History has it that these big cats once roamed all over Africa, Asia and in parts of Europe. Yet present day, lions are scarce and are found in stipulated conservation areas – still without guarantees.
I remember driving into a local national park one late afternoon, a few years ago. At the first watering hole we were greeted by a pride of 18 lions feeding on an elephant carcass. It was one of those rare and exciting moments as lions do not generally hunt elephants. It’s a big task. We spent over an hour clicking frantically with our cameras and enjoying the moment. Before we knew it, it was sunset and we had to rush to camp for our check in.
After breakfast the following morning, we headed straight back to where we had left the lions feasting.
To our surprise, when we got there, the place was clean as a whistle. There was no elephant carcass and there were no lions. It was like we had been dreaming. We went on with our game drive. We sighted a lot of plains game and numerous bird species while still pondering what could have happened to the elephant carcass and the lion pride.
In the evening at dinner, I had the opportunity to speak with the conservation authorities. I learnt that the elephant had died of anthrax and therefore had to be removed and destroyed.
Tuberculosis, Feline Immunodeficiency virus and canine distemper – though not so prevalent anymore, have previously been recorded among lions in parts of Southern Africa.
Human Wildlife Conflict is another factor. As human population increases together with livestock breeding, lions are running out of space. This unfortunately leads to lions coming into close contact with humans. Inevitably livestock is easier for the lions to take down than wildlife. And when this happens lions are hunted and killed using spears, poison and much more.
Lion poaching for claws, skin and bones for traditional rituals also poses a great threat to these felines.
National Geographic Explorer and Conservation biologist, Shivani Bhalla asserts that in under a century, we have lost over 90% of the planet’s lion population.
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