was put in a boma with Lady Liuwa, and after two months the pair were released, inseparable.
2012 onwards
Sepo gave birth to her first cubs, and Lady Liuwa helped to raise them.
Mid-2010s
The two males crossed into Angola; one was shot by villagers, the other returned to Liuwa.
2016
A third male was introduced. Lady and Sepo stayed close to the boma while the males bonded, and later that year Sepo had two more cubs.
9 August 2017
Died of natural causes, aged about 17, the day before World Lion Day.

Legend & Truth

Why she never had cubs

Two males mated with her after 2009, but no cubs were ever born. African Parks believed that her long years alone had left her infertile. Her “cubs” were Sepo’s, whom she helped raise.

A lioness who chose people

Lions avoid humans by nature. Lady Liuwa, with no other lions to turn to, did the opposite, and staff who lived in Liuwa described her lying beside their tents. It was loneliness, not tameness: she was never fed or kept by people.

The last of her line

WWF Zambia described her as the last lioness of the original Liuwa lion bloodline. Every lion in the park today descends from lions brought in from elsewhere.