CSB #5: The African Lion May Find a Spot on the Endangered Species List For Several Reasons

An African Male Lion
By National Geographic:  http://www.natgeoprogramming.com/pages/
inflight/search/genre/NaturalHistory/order/titlesort-asc/prinflight/1/d//page/17

The African Lion might be added to the endangered species list because of the dramatic decline in their population. Being on the verge of extinction is a significant issue, as this lion is "the very symbol of African wildlife."The endangered species list is a list of animals that are in danger of becoming extinct, so animals that are on the list have special laws that protect them. For example, if the African Lion were to be added to the list, hunters would no longer be allowed to kill them. The problem was brought to attention by several animal and environmental protection organizations who signed a petition to get the animal onto the list. For several reasons, "populations are estimated to have dropped nearly 50 percent in the past three decades." Some of the biggest causes of the lion's dwindling numbers include trophy hunters, African locals, and habitat problems.

Baby African Lions
By Carol P.:  http://www.treehugger.com
/files/2009/06/furadan-pesticide-killing-
lions-wildlife-banned-in-kenya-africa.php

All of these play a big role in hurting the population, but trophy hunters are making the biggest impact. Trophy hunters are people who hunt certain large and interesting animals, such as lions, for fun and to keep for display. Trophy hunters are a big problem, because if they kill the leader of the lion pack, there is a domino effect for the the rest of the lions in the group as a result of their instinctual behavior. This is because when the leader is killed, other males compete for his spot, killing their competitors in the process. The male who succeeds and becomes the leader kills off all of the baby lions of the pack, because he wants the babies to only be related to him, and not to the dead leader. In this process, the mothers of the babies sometimes die as they try to save their children. Trophy hunters almost always target the leader because he usually looks the most dazzling and attractive. Hunters may only kill one leader lion, but by killing that lion, he will be indirectly killing several other lions. This is why trophy hunters are the leading cause of the diminishing lion population.

Other causes of their decreasing population include Africans who kill them to use in traditional African medicine, decreasing habitat space, or locals who kill as revenge for the lions killing some of their domesticated animals. Although these are not good for the lions, they do not impact the population as heavily as trophy hunters.

If the petition works and the African Lion does find space on the endangered species list, then hopefully, the animal would be better protected. Being on the list would make it illegal for people to sell body parts of the lion, which can be sold for more than a thousand dollars. Adding them to the list would also help educate people of the lion's population issue. Most importantly, many trophy hunters like to import trophy lions from Africa to display, and by listing the lion, this practice would become illegal. This is very significant in the United States because America currently imports over 50% of all trophy lions.

Although it may take over 2 years to get the lions added to the endangered species list, the act would be extremely beneficial to the African Lion population. Many trophy hunters may be against this act, but it will help the African wildlife. If the lion goes extinct, it will disturb the natural African ecosystem. I hope this petition goes through because humans were the ones who caused the population to drop, so it is our job to fix it.

Resources:
Article:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=african-lion-may-be-added-to-us-end-2011-03-01

• Platt, John. "African lion may be added to U.S. endangered species list to curb American trophy hunters." Scientific American . N.p., 1 Mar. 2011. Web. 5 Mar. 2011. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/ post.cfm?id=african-lion-may-be-added-to-us-end-2011-03-01>. 

Photos:

• http://www.natgeoprogramming.com/pages/inflight/search/genre/NaturalHistory/order/titlesort-asc/prinflight/1/d//page/17
• http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06/furadan-pesticide-killing-lions-wildlife-banned-in-kenya-africa.php