Sadly, lions are losing their habitat
A Lion Man
Sunday News; Sunday,November 05, 2006 @00:05
A MAJOR international conservation group has warned that lions could soon become extinct in large parts of Africa. Lion populations of West and Central Africa are too small to be viable. Lions used to roam freely around much of the world.
They died out in Europe about 2,000 years ago and disappeared from Northern Africa and most of South-West Asia 150 years ago.
Africa's largest carnivore is not generally considered an endangered species. But as agriculture spreads through West and Central Africa, lions are losing their habitat. Animals need huge tracts of land in which to hunt.
Each male needs between 20 and 200 square kilometres to find food, but that sort of uncultivated space is disappearing rapidly. Lions are also being killed off by poisoning and hunting, which is still legal in some countries. Lion populations have fallen by almost 90% in the past 20 years, leaving the animal close to extinction in Africa.
There are now only 23,000 left, compared to an estimated 200,000 two decades ago. The only hope for lions and other predators is for humans and wildlife to live together. It's not just lions. Populations of all African predators are plummeting. The wild dog population has fallen to between 3,500 and 5000 and there are now fewer than 15,000 cheetahs. People know about elephants, gorillas and rhinos, but they seem blissfully unaware that these large carnivores are nearing the brink.
People have always killed predators, killing them to protect livestock. But there's only so much damage you do with spears and shields.
In order to avoid inbreeding, which can lead to damaging genetic weaknesses, each lion population should contain at least 500 animals. But the largest populations in West and Central Africa have around 200 lions, and most have only about 50.
Lions are at the top of the food chain, and biologists have warned that if the big cats became extinct this could have a serious knock-on effect, with other species of animals coming under threat. Here is a list of commonly recognized lion sub-species, living or extinct: Angolan lion (P.L.Bleyenberghi) Zimbabwe, Angola end Zaire. Asiatic lion (P.L.Persica) Gir forest sanctuary of N W India. Barbary lion (P.L.Leo) Extinct 1920, but it is suspected more and more that they may exist in captivity in America and Africa. Cape lion (P.L.Melanochaitus) Extinct 1850.
The cape lion may also very well be existing in captivity. Masai lion (P.L.Massaicus) Eastern Africa (Notably Kenya and Tanzania). Senegalese lion (P.L.Senegalensis) Western Africa. Transvaal or South African lion (P.L.Kruegr) Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa (The white lions of Timbavati included here).
Zoos are more and more becoming a safe holdout for predators. Far from the caged showcases they used to be, modern zoos seek to preserve and strengthen the bloodlines of the animals they care for. Many zoos try to keep their animals on tracts of land that resemble their natural habitat.
Indeed, there are far more Siberian tigers in zoos than now exist in the wild! (There is a long way to go with lions, though, in terms of building population reserves of known bloodlines. Unfortunately, some of the efforts by the largest zoos has been nearly self-defeating due to an over bearing requirements for 'sub species purity' they have taken it too far the other direction).
The day may come when we will rebuild natural populations from zoo animals. Work by people like the Adamson's (of 'Born Free' fame) will help us more easily accomplish this difficult task. The sad truth, however, is that suitable habitat for the African lion is disappearing; and we may someday only have captive lions. (So, now is the time to learn how to properly care for them in captivity.
Another emerging resource in the battle to preserve the lion for posterity is the private animal owner. Although certainly not common place, there are quite a number of private individuals who raise big cats for a variety of purposes. Their expertise often exceeds that of large zoos. In fact, a substantial portion of lions captive genetic potential lies among these people, and the day must came when the large and the small facilities join together in preserving the captive genetic diversity of the African Lion.
One problem with private ownership is that there are occasional situations where a lion or other big cat is abused, or is improperly caged, allowed to escape, injures or kills someone, etc. It needs to be recognized that this is not the rule with these people, but the exception.
Unfortunately, animals rights groups and the media tends to blow incidents involving big cats way out of proportion in their goal to either ban ownership of all animals, or to sell newspapers. The damage that is being done to responsible owners by these actions must be recognized and stopped.
This time I visited one of the hunting places 'Orion Safari' after a long time. As usual, upon my request, Harry took me to where the lions were. I made my way in among a pride of 5 lions that were in very good condition. Initially, I struggled with those lions as every one was trying to handle me in their own way. After a while, when they sensed that I'm one of their lovers, they calmed down and I managed to get a room for some pictures with them.
