The lion, with its majestic mane and the loudest growl of all the big cats, is today a vulnerable species with decreasing populations in extremely fragmented habitats. It once ranged widely throughout Africa and Eurasia; today, it’s restricted to parts of sub-Saharan Africa and one small area in western India.
For World Lion Day on Aug. 10, Mongabay looks back at some of our coverage this year of the challenges that Panthera leo faces.
Victims of wildlife trade
Lions makes up the lion’s share of all wildcats in the legal wildlife trade, according to a report in May by Mongabay’s Alex Shaw and Spoorthy Raman. While commercial trade in the Indian lion populations isn’t permitted, it’s very much open for African lions, whose body parts can be traded legally.
Shaw and Raman found that 10,401 permits were issued for African lions or their parts in the last 25 years, per data from CITES, the international wildlife trade convention. Most were issued for body parts from lions killed in trophy hunts. These were followed by permits for live lions, skins or fur, skulls, and other body parts. According to CITES data, the U.S., South Africa and Germany were the top countries importing lions. Top exporters were South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.
Conflict with farmers
African lion populations across Uganda’s protected areas, including the famous tree-climbing lions of Queen Elizabeth National Park, have seen a drastic decline over the past decade, Mongabay contributor Gilbert Nakweya reported about a study published in December 2024.
Besides poaching, researchers found lions have also been poisoned by cattle farmers due to conflict.
“The needs of both [lions and people] are vitally important. Understanding how we can reduce challenges so that both people and animals can benefit is imperative for conservation,” researcher Jonathan Growcott of the University of Exeter, U.K., told Nakweya.
In Tanzania, too, livestock farmers fear lion and leopard attacks on their goats, sheep and cattle. But fortified enclosures that use chain-link fencing can protect livestock since lions avoid such areas, Nakweya reported about a study published in March.
“The fences reduce the availability; the nighttime livestock buffet is simply less accessible and attractive,” said study lead author Jonathan Salerno from Colorado State University, U.S.
Prey depletion
Poaching and conflict aside, lions also struggle with declining prey across Africa, Mongabay contributor Charles Mpaka reported about a study published in February.
The study found that communities near protected areas, driven by food insecurity, poverty and unemployment, often hunt herbivores for bushmeat, competing directly with lions and other predators.
“Combining improved protection with improved programs for community conservation and coexistence in and around the communities living with these populations should substantially improve the prospects for lion conservation,” the study noted.
Banner image: A lion guarding its territory in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Image by Giles Laurent via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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