The west African lion is on the verge of extinction, according to experts after a marked decline in recent years.
It is estimated there are just 645 genetically distinct wild lions
left in western and central Africa, with as few as 34 remaining in the
whole of Nigeria.
Now experts from conservation group LionAid say they are ‘in real danger of extinction’.
According to the group, there are no lions left in 25 African countries and populations are barely surviving in ten.
Clusters of lions remain in Burkina Faso, Niger, the Central African
Republic, Cameroon and Chad but are already extinct in countries such as
Ghana, The Ivory Coast and Togo.
Thirty years ago there were 200,000 lions roaming wild across the
continent – but now there are only between 15,000 and 32,000 left.
West African lions have been largely forgotten due to political apathy to conservation.
Dr Pieter Kat, trustee of LionAid, told The Guardian: ‘There has been
a catastrophic decline in the populations of lions in Africa, and
particularly west Africa.
‘These lions have been neglected for a very long time and do not have adequate protection programs.’
He said the west of the continent is often ignored in favour of eastern Africa, leading to a decline in species.
The lion is threatened by a range of factors, including loss of
habitat, loss of natural prey due to poaching, ‘unsustainable levels of
trophy hunting’ and human conflict.
A new threat is also on the rise as lion bones are being used to
supply the demands of Asian traditional medicine as tiger bones become
more scarce.
In Nigeria a government wildlife official told The Guardian that the
number of lions in the country had dropped from 44 in 2009 to a meagre
34.
Yohanna Saidu from Nigeria’s interior ministry told the newspaper
they are trying to protect the lions but admitted to being ‘very
concerned’.
Dr Kat said it would now be impossible to build up a population of
lions in Nigeria and therefore the species should be classed as extinct
there as well.
The picture is similar in other countries. In Senegal, the LionAid said there are just 40 lions left.
The picture is similar in other countries. In Senegal, the LionAid said there are just 40 lions left.
The charity said there are only five ‘viable’ populations – those of 1,000 or more – lions left on the continent.
Three of those are found in Tanzania and Kenya, with the remaining
populations surviving in South Africa and Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Recent studies on African lion populations show that about
three-quarters of Africa’s savannah has disappeared over the past 50
years.
Conservationists say it is not possible to individually count every
lion in the continent so estimates on remaining population numbers vary.
However experts do agree the plight of the African lion is ‘very
serious’ and want the animal to be included on the convention on
international trade in endangered species list.
Inclusion would mean tight protection on hunting and trade,
especially important as more than 5,600 wild African lions were hunted
and exported as trophies between 1999 and 2008.
However, conservationists say they face strong opposition from the pro-hunting lobby.
Dr Kat said: ‘We are currently paying lip service to the conservation
needs of a species so greatly important to our cultures, history, and
indeed the health of wildlife biodiversity in Africa.
‘Lions are not only an iconic species important to very many people
all over the world, but they are also a vital component of African
ecosystems.’
[UK Mail]
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