West African lion virtually extinct: Population numbers are dangerously low with just 34 left in Nigeria
Worldwide, Daily news | ankakh | January 9, 2013 18:48The 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.
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.
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.
Recent studies on African lion populations show that about three-quarters of Africa’s savannah has disappeared over the past 50 years.
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.
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