Lions have long held the nickname “Kings of the Jungle.”
They are admired for their majestic beauty, and feared for their awesome power.
Yet these magnificent beasts are surprisingly fragile, or at least their
population is. Like so many other species, both large and small, lions are in
peril, due to the actions of humans.
According to reports from the International Union for
Conservation of Nature, we have lost about a third of the total lion population
in just 20 years. And the remainder of the species is dwindling quickly. What
happened to them? The answers are all too familiar. Human development, habitat
loss, and most of all unsustainable hunting.
Current estimates forecast the human population in native
lion habitat to increase two-fold by the middle of this century. What will that
do to lion populations? According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director, they
will likely go extinct by that time – unless we make changes now.
After a two-year study, the United Stated government
declined to give lions the status of “endangered,” despite the prominent threats.
The action would have made it illegal to import lion parts into the United
States as hunting trophies.
However, the plea of conservation groups did not go entirely
unnoticed. They set to be listed as “threatened” under the endangered species
act. With this designation, the import of trophies will be allowed, but with
tougher restrictions. Under the new guidelines, the import of such trophies
would be allowed only if the lion was harvested in a county that uses hunting
as part of a conservation plan. It will take approximately 12 months for the proposal
to be finalized.
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