The Fall of the African King of Beasts "Lion"

nationalgeographic.com

More than 90% of the lion’s original range has now been lost across Nigeria. The main threats facing lions today are: habitat loss and degradation, reduction of wild prey and retaliatory and other illegal killing of lions. Habitat loss has led to some populations becoming small and isolated, especially in West Africa. It is estimated that fewer than 50 lions survive in Nigeria. This decline is due to increasing human populations, and the spread of subsistence and commercial-scale agriculture; latterly, climate change is also playing a role, and corridors connecting populations are being lost due to the spread of development, agriculture, and of large infrastructure projects. This has led to some populations becoming small and isolated, especially in West Africa.
In Nigeria this precipitous decline is linked to severe depletion of their natural prey base due to hunting and habitat loss. With the loss of their natural prey lions have little option but to feed upon domestic livestock, the increase in human-lion conflict inevitably results in their direct persecution – typically by poisoning livestock carcasses. At the same time, human population growth and agricultural expansion is causing an unprecedented influx of nomadic livestock into protected areas as alternative grazing reserves disappear. During aerial censuses of Yankari in 2006 and 2011 cattle were by far the most abundant species recorded although the situation has improved considerably since WCS signed a co-management agreement with Bauchi State Government in 2014. Lions may also be killed for cultural reasons, including traditional use of lion parts for medicinal use in northern Nigeria. Without urgent and concerted action lions will continue to decline and may in time disappear from Nigeria completely.