|
The main threats to lions occurs when they run into
conflicts with humans. Historically, lions have been
killed for sport, prized as big-game trophies. Habitat
loss from logging and agriculture has also affected the
lions. Pressure from farmers to expand their farm and
grazing lands reach into the national parks, and usually
they win. Lions are also shot for killing livestock. In
areas where the lion coexists alongside human settlements,
conflict can arise, often leading to the killing of lions
to protect livestock. Poaching will occur even in
protected areas. Lions are seen as vermin in many parts of
their range, and are often shot on sight.
Lions have been historically hunted by native peoples in
Africa for centuries. It was a sign that a boy was ready
to be a man if he killed a lion and brought the skin back
to the village. This kind of native hunting has had very
little effect on the lion population. |
Asiatic lions are far more
threatened than the African lions, especially since their
poulation is so small and limited. Additionally, the Asiatic
lion subspecies suffers from a small genetic pool, which can
lead to inbreeding and genetic instability of the offspring. A
similar problem plagues African lions that live on wildife
game reserves. Their genetic variation is limited, and as a
result are more prone to diseases, such as tuberculosis, FIV,
and canine distemper virus. An epidemic of such diseases can
decimate entire populations in a short period of time. Canine
distemper was inadvertantly introduced in 1994 by humans and
their dogs, and as a result about 1/3 of the lions ion the
Serengeti.
One of the major problems with hunting lions has to do with
how disruptive it is to their social system. Killing a male
leader of a pride leaves the rest of the pride vulnerable to
attack from outsiders. Also, when a new male takes over a
pride, all the previous cubs are killed. So selectively
killing adult male lions, especially those in the prime of
their life, is very disruptive to the reproduction of the
species.
|
|
