Picture Source:
http://previews.agefotostock.com/previewimage/bajaage/f1124fb3eb97ad8b3d3480cee691114f/WES-MS01144.jpg
Article Link:
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2013/03/05/new_report_confirms_almost_half_of_africas_lions_facing_extinction.html
A new report has been released predicting that Africa's wild lion populations will be cut in half in the next 20-40 years. Urgent conservation methods, such as fencing them in and keeping humans out, may be the only hope to save these animals. Field data from 11 African countries is being considered in the report published in The Scientific Journal which examined the costs of maintaining lion populations in fenced and unfenced areas. University of Minnesota professor, Craig Packer, states that "unfenced populations are extremely expensive to maintain." Not only are fenced populations cheaper to maintain, but the population densities are greater in these areas due to the lower threat level of humans. The barrier would not have to be a fence, but something that can keep humans away from the species in order for the populations to grow. "Today, it is estimated that fewer than 30,000 lions remain in Africa in just 25% of the species' original natural habitat."
I agree that lion extinction needs to be addressed due to the severity of the issue. It will take time for the population densities to start increasing, which is why actions need to be taken very soon to ensure that as many lions in Africa can be saved as possible.
NOS Themes:
- Science is based on evidence: The studies in 11 different countries displayed what researchers based their article on.
- Role of chance: Some populations of lions may not do as well in the fenced in areas as biologists predicted.
- Role of motivation and curiosity: The biologists are very motivated to solve this problem before the lions become extinct.
Here are some links for more facts on lion population studies:
http://www.defenders.org/african-lion/basic-facts
http://www.voanews.com/content/new-study-shows-african-lion-populations-declining/1558914.html
There was a similar science article written about the decline of the lion population.
ReplyDeletehttp://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/03/05/new.report.confirms.almost.half.africas.lions.facing.extinction
It was stated in the article I found that fencing or other boundaries are vital to the specie's survival. As well as this, in Panthera's Project Leonardo and the Lion Guardians program, regulations have been set in place in order to reduce the killing of lions in places where humans do share the same area as lions.
That is horrible! I did not realize that lions were under such great threat, thank you for your informative article. I would like to find out more about what kind of habitat lions need, and what kind of national parks or reservations there are already in place in Africa. Another NOS theme could be that science is collaborative, because the countries with these fading lion populations will need to work together to implement the solucions that the scientists have come up with.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sad! I was curious to find out more information so I went online and looked at a graph. This website shows a fantastic and accurate chart about the decreasing population. Did you know that 2,000 years ago more than a million lions roamed the Earth? It's such a shame!
ReplyDeleteHere is the link: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/big-cats/lion-decline-map/
This is such a shame. After doing some research, I found that American trophy-seekers will pay about $125,000 dollars for the skin of a lion. Although we may not be taking out all of the forest in Africa, we are still somehow managing to take out all of their amazing native species. Lions are one of my favorite animals, so it would be such a shame to see them go extinct.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.allaboutwildlife.com/endangered-species/are-lions-endangered/5825
I never knew that lions were becoming extinct, and that their population may be cut in half. I found this article online about it, and it said that certain herding cultures such as the Maasai or the Zulu, may convert to open grass habits were their food source would be limited due to conflicting with human territories. Like you said, this is an issue that needs to be addressed and we as humans should do anything to help.
ReplyDelete(http://www.livescience.com/27673-half-africa-lions-face-extinction.html)
I looked into how much it costs to build fences and found it can be up to $3000 per kilometer to install. Parks without fences cost about $2000 per sq kilometer every year. It costs about 1/4 of that to maintain fences, and fenced parks can harbor twice the number of lions.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/03/want-to-save-lions-fence-them-in.html