Extinction looms for the 'king of beasts'

JOHANNESBURG - The lion, once ubiquitous across the plains of Africa, faces extinction unless urgent action is taken to halt its conflict with humans, conservationist groups have warned.

Scientists attending a conference which opened in Johannesburg yesterday warned that the "king of beasts" would "not rule beyond this century" unless urgent steps were taken to protect its habitat.

Kristina Nowell, of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, said lions had lost about 80 to 90 per cent of their historic habitat in the past century.

Over the last 20 years, the lion population has fallen to between 23,000 and 39,000. Of that total, only about 4000 are in west and central Africa; the rest are in the east and south.

IUCN chairman Urs Breitenmoser said it was not possible to give estimates of the original lion populations because no surveys were carried out.

African conservationists have previously estimated that hundreds of thousands of lions roamed the continent as late as the 1960s.

"What is not in dispute is that the lion is in danger ... it is highly vulnerable," Breitenmoser said.

"What is needed is clear vision and a comprehensive cross-border strategy to secure the survival of the king of the beasts."

Conserving the remaining population of lions was not enough, Breitenmoser said, and strategies to help the the lion population recover were more crucial.

Nowell said she hoped that Africans would not be as "reckless as Europeans" who wiped out their own lion populations which roamed their forests many centuries ago.

Although a combination of factors have taken their toll on lions, their conflict with humans was the most significant threat to their survival.

Human encroachment on the animals' habitat has seen lions preying on livestock, forcing farmers to shoot them. Nowell said although lions and humans had lived together largely amicably for the past 10,000 years, rapid modernisation and the loss of traditional ways of living in the past century had upset the balance.

In southeast Tanzania, for example, about 100 people were eaten every year by lions. "The victims eaten are mostly people walking home drunk," she said.

This did not happen in ancient times because people largely avoided areas teeming with wild animals. There is also a growing habit of livestock being allowed to graze at night.

Because of the increased interaction between lions and humans, the big cats have developed a taste for human flesh, raising the stakes in conservation efforts. Once lions develop a taste for human flesh, they became bolder and unafraid of humans.

Southeast Tanzania has more than 5000 lions - Africa's biggest population. Northern Mozambique also has a very significant population though estimates of the numbers are sketchy.

At the conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Bangkok in 2004, Kenya, alarmed at its falling numbers, proposed that the African lion be put in the top category Appendix 1 - which would mean all trade in lion products would be outlawed. But other African countries disagreed and the move failed.

In danger

* Lions have lost 80 to 90pc of their habitat in the last 100 years.

* Over the past 20 years, the lion population has fallen to between 23,000 and 39,000.

* It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of lions roamed Africa as late as the 1960s.

* Human encroachment on lion territory has brought attacks on livestock - and humans.

* In southeast Tanzania, for example, about 100 people are eaten every year by lions.

- INDEPENDENT