Revered Lions of West Africa Close to Extinction

Lions may soon be extinct in West Africa, new research says.

According to a study published in the scientific journal PLOS One, the West African lion community has suffered a "catastrophic collapse," with only about 400 total --- 250 of which are breeding age --- left in the region.

The new data leads scientists from the nonprofit Panthera, which carried out research over a six-year period in 17 countries, from Senegal to Nigeria, to project the entire lion population could disappear soon.

Back only in 2005, it was believed West African lions, which are genetically unique from others on the African continent, inhabited 21 different protected areas. Today, lions can only be found in four of those areas.

te shock; all but a few of the areas we surveyed were basically paper parks, having neither management budgets nor patrol staff, and had lost all their lions and other iconic large mammals Philipp Henschel, co-author of the report, told the BBC.

Henschel asserts that while millions of dollars annually have been spent on the conservation of lions in eastern and southern Africa, protection effort for the big cats have been largely neglected in West Africa.

"We are talking about some of the poorest counties in the world. Many governments have bigger problems than protecting lions," Henschel said.

The researchers say West African lions now only survive in Senegal, Nigeria and in portions of Benin, Niger and Burkina-Faso.

The establishment of large-scale cotton and food crop plantations in the region has contributed significantly to the decline of the lions in the last decade, the survey said.

Regional poaching of other animals typically preyed on by the lions has dramatically reduced the available food supply, said Henschel.

"In some areas, we also witnessed the retaliatory killing of lions by herdsmen that entered protected areas illegally with their herds of cattle and goats," he said.

West African Lions have a special significance for the region's culture as they stand as symbols of pride for the area's governments and people and are depicted in coats of arms for several countries.

In concert with the latest findings about the West African lions, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has put out an international call for help in saving the lions.