This year on World Lion Day, we're pleased to release the latest LRF progress report, which collects some of the LRF's most impactful grants to long-term investment projects that safeguard lion habitat and help lion populations recover in places like Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
A recent National Geographic article highlights the work of Panthera and the park service of Senegal's Niokolo-Koba National Park to protect the few remaining West African lions. The LRF has supported Panthera to help manage the park and fund ranger patrols to keep poachers at bay.
The COVID-19 crisis is creating a ‘perfect storm’ for conservation in Africa, as highlighted in this new paper. Economic downturns and the collapse of the tourism industry are reducing funding for conservation drastically.
Lions are in crisis—half of all wild lions have been lost in the past 25 years with as few as 20,000 remaining in Africa. Halting this decline of lions and bringing their numbers back to stable levels is going to take a coordinated global effort, but we believe lion recovery is possible.
Lions exude power, strength, and charisma in their every movement. Yet despite seeming to be an untouchable apex predator, lions are in danger. Over the last 25 years, their populations have declined by half across the continent—which is why this #GivingTuesday, on November 27, we urge you to join the global giving movement, and give to lions. The process is simple.
Information about lions and their distribution is critical in developing plans to protect them. Our grant to Endangered Wildlife Trust will help them establish a lion database, which will be used to assess the abundance and distribution of lions across Africa.