The Decline of Lions in Africa

The Lion, majestic and mighty, but it's no match for modern threats and human poaching. Once a thriving population of wildlife in Africa, lions have drastically declined over the past 100 years. According to National Geographic in the 1800s there were over 1.2 million lions roaming in their natural habitat across the fields of the continent. By 1940, more than half of that population was stripped from the Earth by poaching and other modern threats such as tuberculosis, pesticides, and more.

We are including lions in our Wildlife Awareness Campaign because these are majestic animals that must be protected before it's too late. As an apex predator, lions play an important part in the ecosystem of Africa; without them, the ecosystem could potentially collapse, and it would be an unimaginable human feat to rebalance it should that happen. The cost of sustaining the ecosystem, if lions were to become extinct, is astronomical compared to the cost it would take to simply establish more protection and research to keep these animals living among this Earth.

Arguably, the most effective weapon we have on our battlefield to ensure the survival of lions is education; education for local communities and the education of our population here at home, including our children. Knowledge goes a very long way, by teaching children and local communities about the importance of the lions in their ecosystem, we gain future lion ambassadors and activists, conservationists, and a beefed up population willing to fund research and new technologies that can help track lion prides and keep them safe.

In the 1990s there was an estimated population of 50,000 lions in Africa. Within the course of the decade, the population drastically dropped to just 20,000 lions. This generation is in the 11th hour of many things. We have the ability to change the course of history, but we have to do it now. This generation can either be responsible for turning the tides of the extinction of thousands of species across the planet who are currently in danger, or we can be the generation that watches these animals go extinct.

Large portions of funding comes from organizations and individuals who have been fascinated by these creatures since childhood. The camera arts have been essential to bringing these majestic creatures to our screens so that we can better learn about them through visual engagement. We support the need for more cinematographers, photographers, and videographers and for research teams to have the funds to access these professionals. A secondary focus of our Wildlife Awareness Campaign is to stress the need for the camera arts and quality camera equipment in the pursuit of the preservation of wildlife.

What you can do to help:

There are various funds you can donate to to help preserve lions in their natural habitat. National Geographic listed one on their website; The Big Cats Initiative. The Big Cats Initiative brings hands-on conservation methods to the affected areas, provides education to local communities about lions, and economic incentive efforts to help preserve the species.

If you'd like to assist with initiatives for the camera arts, you can donate to local art university programs, technical schools that support camera arts and offer scholarships for future professional to enter the field. You can also donate to current wildlife research expeditions so that they may have better access to high-quality cameras and professionals to shoot the shots that have captivated us for decades.

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About Staff

Mrs. Life Skills, formerly The Happy Housemaid, is a lifesttyle publisher.