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| A Lion Expert Who Isn’t Inclined to Turn Tail | A Lion Expert Who Isn’t Inclined to Turn Tail |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| MINNEAPOLIS — He saw the lioness as he walked back from the rocky outcropping in the Serengeti where, tired of sitting for hours in the car, he had gone exploring on foot. | MINNEAPOLIS — He saw the lioness as he walked back from the rocky outcropping in the Serengeti where, tired of sitting for hours in the car, he had gone exploring on foot. |
| She was between him and the Land Rover, and she appeared to be stalking him, her body crouched, her head lowered. | She was between him and the Land Rover, and she appeared to be stalking him, her body crouched, her head lowered. |
| “I’ve been stupid,” Craig Packer told himself. But he hesitated only a moment. Then he charged straight at the big cat, clapping his hands and shouting. Startled, the lioness backed off and he dived for the car, throwing open the door and slipping inside to safety. | “I’ve been stupid,” Craig Packer told himself. But he hesitated only a moment. Then he charged straight at the big cat, clapping his hands and shouting. Startled, the lioness backed off and he dived for the car, throwing open the door and slipping inside to safety. |
| Dr. Packer, one of the world’s foremost experts on African lions, is telling this story on a November afternoon in the living room of his home here, an Arts and Crafts bungalow he shares with his second wife on a quiet street near a lake. | Dr. Packer, one of the world’s foremost experts on African lions, is telling this story on a November afternoon in the living room of his home here, an Arts and Crafts bungalow he shares with his second wife on a quiet street near a lake. |
| It is only one of several close encounters with lions that Dr. Packer recounts, but this one seems to capture something, his tendency to ignore danger signs perhaps, or his habit of running toward trouble rather than away from it. | It is only one of several close encounters with lions that Dr. Packer recounts, but this one seems to capture something, his tendency to ignore danger signs perhaps, or his habit of running toward trouble rather than away from it. |
| Like many scientists, Dr. Packer, a professor of ecology, evolution and behavior at the University of Minnesota, has fought his share of battles in the pages of professional journals. | Like many scientists, Dr. Packer, a professor of ecology, evolution and behavior at the University of Minnesota, has fought his share of battles in the pages of professional journals. |
| But he has also tangled with far more formidable adversaries than dissenting colleagues. He has sparred with angry trophy hunters, taken on corrupt politicians, fended off death threats and, in one case, thwarted a mugging. Like the lioness, his opponents discovered that he is unlikely to give ground. | But he has also tangled with far more formidable adversaries than dissenting colleagues. He has sparred with angry trophy hunters, taken on corrupt politicians, fended off death threats and, in one case, thwarted a mugging. Like the lioness, his opponents discovered that he is unlikely to give ground. |
| “My reflex is to confront the danger and go right at it,” he said. | “My reflex is to confront the danger and go right at it,” he said. |
| Dr. Packer’s boldness — he concedes some might call it naïveté — eventually led to the upheaval of his life in Tanzania, where for 35 years he ran the Serengeti Lion Project, dividing his time between Minnesota and Africa. Assisted by a bevy of graduate students, he conducted studies of lion behavior that have shaped much of what scientists understand about the big cats. | Dr. Packer’s boldness — he concedes some might call it naïveté — eventually led to the upheaval of his life in Tanzania, where for 35 years he ran the Serengeti Lion Project, dividing his time between Minnesota and Africa. Assisted by a bevy of graduate students, he conducted studies of lion behavior that have shaped much of what scientists understand about the big cats. |
| But in 2014, Tanzanian wildlife officials withdrew his research permit, accusing him of “tarnishing the image of the Government of Tanzania” by making derogatory statements about the trophy hunting industry in emails, according to a letter they sent him. And in April, while visiting the Serengeti to film a BBC documentary, a chief park warden informed him that he had been barred from the country. (Apparently, he had made it through customs by mistake.) | But in 2014, Tanzanian wildlife officials withdrew his research permit, accusing him of “tarnishing the image of the Government of Tanzania” by making derogatory statements about the trophy hunting industry in emails, according to a letter they sent him. And in April, while visiting the Serengeti to film a BBC documentary, a chief park warden informed him that he had been barred from the country. (Apparently, he had made it through customs by mistake.) |
| Dr. Packer described the events leading to his banishment in his recently published book, “Lions in the Balance: Man-Eaters, Manes, and Men with Guns” (University of Chicago Press). It mixes episodes of spy novel intrigue with detailed descriptions of scientific studies and PowerPoint presentations. | Dr. Packer described the events leading to his banishment in his recently published book, “Lions in the Balance: Man-Eaters, Manes, and Men with Guns” (University of Chicago Press). It mixes episodes of spy novel intrigue with detailed descriptions of scientific studies and PowerPoint presentations. |
| Although he was shocked by his exile, the government’s ire toward him was not surprising. For decades, Dr. Packer had been trying to spur changes in Tanzania’s hunting industry that would help conserve the country’s declining lion population. But he became disillusioned over time, uncovering cronyism, bribetaking and other corruption among government wildlife officials and hunting companies. | Although he was shocked by his exile, the government’s ire toward him was not surprising. For decades, Dr. Packer had been trying to spur changes in Tanzania’s hunting industry that would help conserve the country’s declining lion population. But he became disillusioned over time, uncovering cronyism, bribetaking and other corruption among government wildlife officials and hunting companies. |
| In a letter this year to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, he urged that “far greater oversight should be given to lion trophy hunting in countries where corruption is rampant and where sport hunting involves little oversight or transparency.” | In a letter this year to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, he urged that “far greater oversight should be given to lion trophy hunting in countries where corruption is rampant and where sport hunting involves little oversight or transparency.” |
| Last week, the wildlife service announced that two subspecies of lion would be protected under the Endangered Species Act. In designating lions in East and Southern Africa as threatened, the agency also added a requirement that only lion trophies from countries that had “a scientifically sound management program that benefits the subspecies in the wild” could be brought into the United States. | Last week, the wildlife service announced that two subspecies of lion would be protected under the Endangered Species Act. In designating lions in East and Southern Africa as threatened, the agency also added a requirement that only lion trophies from countries that had “a scientifically sound management program that benefits the subspecies in the wild” could be brought into the United States. |
| Tanzania still has more lions than any other African nation. It also has more land set aside for sport hunting. Hunting blocks account for more than 95,000 square miles, an area five times larger than that for national parks and other protected reserves. | |
| But as the human population in East Africa has grown, the threats to lions have likewise increased. | But as the human population in East Africa has grown, the threats to lions have likewise increased. |
| Suitable habitat and prey have dwindled. Retaliatory killings of lions by farmers and herders have risen as livestock has moved into terrain that was once the exclusive territory of wild beasts. (This month, three lions from the Marsh pride in Kenya, which had for years been followed by the BBC, died after being poisoned, presumably by herdsmen in retaliation for attacks on cattle.) And in a 2010 study, Dr. Packer and his colleagues found that despite hunting industry claims that money from the sport helps conserve lions, trophy hunting in Tanzania was contributing to the lion’s decline. | Suitable habitat and prey have dwindled. Retaliatory killings of lions by farmers and herders have risen as livestock has moved into terrain that was once the exclusive territory of wild beasts. (This month, three lions from the Marsh pride in Kenya, which had for years been followed by the BBC, died after being poisoned, presumably by herdsmen in retaliation for attacks on cattle.) And in a 2010 study, Dr. Packer and his colleagues found that despite hunting industry claims that money from the sport helps conserve lions, trophy hunting in Tanzania was contributing to the lion’s decline. |
| “We have to consider that trophy hunting might be making things even worse,” Dr. Packer said he told one of a series of Tanzanian wildlife directors in “Lions in the Balance.” Two years later, the director was fired by the president, “presumably for being more interested in wildlife conservation than in maximizing short-term revenues for the government,” Dr. Packer wrote. | “We have to consider that trophy hunting might be making things even worse,” Dr. Packer said he told one of a series of Tanzanian wildlife directors in “Lions in the Balance.” Two years later, the director was fired by the president, “presumably for being more interested in wildlife conservation than in maximizing short-term revenues for the government,” Dr. Packer wrote. |
| Tall and gangly and filled with a restless energy, Dr. Packer seems ill-suited to the relatively tame environs of Minneapolis. He is built for wilder landscapes like Africa’s vast savannas or the plains of West Texas, where he spent much of his childhood. | Tall and gangly and filled with a restless energy, Dr. Packer seems ill-suited to the relatively tame environs of Minneapolis. He is built for wilder landscapes like Africa’s vast savannas or the plains of West Texas, where he spent much of his childhood. |
| His house and office are filled with reminders of the decades he spent in Africa: hippo teeth, a warthog tusk, a poacher’s poisoned arrow, a wood carving of a warrior spearing a lion. | His house and office are filled with reminders of the decades he spent in Africa: hippo teeth, a warthog tusk, a poacher’s poisoned arrow, a wood carving of a warrior spearing a lion. |
| For a shy, self-conscious boy who grew up in a troubled household, Africa’s natural riches provided distraction and escape. | For a shy, self-conscious boy who grew up in a troubled household, Africa’s natural riches provided distraction and escape. |
| “I just felt I could relax,” he said of his first trip to Gombe during college. There, he worked for the famed primatologist Jane Goodall’s research team. | “I just felt I could relax,” he said of his first trip to Gombe during college. There, he worked for the famed primatologist Jane Goodall’s research team. |
| Life at home in Fort Worth was not so relaxing. His father, a doctor, was an emotionally distant man who worked long hours. His mother, a journalist and artist, was hospitalized for six months for depression shortly after his younger sister was born, time he spent at his grandmother’s farm in the small West Texas town of Noodle. | Life at home in Fort Worth was not so relaxing. His father, a doctor, was an emotionally distant man who worked long hours. His mother, a journalist and artist, was hospitalized for six months for depression shortly after his younger sister was born, time he spent at his grandmother’s farm in the small West Texas town of Noodle. |
| There, he grew close to an uncle, and through him came to love the outdoors, catching bugs for his uncle’s college entomology course and hunting ducks and rabbits. | There, he grew close to an uncle, and through him came to love the outdoors, catching bugs for his uncle’s college entomology course and hunting ducks and rabbits. |
| He returned home when his mother recovered. But his sister, who later developed schizophrenia, was a continual source of worry. “It was hard on my mother,” he said. | He returned home when his mother recovered. But his sister, who later developed schizophrenia, was a continual source of worry. “It was hard on my mother,” he said. |
| Mostly, he stayed out of the way. But sometimes, he would feel guilty and ask his sister if she wanted to play. When he was 14, she struck him in the face with a toy metal sword, taking out his right eye. When he arrived for his first day of high school, he said, “I was scrawny and I had a glass eye. That was an interesting beginning.” | Mostly, he stayed out of the way. But sometimes, he would feel guilty and ask his sister if she wanted to play. When he was 14, she struck him in the face with a toy metal sword, taking out his right eye. When he arrived for his first day of high school, he said, “I was scrawny and I had a glass eye. That was an interesting beginning.” |
| He had always liked science, and for a while thought of becoming an engineer. But after transferring to Stanford as a sophomore, he switched to pre-med, majoring in human biology. | He had always liked science, and for a while thought of becoming an engineer. But after transferring to Stanford as a sophomore, he switched to pre-med, majoring in human biology. |
| That changed after his first weeks in Gombe. It was hard at first, he said, as he learned to recognize individual baboons and spent hours watching their behavior. | That changed after his first weeks in Gombe. It was hard at first, he said, as he learned to recognize individual baboons and spent hours watching their behavior. |
| But he became used to the snakes and birds, and then he noticed something: A young male baboon from another troop kept hanging around “making eyes at a female,” and returning, even after her male troopmates repeatedly drove him off. | But he became used to the snakes and birds, and then he noticed something: A young male baboon from another troop kept hanging around “making eyes at a female,” and returning, even after her male troopmates repeatedly drove him off. |
| “It was kind of like Romeo and Juliet,” Dr. Packer said. “He was gobsmacked. He had seen another world, a pink bottom that meant all.” | “It was kind of like Romeo and Juliet,” Dr. Packer said. “He was gobsmacked. He had seen another world, a pink bottom that meant all.” |
| The observation led to one of his first published papers, proposing a theory of why male baboons leave their birth troops. | The observation led to one of his first published papers, proposing a theory of why male baboons leave their birth troops. |
| By the time he turned 25, three of his studies had appeared in the prestigious journal Nature, and his sights were set on a career in wildlife biology and a life in Africa. | By the time he turned 25, three of his studies had appeared in the prestigious journal Nature, and his sights were set on a career in wildlife biology and a life in Africa. |
| Dr. Packer has won a reputation for impeccable science. His research on lions — he took over the directorship of the Serengeti Lion Project in 1978 — has explored topics as diverse as the effects of canine distemper on lion populations and the correlation of lion attacks with the full moon. | Dr. Packer has won a reputation for impeccable science. His research on lions — he took over the directorship of the Serengeti Lion Project in 1978 — has explored topics as diverse as the effects of canine distemper on lion populations and the correlation of lion attacks with the full moon. |
| In one study, he and a graduate student hypothesized that the darkness of a male lion’s mane was an indicator of his fitness. To test their theory, they persuaded a Dutch toy company to make life-size stuffed lions with detachable manes. | In one study, he and a graduate student hypothesized that the darkness of a male lion’s mane was an indicator of his fitness. To test their theory, they persuaded a Dutch toy company to make life-size stuffed lions with detachable manes. |
| Placing the dummy lions near prides in the Serengeti, they played recorded lion calls to lure the cats closer. As they had predicted, female lions preferred the stuffed intruder with a dark mane to its blonder-maned counterpart; males were also more likely to avoid the darker-maned stuffed lion. | Placing the dummy lions near prides in the Serengeti, they played recorded lion calls to lure the cats closer. As they had predicted, female lions preferred the stuffed intruder with a dark mane to its blonder-maned counterpart; males were also more likely to avoid the darker-maned stuffed lion. |
| Dr. Packer is surprisingly unsentimental about the species he studies. | Dr. Packer is surprisingly unsentimental about the species he studies. |
| As a scientist, he said, he is fascinated by lions’ social interactions and their devotion to one another. He admires their strength and unpredictability. | As a scientist, he said, he is fascinated by lions’ social interactions and their devotion to one another. He admires their strength and unpredictability. |
| But he has no patience with those who think of the big cats as plush toys or cartoon characters, and he refuses to use clichés like “beautiful” or “magnificent” to describe them. | But he has no patience with those who think of the big cats as plush toys or cartoon characters, and he refuses to use clichés like “beautiful” or “magnificent” to describe them. |
| Lions, he will tell you, sleep a lot. They are, as he writes in his book, “thick as a brick.” And they are dangerous: “They will kill you and your little dog, too,” he is fond of saying. | Lions, he will tell you, sleep a lot. They are, as he writes in his book, “thick as a brick.” And they are dangerous: “They will kill you and your little dog, too,” he is fond of saying. |
| Dr. Packer’s son, Jonathan, remembers watching “The Lion King” with his father as a child and having him point out the scientific inaccuracies in the film. | Dr. Packer’s son, Jonathan, remembers watching “The Lion King” with his father as a child and having him point out the scientific inaccuracies in the film. |
| “Dad, you’re ruining Disney for me,” he finally complained. | “Dad, you’re ruining Disney for me,” he finally complained. |
| Dr. Packer’s strong views and devotion to logic have sometimes placed him at odds with conservationists, animal welfare groups and, on occasion, other scientists. | Dr. Packer’s strong views and devotion to logic have sometimes placed him at odds with conservationists, animal welfare groups and, on occasion, other scientists. |
| “He’s an outspoken guy and he’s not diplomatic,” said Luke Hunter, the president of the conservation organization Panthera, adding that he has known Dr. Packer for years and respects him greatly. | “He’s an outspoken guy and he’s not diplomatic,” said Luke Hunter, the president of the conservation organization Panthera, adding that he has known Dr. Packer for years and respects him greatly. |
| After interviewing Africans who had lost family to lion attacks — a baby ripped from its mother’s arms, a woman’s body found torn in half in an outhouse — Dr. Packer became a proponent of fencing wildlife preserves in Africa. It is a strategy he thinks will protect people and reduce retaliatory killings, helping to stem the lion’s decline. | After interviewing Africans who had lost family to lion attacks — a baby ripped from its mother’s arms, a woman’s body found torn in half in an outhouse — Dr. Packer became a proponent of fencing wildlife preserves in Africa. It is a strategy he thinks will protect people and reduce retaliatory killings, helping to stem the lion’s decline. |
| But his arguments did not sit well with some environmentalists for whom fencing is at odds with the notion of preserving pristine wilderness corridors. | But his arguments did not sit well with some environmentalists for whom fencing is at odds with the notion of preserving pristine wilderness corridors. |
| He was amazed, he said, when one conservation organization told him to stop talking about man-eating lions because “our donors won’t like it.” | He was amazed, he said, when one conservation organization told him to stop talking about man-eating lions because “our donors won’t like it.” |
| “It stuns me that they can stand up with a straight face and say there shouldn’t be fences,” Dr. Packer said of the critics. “You can have a corridor for birds, but if you’re planning on having a corridor for an animal that’s likely to kill people on the way from A to B, no, I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s moral.” | “It stuns me that they can stand up with a straight face and say there shouldn’t be fences,” Dr. Packer said of the critics. “You can have a corridor for birds, but if you’re planning on having a corridor for an animal that’s likely to kill people on the way from A to B, no, I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s moral.” |
| Scientists often resist becoming advocates, but Dr. Packer said he was impelled to cross the line by the problems he saw in the trophy-hunting industry. | Scientists often resist becoming advocates, but Dr. Packer said he was impelled to cross the line by the problems he saw in the trophy-hunting industry. |
| Barbara Maas, the director of endangered species conservation for the German conservation group NABU, called his efforts to bring about change “deeply courageous.” | Barbara Maas, the director of endangered species conservation for the German conservation group NABU, called his efforts to bring about change “deeply courageous.” |
| “Craig is somebody who says, ‘Here are the facts,” Dr. Maas said. “If they keep ignoring the facts, he shouts them louder.” | “Craig is somebody who says, ‘Here are the facts,” Dr. Maas said. “If they keep ignoring the facts, he shouts them louder.” |
| Matthew Eckert, the director of conservation for the foundation arm of Safari Club International, which defines its mission as “protecting hunters’ rights and promoting wildlife conservation,” sees it differently. | Matthew Eckert, the director of conservation for the foundation arm of Safari Club International, which defines its mission as “protecting hunters’ rights and promoting wildlife conservation,” sees it differently. |
| “I’m not sure that Craig is capable any longer of separating objectivity and his opinions,” Dr. Eckert said, adding that the lion expert’s intent seemed to be “to shut down lion hunting.” | “I’m not sure that Craig is capable any longer of separating objectivity and his opinions,” Dr. Eckert said, adding that the lion expert’s intent seemed to be “to shut down lion hunting.” |
| The foundation is now financing its own surveys of lions in Tanzania, with its researcher now occupying the house in the Serengeti where Dr. Packer once lived. | The foundation is now financing its own surveys of lions in Tanzania, with its researcher now occupying the house in the Serengeti where Dr. Packer once lived. |
| Still, Dr. Packer has hardly given up. He is embarking on new projects in South Africa, writing another book and poring through three decades of data from Tanzania. | Still, Dr. Packer has hardly given up. He is embarking on new projects in South Africa, writing another book and poring through three decades of data from Tanzania. |
| “I’m having an epiphany every 10 days to two weeks,” he said, adding that his mother had often responded to his achievements by saying, “So, what are you going to do next?” | “I’m having an epiphany every 10 days to two weeks,” he said, adding that his mother had often responded to his achievements by saying, “So, what are you going to do next?” |
| Leaving Tanzania has freed him to speak and write without worrying about the consequences. | Leaving Tanzania has freed him to speak and write without worrying about the consequences. |
| When a lion named Cecil was lured out of a national park in Zimbabwe and shot by a dentist from Minnesota early last July, Dr. Packer took the opportunity to share his views with the journalists who sought him out. | When a lion named Cecil was lured out of a national park in Zimbabwe and shot by a dentist from Minnesota early last July, Dr. Packer took the opportunity to share his views with the journalists who sought him out. |
| Despite the furor the killing provoked, the dentist was not entirely to blame, he said — he probably did not know he was near a park. The real problem was the trophy-hunting industry, which Dr. Packer said claimed to help conserve lion populations while actually hurting them. | Despite the furor the killing provoked, the dentist was not entirely to blame, he said — he probably did not know he was near a park. The real problem was the trophy-hunting industry, which Dr. Packer said claimed to help conserve lion populations while actually hurting them. |
| “The big lie of the hunting industry is, ‘Don’t worry kids, we’re doing it,’” he said. “And they’re not.” | “The big lie of the hunting industry is, ‘Don’t worry kids, we’re doing it,’” he said. “And they’re not.” |