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Is a polar bear worth more than a lion? Commentary by Uwe Skrzypczak, special to mongabay.com December 08, 2009 In recent years, broad media coverage has turned the polar bear into a global symbol for the effects of climate change not only in the Arctic, but in the rest of the world too. In Germany particularly, the birth and highly publicized early life of the polar bear "Knut" at the Berlin City Zoo has intensified this symbolic effect. The fact that the Arctic ice is melting due to global warming is an established fact, and environmentalists the world over are lucky to have the polar bear and its disappearing habitat as a symbol for the global effects of pollution. All this publicity has, however, spread the exaggerated idea that polar bears are already on the verge of extinction.
Polar bears are without doubt wonderful creatures whose existence is-like most other large animals on our planet-clearly threatened. But what is happening to their greatest rival for public attention and charitable money: the lion - king of the jungle? We have all seen documentary films with clever edits that turn one lion into a whole pride, and Hollywood likes to show troops of hungry and dangerous-looking lions on the prowl. But in many parts of East Africa even the best movie tricks don't help, as there simply aren't any lions left to film. Worldwide, there are only about 20,000 lions surviving in the wild. In spite of conclusive evidence from the well-known lion specialist Craig Packer that shooting young male lions accelerates the demise of the species, many African countries still allow commercial hunting as a way of attracting badly needed hard currency. Kenya used to have one of the largest wildlife populations in the world but, in spite of a general ban on hunting, the number of animals-including lions-has decreased by as much as 75 percent in recent years.
Others say that the intact gene pools of neighboring Tanzania's 3,000 lions and 2 million ungulates will help preserve the balance. These theories assume that lions and other wildlife will migrate from Tanzania back to Kenya, but unfortunately overlook the fact that large parts of the ecosystem of the northern Serengeti (the Mara) lie within Kenya. The Mara River is the North Serengeti's lifeline but has recently lost almost 40 percent of its water due to deforestation of the Mau forest in its upper reaches and excessive agricultural irrigation elsewhere. If the river's water level sinks by more than half, the Mara ecosystem will simply collapse. For three months of the dry season, this area is a major source of food for the region's ungulate herds during their migration to the Masai Mara. If the Mara ecosystem should collapse, the resulting food shortfall would have a serious effect on the ecosystem of the entire Serengeti, with scientists estimating a short-term decrease in the ungulate population of between 75 and 90 percent. This would-at least temporarily-upset the rules of natural population control which prevent predators from hunting their prey to extinction. The Serengeti's 10,000 lions, leopards, and hyenas would then decimate the remaining ungulate population, resulting in extinction for the predators themselves. Lions are territorial hunters and would therefore be the first to go.
The Masai have recently taken to using bait doused with Carbofuran (a highly toxic pesticide) to protect their stock from predators, and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) recently reported 10 fresh lion deaths by poisoning. If things are to change, the problems facing the Serengeti, the Masai Mara, and the rest of the East African environment have to gain significant public attention, and the lion has to become a symbol for the survival of the African environment the same way the polar bear symbolizes the plight of the Arctic. East Africa is heavily dependent on income from safari tourism, and protection of the region's wildlife contributes not only to active environmental protection, but also plays a significant role in the region's aid programs. You too can help by supporting groups like the WildlifeDirect, which provides direct funding to conservationists working in the field. Uwe Skrzypczak is a wildlife photographer. If you are interested in helping him increase long-term awareness of the problems facing the Mara region, you can contact him at serengeti-wildlife.com
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