African lion population shrinks to 32,000# Animals - 动物园
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/study-afr
Study: African lion population shrinks to 32,000
The savannah habitat that sustains African lions has shrunk by 75
percent over the past half-century, according to a study published
Tuesday in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation, a dramatic loss that
could threaten the species’ survival.
The new analysis by American, African and British researchers — which
suggests the continent’s lion population has declined from 100,000 to
roughly 32,000 over 50 years — provides a clear picture of where the
animals now live and how major land-use changes and population growth have
put them in jeopardy.
“It’s a shock,” said Duke University professor for conservation ecology
Stuart Pimm, one of the paper’s co-authors. “Savannah Africa has been
massively reduced. . . . As [people] moved in, lions have been hunted out.”
The findings come just one week after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
announced it will study whether African lions should be listed under the
Endangered Species Act, a move that would end the importation of trophies
into the United States. Several groups petitioned the agency last year to
list the species, though some conservationists argue trophy hunting
provides a source of revenue to local communities, which helps keep savannah
habitat intact.
Thomas E. Lovejoy, University Professor in Science and Public Policy at
George Mason University, said the paper’s authors “have made a historical
contribution” by showing how dramatically Africa’s viable terrain for
lions has declined in recent decades. Lions used to roam much of Africa and
Eurasia but are now limited to sub-Saharan Africa. A small population of a
separate species inhabits the Gir Forest National Park of India.
Lovejoy said the fact that savannah habitat loss is outpacing the decline of
the world’s tropical rain forests “is terrifying when combined with the
prospects of population growth and land-use change in Africa.”
To reach their assessment, the paper’s lead author, Jason Riggio, who
received his master’s degree from Duke, assembled a team of graduate
students to examine high-resolution satellite imagery of Africa from Google
Earth to determine what could qualify as suitable lion habitat. They then
compared that information with existing lion population data, concluding
that there are only 67 isolated areas in Africa where lions might survive.
Part of the challenge lions face is that when they venture outside national
parks, they may kill livestock and come into conflict with humans, Pimm said.
Lovejoy said he was optimistic that sufficient public pressure will build
for U.S. officials to take action. The officials will decide within a year
whether to list African lions as endangered.
“This is something the public can easily get,” he said, adding that lions
are the kind of “animal cracker animals” everyone has revered since
childhood.
The study does not, however, answer one of the central questions federal
officials must answer: whether trophy hunting helps or undermines the
species’ ultimate survival.
Jeff Flocken, Washington office director of the International Fund for
Animal Welfare, said Americans are responsible for importing 64 percent of
the lions hunted for sport in Africa, and that the practice destabilizes
prides.
But hunting groups such as Safari Club International, and some environmental
organizations, say a trophy ban could have unintended consequences.
Luke Hunter, president of the wild cat conservation group Panthera, said
even though he finds lion hunting “ridiculous and abhorrent, as a scientist
I have to ask myself whether it can be a tool for conservation.”
While current studies suggest African lion hunting “is unsustainable,”
Hunter added, ending it could accelerate the large-scale land conservation
that poses the greatest threat to lions. “The danger is you stop that
revenue stream, all those areas are up for grabs.”
Study: African lion population shrinks to 32,000
The savannah habitat that sustains African lions has shrunk by 75
percent over the past half-century, according to a study published
Tuesday in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation, a dramatic loss that
could threaten the species’ survival.
The new analysis by American, African and British researchers — which
suggests the continent’s lion population has declined from 100,000 to
roughly 32,000 over 50 years — provides a clear picture of where the
animals now live and how major land-use changes and population growth have
put them in jeopardy.
“It’s a shock,” said Duke University professor for conservation ecology
Stuart Pimm, one of the paper’s co-authors. “Savannah Africa has been
massively reduced. . . . As [people] moved in, lions have been hunted out.”
The findings come just one week after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
announced it will study whether African lions should be listed under the
Endangered Species Act, a move that would end the importation of trophies
into the United States. Several groups petitioned the agency last year to
list the species, though some conservationists argue trophy hunting
provides a source of revenue to local communities, which helps keep savannah
habitat intact.
Thomas E. Lovejoy, University Professor in Science and Public Policy at
George Mason University, said the paper’s authors “have made a historical
contribution” by showing how dramatically Africa’s viable terrain for
lions has declined in recent decades. Lions used to roam much of Africa and
Eurasia but are now limited to sub-Saharan Africa. A small population of a
separate species inhabits the Gir Forest National Park of India.
Lovejoy said the fact that savannah habitat loss is outpacing the decline of
the world’s tropical rain forests “is terrifying when combined with the
prospects of population growth and land-use change in Africa.”
To reach their assessment, the paper’s lead author, Jason Riggio, who
received his master’s degree from Duke, assembled a team of graduate
students to examine high-resolution satellite imagery of Africa from Google
Earth to determine what could qualify as suitable lion habitat. They then
compared that information with existing lion population data, concluding
that there are only 67 isolated areas in Africa where lions might survive.
Part of the challenge lions face is that when they venture outside national
parks, they may kill livestock and come into conflict with humans, Pimm said.
Lovejoy said he was optimistic that sufficient public pressure will build
for U.S. officials to take action. The officials will decide within a year
whether to list African lions as endangered.
“This is something the public can easily get,” he said, adding that lions
are the kind of “animal cracker animals” everyone has revered since
childhood.
The study does not, however, answer one of the central questions federal
officials must answer: whether trophy hunting helps or undermines the
species’ ultimate survival.
Jeff Flocken, Washington office director of the International Fund for
Animal Welfare, said Americans are responsible for importing 64 percent of
the lions hunted for sport in Africa, and that the practice destabilizes
prides.
But hunting groups such as Safari Club International, and some environmental
organizations, say a trophy ban could have unintended consequences.
Luke Hunter, president of the wild cat conservation group Panthera, said
even though he finds lion hunting “ridiculous and abhorrent, as a scientist
I have to ask myself whether it can be a tool for conservation.”
While current studies suggest African lion hunting “is unsustainable,”
Hunter added, ending it could accelerate the large-scale land conservation
that poses the greatest threat to lions. “The danger is you stop that
revenue stream, all those areas are up for grabs.”
