superficial figure of lion population: There is no truth to it

The Lion : Symbol of power and courage
Dr. Asma ALI [ECOLOGIST]

 
Lion: second largest cat in the world  is one of the most recognised animals. It has been extensively depicted in sculpture, painting, rhymes, stories, Literature, movies and on national flags.

Right from my childhood  I am so fascinated  with big cats.  I visited National Park many times in  search of lion  (Lion has been kept in  manageries since the time of the Roman empire), but  always my search ended in smoke.  Finally, years after I got this opportunity,  when I visited (Gujarat, India) national park, the same day I had to catch the train to Bhopal which is why I was making haste. Despite all the Hustle bustle I stuck with lion, yes... ITS SOUNDS ULTIMATE,  without further ado I can claim that if there is a king of the forest, THAT WOULD BE JUST A LION, an  Adversary warrior with ultimate strength and power.

Analysis says that around a hundred years ago there were likely as many as 200,000 lions living wild in Africa. In the Pleistocene, the Lion ranged throughout Eurasia, Africa and North America but today it has been reduced to fragmented population in sub-saharan Africa and one critically endangered population in western India.

Asiatic lion were observed ( in 1826 by Australian zoologist John N. Meyer), until the 19th century, in and around Saudi Arabia, Eastern Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia and from east of the Indus river to Bengal and Narmada river in Central India. It has been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red list since 1996, because  populations of lions in Africa and Asian countries have declined by about 43% since the early 1990s. The 14th Asiatic lion census was conducted in May 2015 and lion population was estimated at 523 individuals again in August 2017 surveyors counted 650 wild lions, as lion restricted to the Gir Forest National Park and surrounding areas.

The Proliferation of lion  in Africa spanned most of the central rainforest zone and the Sahara desert. In 1960s North Africa termed as non- lion -zone. Although  no exact evidence are available of the decline of Lion, perhaps Habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest cause for concern.

Africa has been conducted several  large and well managed areas for lion conservation and protection. Unfortunately their numbers are decreasing  swiftly due to disease and human interference. In the Republic of the Congo, Odzala- kokoua National Park  was among the most well managed protected area in the 1990s, by 2014 the lion population is considered locally extinct.

According to the International Union of the Conservation of Nature ( IUCN), every year approximately 600 lions are slaughtered for sport and 64% of those are killed by American Trophy hunter.

In 2015; IFAW, IUCN and Duke University published their data about lion population and estimation says , around 23,000 to 39,000 Lion are left in the world. The proposed numbers appears to be highly antiquated and factually incorrect. Just have a look-

Zimbabwe is supposed to have 1,362 lions. A recent survey of the huge Gonarezhou Park in the South indicated that only 33 lines remain.

    

 Proposed number of lion in Zambia have 2,349 but factually it is far from it. Based on researchers and Safari operators, it could be estimated that Zambia is loaded  with only 400 to 500 lions and abundantly present in the large nationally protected area of Kafue and Luangwas.

   

  It's difficult to put an exact number of wild lions, but after a long research  we can conclude that there are less than 1000 wild  lions  left in all of South Africa. It is sad to say that in West Africa lions are almost extinct. Only Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia  have a countable population of lion.  Ethiopia has only 50 wild lions. Uganda and Congo together only have less than 400 lions and in the other African countries there are no lion. So the total population of wild lions in Africa might be around 5,000 individuals.

Evolution and extinction of species is a natural process,  which we call the balance of nature , but this process is extremely slow. In the last 50 years we have manipulated our environment a lot, which can have very far reaching consequences. Water crisis,  pollution, natural disasters,  global warming and extinction of species is a warning sign,  that we should take drastic step to protect our environment. We have already constructed many laws for Wildlife Protection and sustainable development of environment but this is the time for enforcement and implementation.

follow me on :

Instagram

Twitter