the congo lion ( panthera leo melanochaita ) is a lion population in central africa .

formerly , it was recognized as a distinct subspecies under the scientific name panthera leo azandica , which was considered native to the democratic republic of the congo and western parts of uganda .

it was also known as the uganda lion .

congo lion

the congo lion or northeast congo lion ( panthera leo azandica ) , was proposed as a lion subspecies from the northeastern part of the democratic republic of the congo and western parts of uganda . it is also known as the
uganda lion .
the congo lion ( panthera leo azandica ) or northeast congo lion , also known as the uganda lion , was proposed as a lion subspecies from northeastern d . r . congo and western parts of uganda . their taxonomic history dates back to the early 20th century .
located in the democratic republic of the congo , but no evidence of lion presence was found . there is a single lion conservation unit in the
in africa , lion populations once lived outside this strict savannah zone . for example , until recently a lion population was present in forest - savannah mosaics in gabon and the republic of congo ( “congo - brazzaville” ) ( henschel
regional strains or subspecies of african lion : panthera leo azandica ( north east congo lion ) , p l bleyenberghi ( katanga / southwest african lion ) , p l hollisteri ( congo lion ) , p l krugeri ( south african / southeast african lion of which the white lion is a colour variant ) , p l leo / p l berberisca ( barbary lion , extinct in the wild ) , p l melanochaita ( extinct cape lion ) , p l massaicus ( masai lion ) , p l nubica ( ethiopian / nubian / east african lion ) , p l roosevelti ( abyssinian lion ) , p l somaliensis ( somali lion ) , p l senegalensis ( senegal / west african lion ) , p l verneyi ( kalahari lion ) .
issued a face value of 50 , 000 francs by the republic of congo .
congo silver african lion coins are an annual silver coin release of the republic of congo . the coins debuted with the 1 oz release in 2015 , and prior to the release of the 2016 10 oz congo silver african lion coin , there had never been larger weight coins . previous releases were limited to 1 oz silver coins .
the northeast congo lion has been around since 120 , 000 years ago , which was when scientists estimated that the lion subspecies had diverged from a common ancestor . they now live in the congo , but it is unlikely that they had originated there .
the congo landscape is home to people , wildlife , and the second largest rainforest in the world .
the reverse of each 2016 congo silver african lion coin bears the coat of arms for the republic of congo . in addition to the engravings of the nation’s full name , the face value of the coin , and its weight , purity , and metal content , you’ll find the crest of the republic of congo . featuring a lion in the center of the shield , a pair of massive elephant heads prop up the shield on either side .
northeast congo lion - - is extremely rare in the wild and in danger of becoming extinct . | tigers and other big cats | pinterest | extinct , lions and cat
congo is notorious for his grumpy attitude . he can be very aggressive and likes to settle arguments through fighting .
before meeting congo , timon worries that he ' ll be squashed by the young elephant , and pumbaa attempts to comfort him by telling jokes . when the friends at last meet congo , the young elephant refuses to return to the pride lands . timon threatens to remove congo by force , and congo laughs , doubting timon ' s claim that pumbaa is stronger than him . he then challenges pumbaa to a fight , promising to think about returning to the pride lands if the warthog wins .
in the congo river basin , virunga national park in the democratic republic of the congo , and the adjacent queen elizabeth national park in uganda may be a potential stronghold for lions in central africa , if poaching is curbed and prey species recover .
young lions often leave their natal home in search of new territory and mates , roaming hundreds of kilometers if necessary . henschel believes this lion most likely swam across the congo river from the malebo region of the democratic republic of the congo , 250 kilometers away ; an area where other biologists have spotted lions in recent years .
stronghold in queen elizabeth national park , uganda , and parc national des virunga , democratic republic of congo . oryx 43 : 60–66
lions are known to live a few hundred kilometers ( miles ) away in democratic republic of congo and henschel said the animal could have swum across the congo river , one of the world ' s largest , and traveled over to gabon ' s savannah .
there’s another release in the 2016 congo silver african lion coin series , and it’s one of the three new products available in the young series . these coins debuted in 2015 , and continued in 2016 with the 1 oz coin’s release . now , three additional weights are available in this silver coin series . the 2016 10 oz congo silver african lion coin is available in bu condition courtesy of jm bullion .
women in the democratic republic of congo ( drc ) have faced many challenges as a result of ongoing conflict and social . . .
since 1996 , african lion populations have been assessed as vulnerable by iucn . they are killed pre - emptively or in retaliation for preying on livestock , and are threatened by depletion of prey base , loss and conversion of habitat . to address these threats , lion - human conflict needs to be reduced , and lion habitat and prey base increased . no captive individual of the congo lion population is registered in the international species information system .
today , lowland rainforest stretches 1 , 000 kilometers to the north of the plateau , separating it from small lion populations in cameroon and the central african republic . to the south , the congo river separates gabon from the few remaining lions in the democratic republic of the congo . both the dense rainforest and the deep river are formidable obstacles for lions seeking new territory . but that’s exactly what henschel thinks this lion was doing .
on the obverse of the 2016 10 oz congo silver african lion coin is the image of a male and female lion as they prowl the savanna for food . included in the larger surface area of this coin you’ll find another female lion working with the pair , and the mountain in the background has more of its size and scope visible courtesy of the extra space .
awf created the congo shipping project as a means to help . the civil war destroyed the infrastructure and the only means farmers along the banks of the congo and maringa rivers had to bring their goods to market . struggling for their own survival , they fled into the forest for food . to help farmers return to their fields—rather than stay in forests and degrade those resources—awf initiated the return of cargo boats to the congo and maringa rivers .
the lion population is inferred to have undergone a reduction of approximately 43 % over the past 21 years ( approximately three lion generations , 1993 - 2014 ) .
, where since 1995 no sign of lion presence was detected during surveys . in
felid taxon advisory group ( aza ) : panthera leo . african lion fact sheet
) jaguar conservation units . lcus are areas of known , occasional or possible lion range that one could consider an ecological unit of importance for lion conservation ( iucn
incorporate “permanent” lion distributions that more recent reports identify as such and , when possible , remove areas listed as having “possible , temporary , or occasional” lion populations .
the democratic republic of congo itself is recovering from years of civil war and striving to rebuild the livelihoods of its people , infrastructure , and environment .
basic facts about congo lions .
defenders of wildlife . n . p . , 20 mar . 2012 . web . 28 nov . 2015 .
tree - climbing lion , ishasha sector of the queen elizabeth national park , uganda .
we wanted to take a few minutes to close the story of male lion cabral .
, but this number includes areas described as containing both occasional and probable lion populations .
bauer h ( 2006 ) synthesis of threats , distribution and status of the lion from the two lion conservation strategies . in : second large carnivore workshop . cedc , maroua
we created lion areas by modifying lcus with updated information and observed land conversion or predictions of high human population density . we find broad agreement between our lion areas and lcus . there are important differences , however . our lion areas consider all places containing resident lion populations , not just those regions deemed important for lion conservation . in addition , our explicit habitat modelling allows for updated future assessments . it also permits us to understand where and how rapidly lion populations have become isolated , a subject we will address elsewhere .
until recently , lions roamed throughout the plateau , a mosaic of forest and grassland spanning 200 , 000 square kilometers across southern gabon , congo , and the democratic republic of the congo . but the last confirmed lion sighting in gabon occurred in 1995 . and when henschel surveyed the area in 2001 and 2003 as part of a government - wide evaluation , he found more signs of poachers than of wildlife .
n our new amazing animals video series urltoken gets up close and personal with some interesting animals . discover how animals mature , learn about their diet and find out if they are endangered . this week we are at bowmanville zoo . meet congo , an 11 - month - old lion . watch congo and his younger sister , gracie , meet each other for the first time . congo is the great - grandson of the late bongo , one of the most famous movie animals . bongo starred in the ghost and the darkness , george of the jungle and in the tv series animorphs
virunga is africa’s oldest national park and a treasured world heritage site . it’s the size of a small country , straddling the equator in democratic republic of the congo .
allen , j . a . ( 1924 ) . carnivora collected by the american museum congo expedition . bulletin of the american museum of natural history 47 : 73–281 .
congo is an elephant calf who lived during scar ' s reign . due to the poor conditions of the pride lands , he left to live in the jungle .
the two fight , and pumbaa wins the match . an impressed congo proclaims that he hasn ' t had so much fun in a long time and promises to
pack up his trunks
and return to the pride lands . when timon questions him , congo explains that he plans to bring a few tree trunks with him .
one of the greatest threats to wildlife in the democratic republic of congo ( drc ) is loss of habitat due to land conversion , human encroachment , . . .
the congo shipping project has drastically reduced the amount of land lost to unsustainable farming practices . with your support awf can implement other programs that will limit habitat loss .
an african lion climed so high on tree . . . . . . african rainforest in
) is not very much different from the other seven species of lion . the name ‘
situated between the lopori and maringa rivers , the congo landscape features mesmerizing scenery and wildlife . it holds the congo basin , home to 1 , 000 bird species , more than 400 fish species , three of the world’s five great apes , 10 , 000 species of plants , and the second - largest tropical forest in the world .
each of these 2016 10 oz congo silver african lion coins are in brilliant uncirculated condition . coins with a bu grade exhibit no signs of wear and tear , but do feature minor blemishes such as breaks in the luster , spotted surfaces , or contact marks .
beautiful trek thru ishasha forest which borders uganda and the congo . 600 species of birds and of coarse the tree climbing lions . another awesome day in the bush ! !
the 60 , 000 - square - kilometer bili - uélé domaine de chasse is the largest protected area in the democratic republic of congo ( drc ) and . . .
, here ' s a young male lion photographed in uganda ' s kidepo valley national park .
this map contains our best estimates of lion areas—places that , as best we can tell , likely have resident lion populations . human impacts delineate many of these areas . how human impacts have changed—and will change—give clues needed to understand past lion population trends and allows us to speculate about their future .
lion areas across africa . lion areas ( light or dark green , outlined in purple ) , lcus ( orange outline ) , lion areas with boundaries identical to lcus ( light or dark green outlined in brown ) and protected areas with lions ( dark green ) . ( color figure online )
for this assessment , we do not aim to provide a new estimate of total lion numbers , we present no new data . a recent paper summarized and updated efforts to estimate the population size of the african lion leading to the most recent estimate of 32 , 000 lions in 67 lion areas ( riggio
i didn’t see spartacus again after this encounter , but the “lion king” photo above went viral online .
) survives in india . recent research has demonstrated that the lion in west and central africa is genetically different from the lion in east and southern africa and more closely resembles asiatic populations ( bertola et al .
african lion distribution adapted from urltoken according to iucn fact sheet click here for detailed distribution ( iucn ) .
it is known that hybrids between the barbary lion and other african lion subspecies are held in zoos . there are only a few remaining pure - bred barbary lions and careful management is required to avoid excessive inbreeding . it may , therefore , become necessary to analyse the dna of hybrids and to use those with the greatest proportions of barbary lion dna and the closest resemblance to the barbary lion ' s appearance . if the latter is the case , the barabary lion would be a recreation of the type rather than a restoration of the subspecies .
you can help protect one of man’s closest relatives—the endagered bonobo . vital supplies are needed for scouts in the faunal reserve of lomako - yokokala , a critical bonobo habitat in the democratic republic of congo .
we take the opportunity on this day to reflect on the past year in our lion conservation and research activities .
though we may have lost a lion ' s life recently . . . it appears new life is beginning .
the forest lion of gabon , captured by a remote video camera . ( photo : philipp henschel / panthera )
. ) . as noted above , the area devoted to lion hunting is large and lindsey et al . (
central africa may have sizable lion and prey populations , but they are poorly known , even by african standards .
‘ is from it’s area of distribution , which is in the north eastern part of the congo . they have a life span of approximately ten to fourteen years in the wild and inhabit the grassland areas .
lion conservation units ( lcus ) . lion conservation units are expert opinions typically produced at meetings by freehand drawing of boundaries on maps . they can combine considerable experience and profound ignorance , of course , and beg objectively defined criteria . we used existing delineations ( step 1 ) . we occasionally made small modifications to them by adding small , adjacent areas of low human impact . since the creation of lcus in 2005 / 2006 , a number of detailed countrywide reports have produced updated lion range maps . we include these new data on lion distribution for the refined lion areas .
i for the life of me cannot understand why the thought of the last giraffe standing in the congo gets such little attention . . the last giraffe in the drc are in imminent danger of disappearing forever . .
treves , a . , plumptre , a . j . , hunter , l . t . , & ziwa , j . ( 2009 ) . identifying a potential lion panthera leo stronghold in queen elizabeth national park , uganda , and parc national des virunga , democratic republic of congo . oryx 43 ( 01 ) : 60–66 .
the congo lions also belong to the subspecies of the african lion . however , this clade of african lions was the one that gave the birth to the asiatic lions ( including barbary lions / persian lions / european lions ) . like their endangered descendants from outside of the sub saharan africa , their population is also becoming extremely vulnerable . i think these african lions are the most suitable ones to get involved into the asiatic lion breeding program . reply
iucn ( 2006b ) conservation strategy for the lion in west and central africa . iucn ssc cat specialist group , yaounde
hidden cameras planted as part of a chimpanzee study in southeastern gabon ' s bateke plateau have captured on tape a single male lion three times since january , said dr . philipp henschel , lion program survey coordinator for campaign group panthera .
the regional lion conservation strategies of 2006 defined “lion conservation units” ( lcus ) . these are expert - defined regions intended to classify areas suitable for lions , an idea already in use by the conservation community following sanderson et al . ’s (
seven additional lion areas are potential lion strongholds , which contain nearly 4 , 400 lions ( table s1 ) . these include two populations in west and central africa . the only remaining regions with potentially large numbers of lions that could act as future lion strongholds are angola , somalia , and the western half of south sudan . the data on lion populations in these regions are relatively poor , while political instability makes the protection of wildlife in some areas difficult in the near future .
despite only being a calf , congo is considerably broad and robust , with a strong physique and impressive fighting skills . his hide is pale gray in color , though his underbelly is pale , and his eyes are black .
african wildlife foundation has helped farmers return to the congo river as a means of finding new markets for their goods . to improve livelihoods and reduce locals’ reliance on wildlife hunting for survival , efforts like this need continued funding .
) assessed lion range in west and central africa , they noted 20 lcus in the region . henschel et al . (
a lion bred on a farm in south africa for commercial use . photograph : stephane de sakutin / afp / getty images
breeders argue it is better that hunters shoot a captive - bred lion than further endanger the wild populations , but conservationists and animal welfare groups dispute this . wild populations of lions have declined by 80 % in 20 years , so the rise of lion farms and canned hunting has not protected wild lions . in fact , according to fiona miles , director of lionsrock , a big cat sanctuary in south africa run by the charity four paws , it is fuelling it . the lion farms ' creation of a market for canned lion hunts puts a clear price - tag on the head of every wild lion , she says ; they create a financial incentive for local people , who collude with poachers or turn a blind eye to illegal lion kills . trophy - hunters who begin with a captive - bred lion may then graduate to the real , wild thing .
our two objectives address the need for an updated geographical framework onto which we can map the numbers of lions and the areas they occupy . countrywide estimates of lion numbers fail to capture the size and degree of isolation and consequent population viability . nor do they show the trans - boundary distributions of many lion populations . here we present all known lion population data in a single map .
a final component in assessing the status of lions determines which populations are “lion strongholds , ” by meeting the necessary requirements for long - term viability . the concept of a lion stronghold is not new and recent calls for lion conservation action have included the need to “…identify regional strongholds for the species that have the highest probability of persistence in the long - term” ( treves et al .
population estimates for each region after segregation based on size classes . in parenthesis is the number of lion areas in each size class
: - ) four of the seven parks managed by african parks have known resident lion populations : garamba np ( drc ) , liuwa plain np ( zambia ) , majete wildlife reserve ( malawi ) , and zakouma np ( chad ) . african parks has implemented , supported and funded vital lion conservation management programmes in these areas and our continuing work is ensuring the long time survival of these populations . if you would like to support our lion conservation efforts as well as other lion conservation organisations , click on the link below
within the congo landscape , years of civil unrest have virtually destroyed the infrastructure along the banks of the congo and maringa rivers that allowed farmers to bring their crops to market . as the civil war in the drc continued , impoverished farmers fled deep into the forest in search of food . this led to deforestation and an increase in the hunting and selling of bushmeat , which has reduced the number of bonobos to an estimated 30 , 000 to 50 , 000 left in the world .
three hours ' drive from the ranch is lionsrock , a former lion breeding farm transformed into a sanctuary for more than 80 abused big cats since it was bought by four paws . some come from local breeding farms , but four paws also rescues animals kept in appalling conditions in zoos in romania , jordan and the congo . unlike in the lion farms , the animals here are not allowed to breed , and instead live within large enclosures in their natural prides , family groups of up to 10 lions .
project life lion
is a major campaign to vaccinate as many dogs as possible to guard against canine distemper . ( sunquist )
) . densities of prey also vary widely when considering the variation in rainfall and soil type across lion range ( coe et al .
lionsrock can rehouse another 100 lions but does not have space for every captive - bred lion in south africa . four paws and other charities working in south africa want a moratorium on lion breeding because they fear that if lion farms were abruptly outlawed thousands of lions would be dumped or killed . after its high court defeat , there is little sign that the south african government will take on the powerful lion breeders again any time soon .
if we can stop people supporting those industries in the first place and make them aware of what ' s actually going on and what the life of a [ captive - bred ] lion is actually like , i believe there will be an outcry ,
says miles .
there ' s far more value for a live lion long - term .
like many african animals , the northeast congo lions are also an endangered species and the reason is loss of their habitat . their numbers have fallen by fifty percent in the last two decades . an international breeding program is trying to increase their population .
. they are killed pre - emptively or in retaliation for preying on livestock , and are threatened by depletion of prey base , loss and conversion of habitat . to address these threats , lion - human conflict needs to be reduced , and lion habitat and prey base increased .
) . we still decided to use these lcus , however , as a starting point and as an important international reference for lion conservation .
chardonnet p ( 2002 ) conservation of the african lion : contribution to a status survey . international foundation for the conservation of wildlife , france
with your help , awf can continue working on vital programs like helping farmers sell their crops in faraway markets or reducing deforestation in critical bonobo habitat . donate for a cause that will help the people , their land , and wildlife conservation within the congo landscape .
in sub - saharan africa , the lion conservation community works in the context of four regions : west , central , east , and southern .
in the wild the average lifespan of a lion is up to 16 years , but in captivity , they often live 10 years beyond that .
. ) as we define it , this domain is most of africa south of the sahara , excluding the tropical moist forests of west africa , the congo , patches of montane forests throughout east africa , and drier areas in the southwest , such as the namib .
i would like to see images and have current news of lions in the garamba and virunga parks . i do not know of any lion conservation program in this country , i have no information about their situation , their numbers , and their current area of occurrence . the democratic republic of congo ( drc ) is fighting for the conservation of its last 35 giraffes in garamba . already the lions ? no information .
introducing the kabobo natural reserve in the democratic republic of congo ! this newly - created protected area is home to chimpanzees , hippos , elephants , and lions . wcs surveys here in recent years discovered new mammals and plants ( and likely amphibians ) previously unknown to science .
henschel p ( 2009 ) the status and conservation of leopards and other large carnivores in the congo basin , and the potential role of reintroduction . in : hayward mw , somers m ( eds ) reintroduction of top - order predators . blackwell publishing , oxford , pp 206–237
for the convenience of the reader , there are 2 accepted lion sub - species – panthera leo persica ( asian / asiatic / south asian lion ) and the african lion ( p leo leo ) . these have differences in anatomy . the european lion ( p l europaea ) is now extinct . sub - saharan african lions are genetically and anatomically similar enough to be considered a single subspecies , but differences in size , mane , colour and behaviour has led to localised populations being considered subspecies by some taxonomists . they are possibly more analogous to
breeds
as found in domestic cats .
i would like to see images and have current news of lions in the garamba and virunga parks . i do not know of any lion conservation program in this country , i have no information about their situation , their numbers , and their current area of occurrence . the democratic republic of congo ( drc ) is fighting for the conservation of its last 35 giraffes in garamba . already the lions ? no information . reply
) . those reports rightly generated considerable efforts to improve population estimates across africa . however , a recent meeting of the african lion working group in etosha , namibia , suggested that these regional lion conservation strategies had a poor follow - up and needed an urgent update ( see final communiqué from the 2
we compiled all of the most current available estimates of lion populations—see supplementary materials . three continent - wide assessments provide the core of these data ( chardonnet
make a symbolic sea lion adoption to help save some of the world ' s most endangered animals from extinction and support wwf ' s conservation efforts .
its affinity for forest cover might have helped . two days after henschel saw the lion images he was at the park setting up more camera traps , placing most of them in typical lion habitat in the savannah . “none of those cameras have filmed that lion , ” henschel says . “whereas the cameras we set up in forest areas have filmed it repeatedly . ” henschel speculates that the forest might provide refuge from people , which the lion could now fear . “he seems to have adapted to a life in the forest . but how an animal that size hunts in the forest we don’t know yet . ”
1916 : the roar of a lion from the panama - california exposition in san diego , inspired dr . harry wegeforth to establish the san diego zoo .
) ( table s3 ) . on the other hand , some lion areas were overlooked and not included in lcus ( table s4 ) . in the supplementary materials , table s5 highlights examples of lion populations showing differences between the major population assessments and compares them to the most recent data used for this analysis .
if you have questions , we encourage you to reach out to jm bullion . our customer service team is available on the phone at 800 - 276 - 6508 , online using our live web chat service , and via our email address . check out our full selection of congo silver coins .
) . supplementing these continent - wide reports , we added lion conservation strategies and action plans that highlight the status of lions in specific countries . we searched the primary articles these reports cite and newly published lion population surveys to obtain the most up - to - date data on lion numbers and distribution . most of these reports include expert opinions on lion numbers or structured surveys , not formal counts . we also include individual personal comments from the authors and colleagues on the numbers in supplementary materials . given how difficult it is to count lions this inevitably begs the question of how good are these expert opinions , an issue we address in “
shows the lion areas across the african continent by their respective size class . currently 27 countries across africa contain resident populations of free - ranging lions ( fig .
repeated mapping of areas which have at least the potential for lions because of their low human impacts may provide the only quantifiable measures of how savannah africa is shrinking from the lion’s viewpoint . this is necessary , but definitely not sufficient . the lack of repeated , statistically credible lion counts , for well - defined areas is a striking omission , one that must be rectified if we are to assess not only the trends in lion numbers , but our success in reversing their declines .
ferreira sm , funston pj ( 2010 ) estimating lion population variables : prey and disease effects in kruger national park , south africa . wildl res 37 : 194–206
. ( 2015 ) the red list guidelines are ambiguous as to the inclusion or exclusion of fenced areas . their exclusion from the analysis would raise the inferred lion decline rate to 49 % . following through on our supposition that unmonitored lion populations have undergone an even higher rate than our monitored sample , this could potentially have been interpreted as a suspected rate of decline over 50 % , qualifying the lion as endangered . however , we did not exclude fenced populations from our assessment . hayward
there have been many subspecies of all four panthera species suggested ; however , many of the leopard and lion subspecies are questionable . recently it has been proposed that all sub - saharan populations of leopards are all the same leopard subspecies , and all sub - saharan populations of lions likewise belong to the same lion subspecies , as they do not have sufficient genetic distinction between them . some prehistoric lion subspecies have been described from historical evidence and fossils . they may have been separate species .
) delineated lcus . they include national parks , hunting zones and other forms of land use . to determine the current extent and distribution of lion areas we further refined these lcus using additional data that we will describe in the sections to come : ( 1 ) user - identified land conversion , ( 2 ) human population density , ( 3 ) lion distribution from country - specific reports , and ( 4 ) additional data from recent lion population surveys . we utilised these four data layers to refine lion areas using the following , rule - based hierarchical system ( rule # 2 takes precedence over the information in rule # 1 , etc . ) :
. 2014 ) . little is known about lion subpopulations in angola , central african republic and south sudan , but we fear drastic declines especially for the latter two .
to apply the user - identified land conversion layer to the creation of lion areas , we converted the google earth products ( keyhole markup language , or kml files ) to a raster dataset in arcgis . then , we ran the boundary clean tool to remove cells of data too small to have an impact on lion distribution . we converted this raster to a polygon to smooth the lion area borders . both the original and cleaned versions of these layers are available as kml files from the authors on request .
bauer h , de iongh hh , princee fpg , ngantou d ( 2003 ) research needs for lion conservation in west and central africa . comptes rendus biol 326 : 112–118
. ) conversely , the maps sometimes suggest areas with low human impact that connect existing protected areas—as do the lcus . in some cases , lion areas extended beyond the lcus .
lion breeders such as van der merwe are not so sure . she says her caged lions have little to do with canned hunting , but admits that if the authorities banned canned hunting ,
it would probably not be good for us … there ' s a lot of people from overseas coming to shoot lions . all the people know you come to africa to shoot the lion or have a mount against your wall to say ' i ' ve shot a lion ' . they surely bring some money into south africa .
we evaluate the state of the african savannah with two objectives , namely estimating the areas of savannah still suitable for lion populations and estimating the lion populations themselves within these areas . if areas retain lions , the continent’s top predator , they are likely to be reasonably intact ecosystems . by considering the size of savannah africa from the lion’s perspective , we can assess how much of it remains in large , relatively intact areas , not yet heavily modified by human influence . clearly , smaller areas will still support less complete sets of species .
demand from the far east is also driving profits for lions breeders . in 2001 , two lions were exported as
trophies
to china , laos and vietnam ; in 2011 , 70 lion trophies were exported to those nations . while the trade in tiger parts is now illegal , demand for lion parts for traditional asian medicine is soaring . in 2009 , five lion skeletons were exported from south africa to laos ; in 2011 , it was 496 . the legal export of lion bones and whole carcasses has also soared .
it ' s definitely a rapidly growing source of revenue for these canned breeding facilities ,
says will travers of the charity born free .
the increase and volume are terrifying .
in the meantime , the lion of gabon walks the forest paths alone—an outlier in so many ways , but a hopeful sign that the remarkable dispersal of the past might happen again .
) . these lcus arose from regional workshops held in 2005 and 2006 and maps included in the regional strategy reports delineate them . however , recent lion field surveys in west and central africa revealed that much of the information on lion distribution used for defining these lcus is either out of date or was not very accurate in the first place ( henschel et al .
applying user - identified land conversion whenever possible and human population density where not , we examined each lcu and modified it as appropriate to create lion areas . for example , fig .
it was originally hoped that the hybrids could be introduced into the wild to bolster the asian lion stock , but instead of hybrid vigour , the programme resulted in inbreeding depression . the hybrids have apparently weakened the asian lion ' s gene pool , resulting in lions with physical and mental defects and weakened immune systems . reports are suggestive of postzygotic incompatibility between the lion subspecies , however some of the defects are probably attributable to inbreeding of a limited gene pool ( hybrid or otherwise ) for mass - production and not simply to the lions being hybrids .
) who assessed the risk of inbreeding in lion populations due to habitat loss . he determined that , “…to sustain a large out - bred population of lions , a continuous population of at least 50 prides , but preferably 100 prides , with no limits to dispersal is required . ” we took the average lion pride as containing approximately five adults ( bauer et al .
a lion has been spotted in gabon for the first time in nearly 20 years , raising hopes the animals long feared extinct in the country could be returning , conservationists said on thursday .
asian lion = critically endangered . single population of ~ 250 mature breeding individuals , all occurring within one area . numbers are expected to suffer a decrease due to increasing conflict with people .
in 1913 , heller gave the taxonomic name
panthera leo nyanzae
to lions in uganda . in 1924 , allen gave the trinomen
panthera leo hollisteri
to lions on the northern bank of lake victoria , before ugandan lions were seen as being of the same subspecies as those in the northeastern part of the democratic republic of the congo .
henschel is now the lion survey project coordinator for panthera , a global wildcat conservation organization . since last month’s discovery , his group , along with the max planck institute for evolutionary anthropology’s pan africa programme and the aspinall foundation , have repeatedly captured clear video footage of a male lion walking down a forest path in gabon’s batéké plateau national park—an ecological wonder for more reasons than one .
neck - bite common in many mating cats ( probably to induce temporary passiveness in female ) has become ritualized in the lion . ( light , brief bites in 60 % of observed matings )
map showing the new boundaries of the niokolo - guinea lion area after restriction of the niokolo - guinea lcu with user - identified land conversion . the original niokolo - guinea lcu ( orange outline ) , user - identified land conversion ( dark grey ) , protected areas ( dark green ) , and lion areas ( light green , outlined in purple ) . ( color figure online )
henschel p , azani d , burton c , malanda g , saidu y et al ( 2010 ) lion status updates from five range countries in west and central africa . cat news 52 : 34–39
the overall classification of the lion as vulnerable masks a dichotomy : we observe that sample lion subpopulations increased by 12 % in four southern african countries ( botswana , namibia , south africa and zimbabwe ) and in india , while an observed decline of 60 % in sample subpopulations outside these countries is inferred for the remainder of its african range . in other words , in the majority of its range the lion meets the a2 criterion for endangered with the inferred rate of decline over 50 % in three generations , but this trend is numerically mitigated by a small number of subpopulations in a restricted geographical range .
pieter kat , who founded the charity lion aid , says the lion walks are simply another income stream for breeders before their lucrative charges are sold on . van der merwe is doubtful that quinn ' s lion walks could replace the income the farm receives from selling its lions :
we keep them up until six months for attractions for the people so they can play with them and then we sell them to other lion parks ,
she says . she insists her ranch ' s website is wrong , and it does not hunt lions :
we sell them to other people who have the permit for lions . what they do with the lions is up to them . so we don ' t know what they do with the lions , but we don ' t do the canned hunting .
) . if a lion area has at least 250 individuals but does not satisfy either requirement ( 2 ) or ( 3 ) , it is a potential stronghold . we explore these criteria in the “
) . whether trophy hunters and the reports they fund also consistently inflate lion numbers to ensure continued business should be detached from any heated rhetoric and viewed simply as the legitimate scientific question that it is .
becker ms , watson fgr , droge e , leigh k , carlson rs , carlson aa ( 2012 ) . estimating past and future male loss in three zambian lion populations . j wild manag . doi :
loveridge a , searle a , murindagomo f , macdonald d ( 2007 ) the impact of sport - hunting on the population dynamics of an african lion population in a protected area . biol conserv 134 : 548–558
medium - sized prey grabbed by rump with forepaws and brought down . killing bite to throat strangles prey ( may hold for as long as 10 minutes ) . while one lion grasps throat others begin to eat .
davidson z , valeix m , loveridge a , madzikanda h , macdonald d ( 2011 ) socio - spatial behaviour of an african lion population following perturbation by sport hunting . biol conserv 144 ( 1 ) : 114–121
. ( 2013 ) include numbers from 2002 and 2004 for areas where we believe the downward trend described above occurred . we therefore consider these sources to be insufficiently precautionary for our purpose and feel that an assessment on numbers is less robust than our assessment based on trends . considering the difficulty in interpreting lion numbers and the availability of an alternative ( see above ) , we decided not to use total lion numbers for the present assessment
african lion = vulnerable . species population reductin of 30 % - 50 % over the past 2 decades ( 3 lion generations ) . recent surveys have shown that the lions of west africa are in serious decline - the number of mature individuals have been estimated by two separate recent surveys at 850 ( bauer and van der merwe 2004 ) and 1163 ( chardonnet 2002 ) . both estimates are well below the endangered level of 2500 .
hunting areas are extensive , so the fate of lions depends on how well user - communities manage them . the same principle applies to lions within protected areas , with responsibility falling on protected area managers to secure these populations . finally , lions also occur well beyond protected areas , and how well one manages lion - human conflict will determine persistence there . yet , conflict outside protected areas can affect lion persistence within ( woodroffe and ginsberg
maps the 67 lion areas for four overlapping sub - regions and table s1 in the supplemental materials provides their details . our definition sometimes restricted lcus and sometimes split them into more than one area ( as in fig .
” section . given our simple criteria , 10 lion areas qualify . four of these are in east africa and six in southern africa ( table s1 ) . these strongholds span eight countries , contain roughly 19 , 000 lions in protected areas alone ( more than 50 % of the remaining lions in africa ) , and over 24 , 000 lions in the entire lion areas as delineated . no areas in west or central africa qualify .
mr . grey , shown here on the left , was 18 years old when he died of natural causes in july 2012 ! this was quite an old age for a lion in the wild , and he’s got the battle marks to prove it ! his eye was likely damaged by a waterbuck or kob long ago . he was frequently in the company of male lion twin , who was likely mr . grey ' s son .
yet the amount of wildlife in the park remains low , and lion populations throughout africa are in trouble—not just in the unusual mosaic of the batéké plateau , but in the iconic serengeti of east africa as well . the international union for the conservation of nature lists the african lion as a vulnerable species . it estimated in 2012 that africa’s lion population had decreased by at least 30 percent over the last 20 years , largely because of declines in natural prey and corresponding conflicts over livestock . those figures were based on studies conducted a decade ago , and some conservation groups believe lions number as few as 20 , 000 continent wide , down from 450 , 000 as recently as 1940 .
describer ( date ) : linnaeus ( 1758 ) syst . nat . , 10th ed . , 1 : 41 kingdom : animalia phylum : chordata class : mammalia order : carnivora family : felidae ( fischer de waldheim 1817 ) subfamily : acinonychinae ( pocock 1917 ) - cheetah subfamily : felinae ( fischer de waldheim 1817 ) - small and medium - sized non - pantherine cats subfamily : pantherinae ( pocock 1917 ) - leopard , jaguar , lion , tiger , snow leopard genus : neofelis ( gray 1854 ) genus : panthera ( oken , 1816 ) species : panthera leo ( linnaeus 1758 ) - lion subspecies : panthera leo leo - african lion subspecies : panthera leo persicus ( meyer 1826 ) - asian lion species : panthera onca - jaguar species : panthera pardus - leopard species : panthera tigris - tiger genus : pardofelis ( severtozov 1858 ) - marbled cat genus : uncia ( gray 1854 ) - snow leopard
hunting is banned in angola , cameroon , congo , gabon , ghana , malawi , mauritania , niger , nigeria , and rwanda . hunting is restricted to
problem
animals over in benin , botswana , burkina faso , central african republic , ethiopia , ivory coast , kenya , mali , mozambique , senegal , somalia , sudan , tanzania , togo , uganda , zaire , zambia and zimbabwe ( nowell & jackson 1996 ) .
the latest indication of wildlife recovery in gabon is a solitary male lion captured on a remote video camera that was set up to study chimpanzees . nobody knows how he got there , or why he’s chosen the forest as his home .
“we were basically looking at a very small image of the hindquarters of an animal , ” henschel says . “the second i saw it i was sure it was a lion . we went out to the nearest bar to celebrate . ”
panthera is a genus of large , wild cats in the mammalian family , felidae , and includes the four , well - known living species of the lion ( panthera leo ) , the tiger ( panthera tigris ) , the jaguar ( panthera onca ) , and the leopard ( panthera pardus ) . these four extant cat species are considered unique in having the anatomical changes enabling them to roar . the cave lion is an example of an extinct member of this genus .
1716 : a lion was first exotic animal exhibited in north america - boston , ma . housed at the home of captain arthur savage , later moved and exhibited at the home of martha adams ( 1720 ) before touring major new england cities
2004 :
lion camp
opens at the san diego wild animal park featuring a 6 - member pride of lions . the 33 , 000 sq ft exhibit has a 40 - foot - long glass viewing window regular demonstrations of current animal training techniques
a long time i wanted to share information about the lions in uganda , but between one thing and another . . . i had already insert information about
the coalition of three
in thread
lion directory
, you can also copy here .
) reports , based on regional workshops and inventories during 2005 and 2006 , estimated a total lion population of approximately 33 , 000 individuals . these estimates are already out of date and included populations that we now know no longer exist ( henschel et al .
an alternative use for the captive - bred lions might be tourism . we go for a
lion walk
with martin quinn , a conservation educator and lion whisperer . this involves strolling through the veld with three adolescent white lions , which have been bred on moreson ranch and trained by quinn and his assistant , thompson . these striking white lions ( which tend to be very inbred , say animal welfare groups ) bound around us , rush on , and then lie in the grass , ready for an ambush . armed only with sticks , quinn and thompson control them , while warning us that they are still wild animals . it is an unnerving experience , but quinn hopes this venture will persuade moreson ranch that a live lion is worth more than a dead one .


the crescent-tail hogfish , bodianus sepiacaudus , is a species of wrasse native to the pacific ocean from sulawesi to the line islands .

this species can reach 8.7 cm ( 3.4 in ) in standard length .

juveniles are white and black .

adults are white with four broad red stripes , suffused with black on caudal peduncle and caudal fin .

it can be found in the aquarium trade .

the crescent-tail hogfish differs from bodianus masudai by having white pelvic fins .

crescent - tail hogfish

the crescent - tail hogfish differs from bodianus masudai by having white pelvic fins .
the holotype of the crescent - tail hogfish , bodianus sepiacaudus , possibly from bali , indonesia , 70 . 0 mm sl , nmv a18420 . source : s . michael , in gomon 2006 a revision of the labrid fish genus bodianus , rec aus mus , suppl 30 . license : all rights reserved
a small slender hogfish with red and white stripes , the broader reddish stripes becoming blackish towards the rear , and a black spot on the gill cover . the pelvic fins are whitish and the tail has a large black spot often followed by white , yellow , red and / or black crescent - shaped bands posteriorly .
hogfish are quite hardy and in time eat all the most common available fish foods . they do however , demand plenty of space to swim and for concealment .
name from latin nouns ' sepia ' for ink and ' cauda ' for tail , refers to the inky black caudal peduncle and base of the caudal fin that distinguish this species .
the specific name sepiacaudus : is from the latin ' sepia ' ( ink ) and ' cauda ' ( tail ) in reference to the inky black caudal peduncle and base of the caudal fin that distinguish this species .
hogfish ( bodianus ) get their name from the way they look for food in the substrate using their snout . they can regularly be seen blowing water down into the sand and in their natural habitat they often follow other fish which have disturbed it .
they can hide for long periods of time if kept with more aggressive species . hogfish can also be aggressive towards more docile species or those that resembles themselves . when fully grown they can become a threat to various invertebrates , e . g . worms , snails , small bivalves and crustaceans amongst others .
bodianus after bodiano or pudiano , from the portuguese pudor , meaning modesty ( jordan & evermann , 1896 ) .
marine ; reef - associated ; depth range 20 - 75 m ( ref . 90102 ) , usually 20 - 50 m ( ref . 75973 ) . tropical
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 8 . 7 cm sl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 75973 )
this species has been photographed at depths of 25 - 50 m , with adults occurring in groups along ledges on steep dropoffs at depths greater than 20 m , and juveniles observed at about 50 m ( ref . 75973 ) . oviparous , distinct pairing during breeding ( ref . 205 ) .
gomon , m . f . , 2006 . a revision of the labrid fish genus bodianus with descriptions of eight new species . rec . aust . mus . suppl . 30 : 1 - 133 . ( ref . 75973 )
) : 25 . 6 - 29 , mean 27 . 8 ( based on 72 cells ) .
phylogenetic diversity index ( ref . 82805 ) : pd 50 = 0 . 5000 [ uniqueness , from 0 . 5 = low to 2 . 0 = high ] .
bayesian length - weight : a = 0 . 01000 ( 0 . 00244 - 0 . 04107 ) , b = 3 . 04 ( 2 . 81 - 3 . 27 ) , in cm total length , based on all lwr estimates for this body shape ( ref . 93245 ) .
trophic level ( ref . 69278 ) : 3 . 3 ±0 . 4 se ; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
resilience ( ref . 69278 ) : high , minimum population doubling time less than 15 months ( preliminary k or fecundity . ) .
vulnerability ( ref . 59153 ) : low vulnerability ( 19 of 100 ) .
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urltoken
thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on the iucn red list of threatened species website , we are grateful for your input .
justification : little is known of population and life history characteristics of this species . it has a widespread distribution but is only known from a few scattered localities in the pacific . it is found in deeper water and is uncommon so it has likely not been discovered in between areas . it sought by aquarium fish collectors . the population status is unknown . it is listed as data deficient .
this species is known conclusively from indonesia : sulawesi ( near maluku ) and flores ( pomana besar ) , in the western pacific , and fiji and kiritimati atoll , line islands in the central pacific ( b . russell pers . comm . 2008 ) . it was recorded from sogod , cebu , philippines ( b . stockwell pers . comm . 2009 ) . the photograph was confirmed by m . gomon ( r . myers pers . comm . 2009 ) .
there is no population information avaiable for this species . this is an uncommon species .
a small species to at least 87 mm sl . it has photographed it at depths of 25 - 50 m , noting that adults occur in groups along ledges on steep dropoffs at depths greater than 20 m , with juveniles observed at about 50 m ( b . russell pers comm . 2008 ) .
there are no known threats to this species . however , species is sought after by aquarium trade collectors .
to make use of this information , please check the < terms of use > .
from the day we opened the first store in maidenhead , we’ve firmly believed that one key to our success is employing fish keepers .
holmes reef in the coral sea . the species occurs elsewhere in the tropical west - central pacific , from indonesia , the philippines , fiji , kiritimati atoll and the line islands .
differs from the similar bodianus masudai ( not found in australian waters ) in having white pelvic fins , white interspaces , whereas they are yellow to white in b . masudai .
bodianus sepiacaudus gomon 2006 , rec . aust . mus . suppl . 30 : 33 , fig . 16 , pl . 2g - h . type locality : bali ( ? ) , indonesia .
. the iucn red list of threatened species 2010 : e . t187576a8573103 . urltoken downloaded on 27 november 2015 .
this species searches through the sand for food , which can make the water cloudy and shakes up detritus .
when a male is needed , a female changes sex and takes on the role .
wrasses are nearly always seen in reef aquaria , since many of the species are both attractive and useful in battling a range of unwanted invertebrates like i . e . flatworms , pyramide snails . these fish live of everything from zooplankton to large crustaceans , sea urchins and the like .
the needs and behaviour of wrasses vary greatly , so it is vital to familiarize oneself with the specific species before buying one .
bob fenner . the wrasses we call hogfishes - wet web media - ( english ) scott michael . 2002 . aquarium fish : the hogfishes , family labridae - advanced aquarist - ( english )
scott w . michael . 2009 . wrasses and parrotfishes ( reef fishes series book 5 ) - tfh publications / microcosm ltd . - ( english )
froese , r . and d . pauly . editors . 2014 . fishbase . world wide web electronic publication . urltoken , version ( 08 / 2014 ) .
minimum volume
indicates the size of the tank needed to house this species under optimal conditions .
this is based on a medium size animal , which you want to keep for several years . it might be possible to keep smaller specimens for a limited period in a smaller tank . a larger tank might be needed for fully - grown specimens .
hardiness
indicates how resistant this species is to disease and how well i tolerates bad conditions in general . some species doesn ' t handle transportation very well , but that doesn ' t mean that the species isn ' t hardy under the right conditions .
in this case , a
normal
aquarium is a reef aquarium with mixed corals or a fish only aquarium with an approximately salinity of 1 . 026 ( sg ) and a temperature close to 26°c . species requiring more than a 4000 - liter tank are considered not suitable for home aquarium .
special aquariums may cover tanks with low salinity , sub - tropical temperature , deep sand bed , sea grass etc .
always reef safe : no sources indicate that this species will harm corals or other invertebrates .
often reef safe : only a few aquarists has reported problems keeping this species with corals and other invertebrates .
reef safe with caution : this species may be a threat to some types of invertebrates .
reef safe with luck : most specimens will harm corals and / or other invertebrates , but you might be lucky .
not reef safe : this species is a threat to most corals and / or other invertebrates .
this species has been photographed at depths of 25 - 50 m , with adults occurring in groups along ledges on steep dropoffs at depths greater than 20 m , and juveniles observed at about 50 m ( ref . 75973 ) . oviparous , distinct pairing during breeding ( ref . 205 ) .
eol content is automatically assembled from many different content providers . as a result , from time to time you may find pages on eol that are confusing .
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eastern indian ocean , western pacific : bali ( indonesia ) , line islands ( kiribati ) ; probably more widespread .
8 . 7 cm sl ( male / unsexed ; ( ref . 75973 ) )
reef - associated ; marine ; depth range 20 - 75 m ( ref . 90102 ) , usually 20 - 50 m ( ref . 75973 )
little is known of population and life history characteristics of this species . it has a widespread distribution but is only known from a few scattered localities in the pacific . it is found in deeper water and is uncommon so it has likely not been discovered in between areas . it sought by aquarium fish collectors . the population status is unknown . it is listed as data deficient .
. it can be found in groups at depths from 20 to 75 m ( 66 to 246 ft ) . this species can reach 8 . 7 cm ( 3 . 4 in )
juveniles are white and black . adults are white with four broad red stripes , suffused with black on
russell , b . ( 2010 ) . bodianus sepiacaudus . in : iucn 2014 . iucn red list of threatened species . version 2014 . 2 . < urltoken > . downloaded on 22 august 2014 .
froese , rainer and pauly , daniel , eds . ( 2014 ) .
bodianus sepiacaudus
in fishbase . august 2014 version .
martin f . gomon ( 2006 ) .
a revision of the labrid fish genus bodianus with descriptions of eight new species
. records of the australian museum , supplement 30 : 1–133 .
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