In south-western Zambia, like many parts of southern Africa, local herding communities and their livestock live alongside lions, elephants and panthers. Conflicts between humans and wildlife are frequent since they share degraded lands and scarce water resources. Elephants damage crops in their search for food, while lions and panthers prey on cattle and can sometimes even injure or kill people when passing near their villages. At the same time, livestock herds often overgraze pastures and deplete the land, threatening the survival of many endangered species.