The Last Lions (Panthera Leo) Status and Population
There are currently fewer lions in the wild in Africa than there are Rhinos!
Fact File:
| Weight: | 110-272 kg / 242 – 600 lb |
| Body length: | 137-250 cm / 4.5-8.2 ft |
| Tail length: | 60-100 cm / 2-8 – 3.3 ft |
| Longevity: | 12-16 years |
| Litter size: | 1-4 cubs |
The Lion, once one of the most prevalent large land mammals on the planet, evolved out of East Africa their range went on to span throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It is the only cat species that display ‘sexual dimorphism’, where both genders differ significantly. The male lion with its huge mane of hair around its neck has been an iconic symbol throughout history. After much persecution, lions have now been isolated to fragmented populations in Africa, and a final small population surviving at the top of Northwest India in the Gir Forest.
After many years of taxonomic discussions, genetic advances show there to be two subspecies of Lion (Panthera leo) as opposed to the previously recognised 11 subspecies. These two subspecies have been accepted by the IUCN and the African Lion Working Group and are as below:
- Panthera leo leo commonly referred to as the ‘Northern Lion’ found throughout central, west, and northern Africa and India, encompassing the last Asiatic Lion population in the Gir Forest.
- Panthera leo melanochaita commonly referred to as the ‘Southern Lion’ found throughout Eastern and Southern Africa.
Currently listed as “Vulnerable” on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species in 2014. In some parts of the continent, this species is now classified as “Critically Endangered”.
The lion population in Africa has been reduced by half since the early 1950s. Estimates of the historic number of lions in Africa range from approximately 400,000 in 1950 (Myers 1975) to 75,800 individuals in 1980 (Ferreras and Cousins 1996). The ICUN estimate that globally there are between 23,000 and 39,000 mature individuals of Panthera leo left in the wild. With a continuing decline in mature individuals.
Within Eastern Africa, including Kenya, the monitored populations (of 47, 14 were in Eastern Africa and 7 within Kenya itself) decreased by 59% from an estimated 3,112 in 1993 to 1.266 in 2014 within the sample sub-populations. This is within 3 lion generations – just 2 decades.
The most recent estimate made in 2013 (Riggio et al. 2013) is at approximately 35,000 lions within less than 20% of their former range. This was based on reviewing all available data and combining it with satellite imagery. As many important lion populations have never been properly surveyed, and given the rates of decline in surveyed populations, the actual number of wild lions may be closer to 20,000 than to 30,000.
The whole lion population is inferred to have declined by approximately 42% over the past 21 years. Throughout most of Africa, lions are becoming increasingly rare outside well-protected areas and elsewhere are found in isolated and small populations.
Major Threats
Over the last 3 decades, the main threats to lion numbers include habitat loss and fragmentation, drought, unstable governance, migration, conflict zones, retaliatory or indiscriminate killing (using spears, guns, and poisoning), prey base depletion, bushmeat poaching and excessive or poorly monitored trophy hunting.
The increasing human population, encroachment, and the combination of other threats above are forcing lions out of many areas lacking formal protection where humans reside. Livestock predation and the rare attacks on humans have been causing intense human-animal conflict and are on the rise.
The bushmeat trade as a contributor to lion population declines is undervalued. Vast areas of suitable habitat are now completely devoid of prey, with lions from those areas either having been caught in snares or killed when resorting to hunting livestock. Herbivore population sizes increased by 24% in Southern Africa but declined by 52% in Eastern and by 85% in West Africa.
Trophy hunting takes place in various countries in Africa. Such hunting can be considered an important conservation tool providing it is done sustainably and that money is directed to the communities that live with the lions. However, this is not the case: communities see very little benefit from living with lions and benefits from lion hunts are not directed to the communities. Kenya has thus far not allowed the trophy hunting of lions to date.
Thus, outside well-protected areas, small fragmented sub-populations are more vulnerable to all the threats above.