Marked by granite inselbergs that rise up out of expansive woodlands, Mozambique’s Niassa Special Reserve is a beautiful, sprawling wilderness. Many of Africa’s famed carnivores—lions, spotted hyenas, leopards, and wild dogs—prowl through its habitats. About 70,000 people call Niassa home; over 500 fishermen rely on its rich Luganda River ecosystem. Niassa stands as one of the largest conservation areas on the African continent, with Niassa Lion Project (NLP) as one of its long-time protectors. For two decades, NLP and other conservation groups, local people, and park authorities have worked together to help wildlife and communities thrive in Niassa. Those conservationists and communities have recently suffered a brutal attack with a devastating human toll.
On April 29, 2025, an armed group attacked the Mariri Environmental and Skills Training Centre and NLP’s Headquarters. The attack has been claimed online by ISIS Mozambique. While NLP’s team and assets were evacuated from their camp nine days earlier, after a separate deadly attack on the nearby Kambako Safari camp, some of their antipoaching scouts stayed on site, supported by Mozambican soldiers. With deep sadness, NLP has reported that two of their scouts, Domingos Daude and Fernando Paolo Wirsone, lost their lives. Another scout, Mario Cristovao, was severely injured and evacuated to a hospital in Maputo. Two additional scouts remain unaccounted for and are feared dead.
The situation is ongoing, the full extent of damage is yet to be determined, and the road towards healing and repair will be long. NLP has been working with Niassa’s park warden, who is coordinating efforts to increase safety there, and they continue to do triage, supporting the families of those who were killed or who remain missing, paying hospital bills, and providing food and support for their team. In response to this tragedy, many WCN and NLP donors have generously raised money to help these efforts. At the time of writing, Colleen, Keith and Agostinho are in Niassa with the team, carrying on their important conservation programs, while making the effort to maximize team safety.
We are sometimes so awed by stories of the fascinating animals conservationists protect that we forget how dangerous their work can be. The reality is that some conservationists operate in remote, politically unstable regions where they face threats from armed groups, poachers, and sometimes hostile local interests. Organizations like NLP don’t just protect wildlife—they create sustainable economic opportunities for local communities, often in regions with few alternatives. Violence and instability imperil both conservation goals and human livelihoods.
In a world of diminishing wildness, Niassa Special Reserve stands as a testament to what we must fight to protect—not only for the lions that roam its landscape, but for the local people who live there and the conservationists who fight for its ecological integrity. The NLP team has shown great courage throughout this heartbreaking ordeal and remain relentlessly hopeful for the future. As NLP’s three directors—Colleen Begg, Agostinho Jorge, and Keith Begg—recently wrote, “We will continue to stand by our staff, community, and this extraordinary wild landscape we are committed to protecting. This is not an ending.”