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  • About the LRF
    • What We Fund
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Supporters
    • Disney & the Lion Recovery Fund
    • Lionscape Coalition
    • FAQ
  • Lions & Recovery
    • Biology & Behavior
    • Distribution & Status
    • Threats to Lions
    • Road to Recovery
  • Projects
    • Project Map
    • Project Database
  • Stories

Recovering Lions, Restoring Landscapes

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25

Countries

321

Projects

110

Grantees

Lion populations have declined by half in just a quarter century. Their loss signals the loss of the wild in Africa. But, lions can return.

Why are lions in trouble?

As human populations grow across Africa, lions are losing safe habitat. But together we can secure the wildest places in Africa. Landscapes such as southern Chad, northern and eastern Central African Republic (CAR), and eastern South Sudan are some of the wild landscapes that hold great potential for lion recovery in Africa.

Created by the Wildlife Conservation Network, The Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) invests in the most innovative and effective projects across Africa that can recover lions and restore their landscapes. The LRF seeks, assesses, and invests in the best ideas for lion recovery from institutions large or small, with 100% of every dollar donated deployed directly on the ground.

Read our 2024 Progress Report for a more detailed look into the focus of our investments to learn more.

Film narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio.

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Through strategic investments and collaboration with other public and private donors, the Lion Recovery Fund aspires to double the number of lions in Africa, regaining those lions lost over the past 25 years.

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West African Lions Make a Striking Comeback in Senegal

In 2009, Philipp Henschel from the Panthera Lion Programme embarked upon a mission to survey the last strongholds of the...

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Growing Effective Protected Area Management to Conserve Lions

For many years, lions were assumed to be doing just fine. Although they have always been a favoured focal species...

Read More

Explore Real Lion Facts in Mufasa: The Lion King

​​Last month, we celebrated the theatrical release of Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, the highly anticipated prequel film that explores...

Read More

The Lion Recovery Fund Teams up with Disney to Protect Lions

With the theatrical release of Mufasa: The Lion King—the highly anticipated feature film that explores the unlikely rise of the...

Read More

Lions Return to Zambia’s Stunning Nsumbu National Park

Ten years ago or so, I was working on a research project on the performance of protected areas in Africa...

Read More

Why Some Male Lions Have No Manes

One of the most iconic features of the male lion is its mane. Much like a crown, a lion’s mane...

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Lionesses - The Key to the Pride’s Survival

Male lions most readily come to mind when we think of lions, but female lions are the heartbeats of their...

Read More

Lion Recovery in the Magical Kafue Ecosystem

Kafue National Park is a massive, 8,600 sq. mile protected area in western Zambia, nested within a complex of Game...

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Lion in the Camp du Lion area of Niokolo-Koba National Park in 2022 (c) Panthera, DPN

Stories

West African Lions Make a Striking Comeback in Senegal

In 2009, Philipp Henschel from the Panthera Lion Programme embarked upon a mission to survey the last strongholds of the...

Read More
lion pride in grass (Pete Lindsey)

Stories

Growing Effective Protected Area Management to Conserve Lions

For many years, lions were assumed to be doing just fine. Although they have always been a favoured focal species...

Read More
Mufasa: The Lion King (Disney)

News

Explore Real Lion Facts in Mufasa: The Lion King

​​Last month, we celebrated the theatrical release of Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, the highly anticipated prequel film that explores...

Read More
the-lion-king-mufasa-simba-2019-DISNEY

News

The Lion Recovery Fund Teams up with Disney to Protect Lions

With the theatrical release of Mufasa: The Lion King—the highly anticipated feature film that explores the unlikely rise of the...

Read More
Male Lion close up (Daniel Rosengren)

Stories

Lions Return to Zambia’s Stunning Nsumbu National Park

Ten years ago or so, I was working on a research project on the performance of protected areas in Africa...

Read More
Male lion (Tsavo Trust)

Stories

Why Some Male Lions Have No Manes

One of the most iconic features of the male lion is its mane. Much like a crown, a lion’s mane...

Read More
Lioness lying down at the bottom of a tree (Grace Chu and Stephen Dang)

Stories

Lionesses - The Key to the Pride’s Survival

Male lions most readily come to mind when we think of lions, but female lions are the heartbeats of their...

Read More
lion and cub (Suzi Eszterhas)

Stories

Lion Recovery in the Magical Kafue Ecosystem

Kafue National Park is a massive, 8,600 sq. mile protected area in western Zambia, nested within a complex of Game...

Read More
 
Photography credits: Frans Lanting, Cas Sanguietti, Asilia Africa, Sebastian Kennerknecht, Jack Swenson/ExpeditionGallery.com
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The Lion Recovery Fund maintains a 100% donation model. Every dollar raised is directly deployed to projects that recover lions, with zero administrative fees or overhead.

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