Africa’s lion population appears to be declining at an alarming rate. NATURE’s The Vanishing Lions searches for explanations and solutions to the troubling trend.
Across Africa, the King of Beasts is in trouble. In the late 20th century, wildlife preserves were created to curtail safari hunting, but the African lion population continues to decline. Their numbers have dwindled from 100,000 in the early 1990s to no more than 30,000 and as few as 16,000 today. What could be endangering the King of Beasts?
In the mid-1990s a mysterious disease spread rapidly through the lion population in Tanzania and Kenya. An investigation revealed that the big cats had contracted canine distemper from jackals and hyenas that were picking it up from dogs in nearby villages. The spread of the disease was quickly halted and today lion numbers in the affected areas are back to previous levels.
If canine distemper was halted, why have lions continued to decline? An ever-expanding human population has led to competition between herders and lions for land and food. Lions living at the edge of the preserves sometimes stray from protected areas in search of easy prey. The Maasai and other ranchers will often kill them to protect their livestock and source of livelihood.
But as NATURE’s The Vanishing Lions shows, Africans are now struggling to reverse the decline. Everyone from scientists and conservationists to Maasai herders and ranchers is working together to find solutions. Travel to Kenya’s famed Serengeti Plains, the wildlife-rich Laikipia Plateau, and elsewhere in Africa as NATURE explores efforts to allow people and lions to coexist and prosper.
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Online content for The Vanishing Lions was originally posted April 2006.
we must protect the lions
لابد ان نحمى الاسود من خطر الانقراض
منذ 50سنه كانت عدد الاسود 450,000 اما الان فوصل الى 20و000 فقط فنحن نخسر الاسود والسبب هو اجتياح المبانى فى اراضيها \
ILOVE LIONS
I find the hunting of Lions for a “trophy” very offensive. It, as well as other trophy hunting should have been outlawed many years ago, similar to outlawing killing Rino’s and Elephants for thier tusks only. What are these few hunters thinking? Decimating a population of wild animals to extinction, be it controlled or not, that is just wrong. I was born and raised with hunting and we were taught to only kill what you eat. The killing of ANY animal for a picture (or whatever these red necks do with it) is stupid and senseless. Maybe we should reverse the tables and have a open season on trophy hunters that are to be hunted and defenseless, so we can mount thier heads on a plaque. There is a declining population of all sorts of animals all over the world. Lets protect what we have left, before its too late, and educate young people on the senseless slaughter of innocent animals. This is as pathetic as the Japanese hunting whales that are close to extinction……for scientific purposes, what a load of rubbish! Its too bad ALL Government bodies put a total ban on all nonsense hunting, I am embarrased to say no one has the balls to do anything about it. The people who participate in this sport, or whatever they call it, are red necks that should be removed from society themselves and become extinct.
visit http://www.lionalert.org to find out how you can help :D
Whats the point of hunting lions?what does the hunter do to them after killing them?eat them?thow them?or even better burry them?Hunters just don’t treasure god’s gift of creating lions
It has always been the case and continues to be a problem when humans infringe on the wild animals. This problem is not just isolated with lions. As a race we seem to destroy species and when we have just about wiped out a breed we then jump into action, sometimes to late.
lion and other big cats are treated very badly. other cats in africa are declining like cheetahs n leopards. Y’know ive been thinkin what if we gave lions growth harmones to increase their numbers?
stop killing lions