Today is World Lion Day; happy World Lion Day! šš¦š
World Lion Day happens annually on the 10th of August every year.
It was founded by Big Cat Rescue. World Lion Day was founded by Big Cat Rescue to dedicate a day for Lions so that we could raise awareness about Lions and save and protect them.
One of the aims of World Lion Day is to raise awareness about the decline of Lions in the wild. Lions have disappeared from 94% of their historic range, therefore, Lions are no longer present within the vast majority of the land that they once used to roam.
In the last few decades, Lions have seen a significant decline in their population. The Lion decline has been so severe that these beautiful animals have almost seen their population halved in just two decades, as the Lion population has declined by a massive 42% in just 21 years.
Sadly, the Lion population still seems to be declining, as the WWF says that three-quarters of the African Lion population is now in decline.
What Is The Population Of African Lions Today?
The Lion population has sadly declined significantly over the last century.
A century ago, there were 200,000 African Lions.
Today, there are as few as 23,000 African Lions in the wild.
The Lions That Have Went Extinct
While African Lions have been declining, other species/subspecies of Lions have already gone extinct. The most recent Lion to go extinct was the Barbary Lion.
Barbary Lions were once present throughout Africa.
These Lions started to disappear during the early 20th century. They were sadly hunted to extinction. The last Barbary Lion known to be shot and killed in the wild was in Morocco in 1942 and the last photograph of the Barbary Lion was taken in Morocco in 1925.
Barbary Lions were extinct by the 1960s.
The Asiatic Lions Today
There is sadly a risk that there could be more Lions going extinct in the future.
One of the most endangered animals in the world is the Asiatic Lion. The Asiatic Lion is a subspecies of Lion that is only found in Asia. Asiatic Lions used to be found in many places throughout the middle east, however, sadly, today they have lost much of their historic range.
Today, Asiatic Lions are only found within India.
They are an endangered species today and very close to extinction. Today, there are thought to be as few as 523 individual Asiatic Lions left in the wild.
How Can You Help Lions
This World Lion Day, you can help these beautiful animals in several ways.
One of the ways that you can help Lions, is by raising awareness about them or celebrating them on social media using the hashtag #WorldLionDay.
You can also help Lions by adopting a Lion with the WWF.
Another way you can help Lions is by avoiding tourism were you are holding Lions, as baby Lions are captured from the wild and stolen from their mothers, while you can also help Lions by not having your picture taken with Lions at events as they can be events were Lions are drugged and suffer abuse. Lion and wildlife tourism often leads to animals being abused and stolen from the wild - the stealing of animals from the wild contributes to wildlife trafficking.
Finally, one final way that you can help animals like Lions is by avoiding places like circuses or anywhere else Lions are forced to perform tricks, as places like circuses also abuse animals.
Helping Lions not only helps the, but it also helps us. It helps us as we get to enjoy them in wildlife documentaries, they are important for healthy ecosystems they are part of and we get to preserve Lions for future generations if we protect them and protect their habitats.
Happy World Lion Day! šš¦š
Comments