Creation of a contact networks for lions in the Serengeti National Park

Epidemics can have a devastating effect on wildlife, particularly in populations already at risk. One such example is the spread of canine distemper virus (CDV) among lion prides of the Serengeti. An epidemic of CDV killed many lions in the Serengeti National Park in the early nineties. Network theory can be used to characterize the spread of these epidemics by adding a spatial and social structure to epidemic models. In this paper, we work to create an accurate contact network that captures the social dynamics of lion prides within the two week infectious period for CDV. For this we will use data that has been collected about the social lives of African Lions. These contact networks can then be used to run chain binomial and percolation epidemic models.