Help Us Protect Lions Through Play!

Help Us Protect Lions Through Play!

An Innovative Conservation Game for Children in Botswana

Why This Matters:

African lions are vanishing. They’ve lost 92% of their historic range, and human-wildlife conflict is one of the biggest threats to their survival. In the Okavango Delta of Botswana, lions sometimes prey on livestock, leading to retaliatory killings. But there’s hope! CLAWS Conservancy has been working with local communities to turn conflict into coexistence through engagement, research, real-time lion tracking alerts, and sustainable herding practices.

Now, we’re taking CLAWS’ conservation strategy to the next level—through play.

Who We Are:

This project is a collaboration between CLAWS Conservancy and our team from the 2024 Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (EWCL) program. As EWCL participants, we are early-career conservation professionals developing our leadership skills through hands-on global wildlife initiatives. Our current conservation project focuses on addressing human-lion conflict in Botswana, working directly with CLAWS to develop innovative approaches to promote coexistence. An Innovative Card Game That Could Change Conservation

We are developing an interactive role-playing card game where players take on the role of real, living lions from Botswana, facing the same challenges they do in the wild—finding water, hunting, dealing with drought, and even avoiding conflicts with humans. Through game-based learning, we hope to increase empathy and tolerance for lions as apex predators in a shared landscape. We believe that learning through play can inspire lasting change. Studies show that games are powerful educational tools, helping players absorb complex information, develop problem-solving skills, and build empathy by taking on different perspectives. The more people understand lions and their role in the ecosystem, the more they are willing to find solutions that protect both wildlife and human livelihood.

How the Game Works:

Each player manages a pride of lions, making strategic choices to ensure their survival. Players explore the shared habitat, uncovering resources like waterholes and prey, while navigating challenges such as droughts and human encroachment. They can choose to hunt, hide, or even compete with rival prides. The goal is to balance risk and reward—hoard resources for safety, or use them to stay strong? The game mirrors real-world conservation dilemmas, making it a fun but eye-opening experience about what it takes for lions to survive in today’s world.

World Lion Day:

Bringing the Game to the People

On August 10 2025, World Lion Day, we want to distribute these games for FREE to communities in rural Botswana that work closely with CLAWS Conservancy—giving children, subsistence livestock herders, and conservationists an engaging way to connect with and understand lions. The distribution will be part of a day of celebration, games, and education for the communities. But we need your help to make this happen. Your donation today means a child in Botswana can learn to see lions as more than a threat—it means a herder might think twice before retaliating.

How You Can Help:

Your donation will go towards:

✅ Printing and distributing free game decks to rural communities in Botswana

✅ Supporting World Lion Day outreach—engaging local herders, community members, schools, and conservationists in interactive education about human-lion coexistence

✅ Translating materials into local languages for better accessibility

✅ Expanding the project so more people across the world can experience lion conservation through play

Every Donation Makes a Difference

By donating, you’re not just funding a game—you’re helping build a future where people and lions can coexist.

$25-$100 helps print & distribute Trading Card Game decks to individual families

$100-$250 funds outreach materials for school visits leading up to World Lion Day

$250-$500 supports a World Lion Day workshop where children play & learn about lions

$500-$1000 funds a World Lion Day workshop for herders to learn about lion-safe herd management

$1,000-$2500 sponsors 1 of 4 half-day village events, bringing conservation education to the entire community!

We appreciate your support, and please know that a gift of any size helps support coexistence efforts between people and lions in Botswana!

Let’s make World Lion Day 2025 a celebration of coexistence! Will you join us?