Lion Management Forum of South Africa
Board of Trustees: C.C. Hanekom (Chair), Dr. J.M.S. Alves, G.J. Camacho,
Dr D.J. Druce, D.M. Hofmeyr, P.J. Kilian, Dr S.M. Miller, Dr D.M. Parker
The Lion Management Forum is a:
- Registered Charitable Trust: IT000896/2016(D)
- Public Benefit Organisation (PBO): 930056474, registered with the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
Our first Board of Trustees was elected by the LiMF membership and held their first meeting in August 2015.
Meet the Board of Trustees
Cathariné Hanekom
Chair
Cathariné is a District Ecologist with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, based in Tembe Elephant Park. She has more than 20 years experience in managing wildlife, including lions, Cathariné also has wide-ranging experience working with communities and in human-wildlife conflict prevention. Her broad experience in lion-related management issues made her an obvious choice for chair of the LiMF board when Sam stepped down.
Dave Druce
Vice-Chair
Dave has a PhD in Behavioural Ecology and has extensive conservation experience on both private and public reserves. He is currently the Research Ecologist on Welgevonden Game Reserve. Prior to this he was the Park Ecologist on Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) for 15 years. While working for Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife in HiP he Chaired the KZN Wild Dog Management Group and the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Elephant Management Plan Review Committee and assisted on various national forums. Dave has been involved with LiMF from the first meeting and joined the Board of Trustees in September 2024.
Susan Miller
Secretary
Hailing from Canada, Susan has made South Africa her home since 2005. She spent several years in the bush on small game reserves studying lions before embarking on a doctoral degree in lion management which she completed in 2014. She worked closely with members of LiMF during her doctoral studies and developed several tools to assist managers. She is currently a researcher and administrator at the University of Cape Town where she applies science to conservation challenges. She continues to stay active in collaborative lion research efforts through LiMF.
Dan Parker
Project Coordination/Research
Dan is a wildlife biologist and while his formative research years focused on the plant-animal interactions of megaherbivores (he still does from time-to-time), the main foci of his work revolves around large carnivore biology and human-wildlife conflict. He is also a passionate teacher and supervises a large and vibrant post-graduate school who are conducting research on a range of projects across southern Africa. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Mpumalanga and a Senior Research Associate at Rhodes University. Dan is the project coordinator for LiMF.
Joel Alves
Joel is a wildlife veterinarian who started out his career in 2018 under the tutelage of the great Dr Cobus Raath with WildlifeVets.com. In 2020, along with his colleague Dr Ben Muller, he started a new adventure with WildScapes Veterinary & Conservation Services and looks ahead to a future of work in the world of wildlife conservation with a focus on the aspects that go beyond simply being a veterinarian. With a passion for predators and pachyderms, he has been fortunate to travel to places as far flung as the Congo rainforests and work with a number of incredible organisations doing invaluable work for wildlife and people. He has a particular interest in the safe, long-term immobilisation of carnivores, especially lions, for the purposes of relocation by air, constantly attempting to improve the techniques and combinations.
Gerrie Camacho
Gerrie is a Carnivore Scientist with the Mpumalanga Tourism & Parks Agency. He has over 20 years experience working with carnivores in the province. He is involved in human-wildlife conflict issues, research and as an advisory to legislation creators and forums from national to international levels.
Declan Hofmeyr
Declan Hofmeyr holds a Baccalaureus Technologiae in Nature Conservation and is a SACNASP registered Professional Scientist in the fields of Environmental Science and Ecological Science. He has actively managed provincial and private protected areas for a quarter of a century. Declan regularly presents on the topic of megafauna management to university students, scholars, and peers, and has featured on international news channels as an expert in lion management. He sits on the Executive Committee of the Game Rangers Association of Africa, is a Member of Council for The Southern African Wildlife Managers Association and a Committee Member on the National Thicket Forum. Further to these leadership and advisory roles he is also a professional member in good standing of the Zoological Society of South Africa, the Wildlife Ranching Association of South Africa, and the Grasslands Society. In 2023 he became a founding director, with Carmen Hofmeyr, of www.conservationafrica.co.za a conservation and environmental advice service. Declan joined the LiMF BoT in September 2024.
Hanno Kilian
Hanno completed an MSc in Wildlife Management from the University of Pretoria on the ecology of reintroduced lions on the Welgevonden Private Game Reserve. He has 20 year’s experience as a conservation ecologist in Big 5 reserves in the Waterberg and Kalahari. Currently he is the Reserve Ecologist of Khamab Kalahari Reserve where he has been responsible for the reintroduction and developing of management plans of lions and other carnivores. His interest is not limited to lions only, and varies from herbivore and vegetation dynamics to carnivore and prey interactions. He was also the chair of the Elephant Management and Owners Association until 2009. Being involved in the management of fenced reserves, his is a practical orientated ecologist which brings a strong management input to the board.
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Header photographs kindly donated by Roger and Pat de la Harpe (www.rogerandpatdelaharpe.com). No reproduction without permission.