ifaw lions fact sheet

7/18/2019 IFAW Lions Fact Sheet

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Saving Lions fromTrophy Hunting 

F  A S T  F  A C T S    Lions onc e oc c upied  Asia f r om t he M id d le E ast  t o E ast er n Ind ia. T hey  ar e now  ex t inc t  in t heir  ent ir e Asian r ange, ex c ept  f or  a single isolat ed  populat ion of  a f ew  hund r ed  in Ind ia’ s Gir  F or est . It  is est imat ed  t hat  a c ent ur y  ago, t her e c ould  hav e 

been as many  as 2 0 0 ,0 0 0  lions liv ing in Af r ic a. T he lat est  sur v ey s est imat e t hat  t her e ar e f ew er  t han 40 ,0 0 0  w ild  lions in Af r ic a t od ay .

Lions ar e now  f ound  in only  a hand f ul of  Af r ic an c oun-t r ies, and  mor e t han 8 0 % of  t heir  hist or ic  r ange is gone. T he gr eat est  t hr eat s t o lions ar e k illing by  people w ho ow n liv est oc k , habit at  loss, and  loss of  pr ey  base. In ad d it ion t o ot her  t hr eat s ov er  t he last  d ec ad e, at  

least  5 ,6 6 3  lions w er e t r ad ed  int er nat ionally  f or  t r ophy  hunt ing pur poses. M or e t han half  of  t hese lions w er e impor t ed  t o t he U nit ed  St at es. 

The problem:Lions are in peril as never before due to growinghuman populations and corresponding habitat loss,loss of prey species, human-lion conflict, and sadly,over-exploitation from trophy-hunting. Lions haveall but disappeared from their historic habitat outsideof Africa and with an estimated 40,000 individuals orfewer remaining in the wild, lions face a real riskof extinction.

Our solution:IFAW takes a holistic approach to protectinglions and other wildlife including promoting policy change, building capacity in range statesfor anti-poaching patrols, providing wildlife tradeenforcement trainings, and supporting community-based development projects that help both wildlifeand the human communities thrive.

How you can help:GET INVOLVED   Learn more about lions and otherthreatened wild carnivores in the IFAW report: “The Fading Callof the Wild: A Status Update on 15 Species of Disappearing WildCats and Canids.” http://www.ifaw.org/callofthewild

DONATE  Donate to IFAW to support habitat protectionand anti-poaching efforts in Africa and the campaign to endthe unsustainable and unnecessary killing of lions by Americancitizens. To donate, go to: www.ifaw.org/donate or call 1-800-

932-4329.

One of the most easily addressed threats to lionsis trophy hunting, primarily by wealthy overseastourists. United States citizens account for morethan 50% of the lions killed for trophies. IFAW has joined a coalition including Defenders of Wildlife,Born Free, Humane Society of the United Statesand Humane Society International, to petitionthe US government to

list lions as Endangeredunder the EndangeredSpecies Act. This listing will make it illegal for UScitizens to import deadlion trophies into theUnited States and willdramatically decrease thenumber of lions killedfor sport.

International Fund for Animal Welfare | 290 Summer Street Yarmouth Port, MA 02675 | 800-932-4329

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