Why the African lion must be saved from extinction | Tunde Folawiyo

May 2, 2014 Editor Tunde Folawiyo, tunde folawiyo africa, tunde folawiyo bio, tunde folawiyo executive, tunde folawiyo oil, tunde folawiyo profile, West African Lion

Just four decades ago, the continent of Africa contained more than 200,000 lions; however, by the end of 2012, this number had shrunk to 32,000. At this rate of decline, the African lion could be extinct by 2050. The increasingly small number of West African lions is particularly alarming, with the last report indicating that there are just 250 of these creatures left.

This is likely to be a worrying thought for Tunde Folawiyo, and others who are interested in wildlife conservation. This species plays a vital role in the maintenance of a healthy eco-system; being carnivorous, and at the top of the food chain, lions are known as apex predators. This means that their hunting practices help to cull smaller carnivore and herbivore populations, thus ensuring that these other species do grow to excessive numbers, and reduce the biodiversity of the eco-system.

Additionally, lions are an extremely important part of the continent’s tourist industry. Many of those who visit African countries, do so specifically to observe lions in their natural habitat. If this species is absent from the game reserves and national parks, the tourist industry will almost certainly suffer.

The extinction of this species would also be an enormous loss for humankind as a whole; lions have been a source of fascination for us for thousands of years, having been depicted in books, music and works of art countless times. They are of great cultural, scientific and historical importance, and as such, it is our obligation to protect them from further harm.

There are several organisations involved in the conservation of this species; however, the most well-known is undoubtedly ALERT (the African Lion and Environmental Research Trust); this is a charity which almost everyone, including Tunde Folawiyo, has probably heard of. Last year, ALERT declared the 10th of August to be ‘World Lion Day’, in the hopes that doing so would help to raise awareness of the plight of lions. As things stand, very few people fully understand just how close to extinction this species is. However, the COO of ALERT, David Youldon, is confident that World Lion Day will rectify this, and encourage people to do their part to save the species.

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