On the 6th of August in Leeds city centre, the African Lion & Environmental Research Trust (ALERT) will host a wildlife exhibition to celebrate one of the world’s most iconic creatures and raise awareness about it’s declining population.
Free event, email rae@lionalert.org for tickets
Lion researcher Rae Kokeš tells The Wee Review about the history, present and future of this magnificent beast
In 1994, archaeologist Jean-Marie Chauvet discovered what was possibly one of the most significant anthropological finds in recent history; nestled in the limestone cliffs above the Ardèche River in southeastern France, Chauvet found a large cave consisting of five chambers. Adorning the ancient chamber walls were some of mans earliest cave paintings dated c. 32,000 BCE. They depicted the everyday life of our ancestors and the world they lived in including the animals they encountered. Two of the largest portions of the cave were covered with detailed paintings of horses galloping in unison through Pleistocene France. Amongst the other animals were bison, mammoths, deer even rhinoceroses but most astonishingly was a painting depicting over 70 lions.
The wall paintings told a tale of lions hunting bison and displaying social behaviour amongst their pride in incredible detail. Black tuffs could be seen upon their tails along with unique whisker spots on their muzzles suggesting our ancestors once lived in close proximity with these huge predators and found them a subject of fascination.
I may not be a lion, but I am a lion’s cub and I have a lion’s heart. (Queen Elizabeth I)
The first fossil evidence of a lion-like felid was discovered in Laetoli, Tanzania. The jawbone, dated at c. 3.5 million years old was found close to where Mary Leakey famously uncovered the hominid footprints of mans early ancestors.
The lion was once the most widespread mammal, after humans, ranging across India, the Mediterranean, Europe and even modern day Alaska from the depths of Africa. Did we once share our shelter, fire and food with the King of Beasts in the Cradle of Life?
The African lion has suffered a staggering 80-90% population decline in less than 30 years
Deep in the savanna of Kenya and Tanzania remnants of a lost symbiotic life with these carnivores is still demonstrated by the Dorobo people. These ancient hunter-gatherers are famed for their bravery by taking meat from feeding wild lions. Dependent entirely upon hunting, rather than pastoralist lifestyle like the Maasai, the Dorobo hunt and kill wild animals and steal from other meat-eaters. They follow and track wild prides with expert precision waiting for the pride to make a fresh kill. Once a successful kill is made the Dorobo men approach the frenzied feeding lions with no fear causing the lions to scatter. The Dorobo proceed to then take a portion of the carcass for themselves, leaving the majority for the startled pride.
For hundreds of thousands of years we have lived alongside these magnificent beasts and paid tribute to them in our cultures since Paleolithic times. Now, the lion is a symbol for 4.6 billion people across the globe, from the celestial snow lions of Tibet leaping upon the peaks of the Himalayas protecting Buddha to the three lions passant upon the English coat of arms.
Africa Needs Lions and the world must take action to help save the African lion and its global heritage for future generations.
The modern day lion now adorns the shirts of our sports icons, the fronts of our cars, the entrances to our halls and palaces, the wrappers of our food, the advertisements on TV-not a single day will pass without us seeing a lion in some way, shape or form but awareness is another matter. Of the 15 million international tourists visiting Trafalgar Square in London and admiring Edwin Henry Landseer’s bronze lions upon Nelson’s Column, how many will know, or even believe, that a fossilized toe bone of a lion was discovered there in 1957? If you were to also ask, many of those 15 million would not realise or believe the African lion is now dying out and those lions of bronze, marble and limestone in our cities may be all we have left to remember.
Weep little lion man you’re not as brave as you were at the start. (Mumford & Sons)
For as long as we have admired “the fiercest and most magnanimous of the four footed beasts”* we have also been determined to overpower and conquer it.
I was not the lion, but it fell upon me to give the lion’s roar. (Winston Churchill)
The oldest record of lion hunting was found upon steatite scarabs in Egypt during the reign of Amenhotep III, 1390 BCE. The hieroglyphic carvings told the tale of these huge cats being pursued and killed by the pharaoh. Should you venture to the British Museum you can view in exquisite detail the slaughter of hundreds of lions by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, 645 BCE.
The hunting of lions continues today but it is neither depicted in Assyrian sandstone carvings nor viewed in the coliseums of Rome. It can be found on social media websites, YouTube and on hunting safari operator websites.
If you look deeper into the world of lion conservation you will also see further persecution of the lion through poaching, loss of habitat, human-lion conflict, disease, inbreeding, loss of prey availability and more.
The African lion has suffered a staggering 80-90% population decline in less than 30 years. From 200,000 to c. 30,000 across Africa populations are now fragmented and isolated. The lion has also extirpated from 83% of its possible range in Africa. No other species known to man has declined by such a rate in such a short space of time; and this is the ‘King of the Jungle’.
Can we imagine a world without the lion? The detrimental impact upon hundreds of countries worldwide would be felt culturally, socially, economically, historically and biologically.
The lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back on any; (Proverbs, 30:30)
The connotations of Africa are still today often somber and pitiful, but the diversity amongst the 54 countries upon that magnificent continent tells a different story.
Recently the US President, Barack Obama announced a new strategy towards Sub-Saharan Africa:
As we look forward, it is clear Africa is more important than ever to the security and prosperity of the international community… (Obama)
As with most continents tourism is a hugely influential industry in Africa. Tourism alone is one the fast growing enterprises in Africa and provides major investment opportunities to rest of the global economy. Why? Because Africa is home to the world’s Big Five.
The average 2-week Africa safari can cost in the region of £2,500 per person. Having spent such a large sum the average tourist would hope to see all of the Big Five in their glory, especially the iconic lion. What could be more awe-inspiring than seeing a pride male feast upon zebra kill amongst his pride of lionesses and cubs?
Tourism significantly contributes to national GDP, generates community/house-hold income and provides endless employment opportunities. However without the wildlife, this industry would dwindle. Most private game reserves and even National Parks will attempt to maintain their Big Five species to draw in business, often buying animals from private breeders. This is most true with the lion, but the lions are running out.
Those countries that have lost their lions have seen a significant decline in tourism numbers but fortunately many African governments realise the African lions’ potential to provide social, economical, ecological and cultural benefits. Many are beginning to implement National Action Plans working towards the conservation and preservation of the lion and its habitat. Charities such as the African Lion & Environmental Research Trust (ALERT) are working alongside these governments and private stakeholders to help put these plans into action.
Africa Needs Lions and the world must take action to help save the African lion and its global heritage for future generations.
To create awareness and much needed funds for their in situ conservation projects ALERT are hosting “Africa Needs Lions”; a wildlife photographic exhibition with their patron Sir Ranulph Fiennes, OBE, 6th August Leeds city centre. For tickets to this exclusive conservation event please contact rae@lionalert.org. Tickets are free but subject to availability.
*Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language, 1755