Are we seeing the last lions?

[Taka]

I was looking at the CNN homepage and this article took my attention

[quote]
Are we seeing the last lions?
By Dereck Joubert, Special to CNN
January 23, 2011 -- Updated 1508 GMT (2308 HKT)

(CNN) -- As you will see in our TED talk, Beverly and I have spent enough time in the bush with lions to understand that we have a problem -- rapidly declining big cat populations.

This much time alone in the wild makes us socially inept, but there is no substitute for doing the time.

As we've delved into this more, we have learned more about the problems facing these extraordinary creatures. All the problems focus on human-predator conflicts, from the collection of hunting trophies as sport -- an activity that is terribly damaging to wild populations of cats -- to flashpoints between the cats and cattle cultures.

The real miracle is that we do still have this last remnant of lions at all. Just 50 years ago there were 450,000; today there are possibly as few as 20,000. These are the last lions.

Just 50 years ago, there were 450,000; today, there are possibly as few as 20,000. These are the last lions.

As Beverly points out in the TED talk, the death of one male lion can have drastic effects on the whole pride. A new male comes into the area and takes over the pride, killing all the cubs and possibly some of the females defending their cubs.

So we've estimated that from 20 to 30 lions are killed when one lion is hanging on a wall somewhere in a far-off place.

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If we don't do something, collectively, within the next few years, we will be seeing the last of the lion populations in Africa. That is why we have produced a film for theatrical release, in theaters in the U.S. in February, called "The Last Lions."

We're hoping that our work will galvanize a movement to save them -- but it is going to take a universal effort and action on an emergency basis. In association with National Geographic we founded the Big Cat Initiative to roll up our sleeves and save cats, right now.

So who cares? Well, the first thing to appreciate is that the world's large predators, like lions, are not just a luxury for us to look at, to photograph, or to shoot. They are the most vital center point in many ecosystems. If we lose them, we can anticipate eventual collapse of whole environments, right down to the water systems, as prey shifts or migrations stop, and species overgraze and destroy the integrity of important vegetation, especially along rivers.

Erosion follows, rivers silt up, and fish die, all because we took out a few lions.

There is as great an economic need to preserve lions. In Africa an $80 billion-a-year business in ecotourism feeds parks, airlines, safari businesses, and local crafts and helps pump up economies important to the entire continent.

Communities thrive on this cash, and it keeps them above the poverty line, gives them dignity and hope, and alleviates the need for aid. It gives people resources to better educate their kids. Better education breeds health and less exposure to diseases such as AIDS.

Also, within those communities there is a deep spiritual connection to the land and its wildlife. When creatures such as lions disappear, a destructive ripple effect weakens our care for the planet and our understanding of who we are.

Everything hinges on people being connected to a planet that is whole; and predators, although scary to live with, actually glue all this together. It's something we've known and lived with for 3 million years.

We have to decide if we are a part of the planet and its life forms or if we want to try to live apart from it all. With the specter of The Last Lions will come, and not that far behind, the potential sequel -- The Last Humans.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dereck Joubert.[/quote]

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/01/23/joubert.last.lions/index.html?hpt=C1

I had no idea there were so few lions... What do you think?

[Panda-chan]

This is really scary and so tragic. It really saddens me that humans and nature can't just live peacefully together, like they've been doing for so long until recently. Hopefully the new movie will at least convince a few people that this really is a crisis and not something environmentalists are making up to scare us. =/ Literally, if the statistics in that article are correct, the population of lions in the world within the last fifty years has declined by 96%. Holy. crap.

[SnowyCheetah]

Someone posted this on Facebook earlier. I'm always skeptical of the legitimacy of these things, since there's so much of it and what seems like so little evidence to support it, and plus I'm just not part of the crowd these things come from. I do wonder about it sometimes, though.

[FlipMode]

Sounds about right, I always thought the numbers were depleting because there are so many wild life / big cat charities out there these days. It is not a nice number, but somehow about right, or it could just be a ploy to get people involved so it does not get that bad.... It happens.

[quote="Taka"]I was looking at the CNN homepage and this article took my attention

[quote]
Are we seeing the last lions?
By Dereck Joubert, Special to CNN
January 23, 2011 -- Updated 1508 GMT (2308 HKT)



So who cares? Well, the first thing to appreciate is that the world's large predators, like lions, are not just a luxury for us to look at, to photograph, or to shoot. They are the most vital center point in many ecosystems. If we lose them, we can anticipate eventual collapse of whole environments, right down to the water systems, as prey shifts or migrations stop, and species overgraze and destroy the integrity of important vegetation, especially along rivers.

Erosion follows, rivers silt up, and fish die, all because we took out a few lions.
[/quote][/quote]

And there you go, this is the thing that a lot of people either do not know, or simply forget. Unfortunately everyone is in financial crisis, there are wars, government spending etc that problems like these are simply over looked. Perhaps these charities need to stress this point more, I mean heck I did not even think about that before...

[Wrightfan]

[quote="SnowyCheetah"]Someone posted this on Facebook earlier. I'm always skeptical of the legitimacy of these things, since there's so much of it and what seems like so little evidence to support it, and plus I'm just not part of the crowd these things come from. I do wonder about it sometimes, though. [/quote]

I agree. There's been lots of animals that have quickly gone from "extinct" to "plentiful."

Plus, you get enough lions to mate and that circle of life we'll never be, er...point A to point B line of life.

[Arani]

It's sad to know that people feel the need to kill animals like lions off... but it's also heart warming to know that ther are people heping the animals as well. No matter if that story is true or not, one thing is true. There are animals that are dieing off. It might not be the lions for the moment, but there are other animals who won't be here much longer and eventually the more common animals will start to die off, it's only a matter of time. Maybe this story and ones similar will get more people to help these animals... after all, we're all creatures of this world.