Lions going extinct in Asia and Africa

[Laura902]

Lions are dying off rapidly across Africa. These cats once ranged across the continent and into Syria, Israel, Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, and even northwest India; 2,000 years ago more than a million lions roamed the Earth. Since the 1940s, when lions numbered an estimated 450,000, lion populations have blinked out across the continent. Now they may total as few as 20,000 animals. Scientists connect the drastic decreases in many cases to burgeoning human populations. The Big Cats Initiative aims to halt lion population declines by the year 2015 and to restore populations to sustainable levels. You can be part of this important work by donating to the Big Cats Initiative or by applying for a grant to help big cats.

Proposals Encouraged:

* Innovative projects with quick results for saving lions
* Anti-poaching programs
* Projects that test new technology
* Educational projects focused on community
* Projects that establish economic incentives for local people to ensure long-term survival of lions

Nearly all wild lions live in sub-Saharan Africa, but one small population of Asian lions exists in India's Gir Forest. Asian lions and African lions are subspecies of the same species.

Asian lions once prowled from the Middle East to India. Now, only 200 to 260 of these magnificent animals survive in the wild. The Gir Forest's dry teak woods were once a royal hunting ground. Today they are a reserve where the endangered Asian lions are heavily protected. An additional 200 Asian lions live in zoos.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/big-cats