Over the past 25 years, Africa has lost half of its lion population. The Lion Recovery Fund is a collaborative initiative created by the Wildlife Conservation Network in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation with a vision to double the number of lions in Africa. Their investments also affect biodiversity, climate, and the people who live in and around Africa’s majestic conservation areas. With lions as their primary focus, they can address these issues together. Dr Peter Lindsey identifies Africa's most innovative and effective projects to conserve lions and restore their landscapes.
In this episode, Peter reflects on how his childhood passion inspired him to pursue a career in wildlife conservation in his adult life. He recalls his first time seeing a lion on a trip to the bush in Zimbabwe with his parents. He outlines the three different threats to lions: direct - poaching, trophy hunting, captures and snares; indirect - habitat loss, farming, mining and logging; and food sources - the poaching of lion’s prey for bushmeat, and how they all contribute to the decline in the lion population. He expresses the critical role they play in the ecological system as one of the top predators, explaining that they are an “umbrella species,” so if you protect habitats and prey that lions depend on, you know that the ecosystem is pretty intact. Peter reveals that a common misconception people have about lions is that male lions are lazy, and females do all of the hunting - explaining that the two genders have different hunting habits. Finally, Peter shares his goal to double the lion population by 2050 and describes how humans and wildlife can co-exist in Africa.
If you wish to support the cause or want to find out more, visit www.lionrecoveryfund.org/
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