World lion day: Why is the king of the savanna declining?

The lion, with its majestic mane and the loudest growl of all the big cats, is today a vulnerable species with decreasing populations in extremely fragmented habitats. It once ranged widely throughout Africa and Eurasia; today, it’s restricted to parts of sub-Saharan Africa and one small area in western India. For World Lion Day on Aug. 10, Mongabay looks back at some of our coverage this year of the challenges that Panthera leo faces. Victims of wildlife trade Lions makes up the lion’s share of all wildcats in the legal wildlife trade, according to a report in May by Mongabay’s Alex Shaw and Spoorthy Raman. While commercial trade in the Indian lion populations isn’t permitted, it’s very much open for African lions, whose body parts can be traded legally. Shaw and Raman found that 10,401 permits were issued for African lions or their parts in the last 25 years, per data from CITES, the international wildlife trade convention. Most were issued for body parts from lions killed in trophy hunts. These were followed by permits for live lions, skins or fur, skulls, and other body parts. According to CITES data, the U.S., South Africa and Germany were the top countries importing lions. Top exporters were South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. Conflict with farmers African lion populations across Uganda’s protected areas, including the famous tree-climbing lions of Queen Elizabeth National Park, have seen a drastic decline over the past decade, Mongabay contributor Gilbert Nakweya reported about a study published in December 2024.…This article was originally published on Mongabay



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