Lion populations present in Africa have lost 90% of their original range and the number has drastically dropped in the last century, going from 200,000 individuals in the early 1900s to less than 30,000 left today on the continent.
On World Lion Day, which is celebrated every year on August 10, WWF raises the alarm for the future of this iconic species, which has always been a symbol of strength and endurance.
The reduction of lions in Africa, in fact, does not seem to stop and the most recent data shows that, in the last 20 years alone, the population has suffered a decline of 43%.
The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) classifies the species as "vulnerable" but in continuous decline in numbers.
Among the main threats the loss and degradation of the habitat, caused mainly by the increase of the human population and by the increasing diffusion of infrastructures;
the decrease of some of its elective prey, the direct and indirect conflict with humans (caused primarily by predation to the detriment of domestic livestock) and poaching, also linked to the illegal trade in furs and other parts of the body.
Today it is estimated that the lion occupies only 10% of its original range.
Lions are present in 27 African countries, but only in 7 of these there are populations with more than 1,000 individuals.
The species, on the other hand, is now extinct in 26 states of its range of origin.
