Africa is changing rapidly. Egypt and South Africa, which were the centers of higher human concentration, with big capitals, are migrating to tropical Africa. Lagos, the capital of Nigeria will be the largest city in Africa in over a decade, with 15 million inhabitants, and Kinshasa, capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, will have 11.7 million.

Along with this overgrowth, fauna will also declining tremendously. Nigeria accounts for only 34 lions in the wild, what qualifies the country as an area where lions will be extinct, along with 10 other African countries. Other 25 countries still retain some lions, but in a few years will also be areas of extinction.

The Central and West Africa, where there were 200,000 lions 30 years ago, today counts, shamefully, only 645 lions in the wild.

The hunting of lions exploded in the last decade. The trophy that meant a hunted lion took the U.S. Government to allow the entry of 5,600 carcasses of them, according to United Stated Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Only now, after the violent destruction of this species, FWS will review the status of it, and maybe put it under the protection of the Endangered Species Act.

In our country there are in captivity in circuses, zoos and sanctuaries around  150 lions. In our sanctuary in Sorocaba, there are 10, all coming from circuses – except for Sansão, who came from the recently closed the Niteroi Zoo and is contaminated with feline AIDS. Following the norm of IBAMA (Brazilian Environmental Institute), we were forced to do vasectomy in all males to prevent reproduction. IBAMA does not allow the reproduction of them in captivity.

Considering the lack of reproduction and short life expectancy of lions, who do not exceed 25 years old, it is very possible that in the next decade the population of lions in captivity in Brazil will no longer exists.

By 2020, there will be almost no more African lions in the wild, if the current extermination continues. In the absence of reproduction in captivity worldwide, it is very possible that the King of the Jungle will lose its majesty and strenght, due to the incompetence of humans on protecting some of the most important representatives of Earth’s wildlife.

What can we do to prevent it?

President, GAP Project International