The lion (Panthera leo) is a large cat currently found only in Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It's characterized by a muscular body, short head, round ears, and a hairy tail tuft. Male lions are larger and have a prominent mane.
A majestic lion in its natural habitat.
Historically, the lion population in Ghana has been sparsely studied, leading to poorly documented status. Many authors believe that the Ghanaian lion population is most likely extinct, after recent unsuccessful attempts to find signs of their presence.
Since 2005, lion surveys have been carried out in the most important parks and other protected areas of Ghana, mainly focusing on Mole National Park (MNP). There has also been extensive reviewing of the literature in an attempt to reconstruct the history of the presence of the lion in the country.
Taxonomy and Evolution
In the 19th and 20th centuries, several lion type specimens were described and proposed as subspecies. Between 2008 and 2016, IUCN Red List assessors used two subspecific names:
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- P. l. leo: Includes the Asiatic lion, the regionally extinct Barbary lion, and lion populations in West and northern parts of Central Africa.
- P. l. melanochaita: Includes the extinct Cape lion and lion populations in East and Southern African regions.
DNA analysis indicates that Central African lions are derived from both northern and southern lions. Lion samples from some parts of the Ethiopian Highlands cluster genetically with those from Cameroon and Chad, while lions from other areas of Ethiopia cluster with samples from East Africa.
Evolutionary History
P. fossilis was larger than the modern lion and lived in the Middle Pleistocene. P. spelaea, or the cave lion, lived in Eurasia and Beringia during the Late Pleistocene, becoming extinct due to climate warming or human expansion. The modern lion was probably widely distributed in Africa during the Middle Pleistocene and started to diverge in sub-Saharan Africa during the Late Pleistocene.
Lion populations in East and Southern Africa became separated from populations in West and North Africa when the equatorial rainforest expanded. Due to the expansion of the Sahara, lion populations in West and North Africa became separated.
Fresco of a Cave Lion from Chauvet Cave.
Physical Characteristics
The lion is a muscular, broad-chested cat with a short, rounded head and round ears. The fur varies in colour from light buff to dark brown, with lighter underparts. New-born lions have dark spots that fade as they reach adulthood.
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The male lion's mane is the most recognisable feature, growing downwards and backwards, covering most of the head, neck, shoulders, and chest. Males with darker manes appear to have greater reproductive success. The white lion is a rare morph with leucism, not albinism, and has normal pigmentation in the eyes and skin.
Habitat and Distribution
African lions live in scattered populations across sub-Saharan Africa, preferring grassy plains, savannahs, scrub bordering rivers, and open woodlands. They rarely enter closed forests. The Asiatic lion now survives only in and around Gir National Park in Gujarat, western India.
Savannahs with an annual rainfall of 300 to 1,500 mm make up the majority of lion habitat in Africa, estimated at 3,390,821 km2.
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Behavior and Social Structure
Lions spend much of their time resting, being inactive for about twenty hours per day. Their activity generally peaks after dusk, with socialising, grooming, and defecating. The lion is the most social of all wild felid species, living in groups called "prides".
The average pride consists of around 15 lions, including several adult females, up to four males, and their cubs. Nomadic lions range widely and move around sporadically, either in pairs or alone. Interactions between prides and nomads tend to be hostile. Asiatic lion prides differ in group composition, with males being solitary or associating with up to three males, while females associate with up to 12 other females.
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Hunting and Diet
The lion is a generalist hypercarnivore and is considered to be both an apex and keystone predator. Its prey consists mainly of medium-sized to large ungulates, such as blue wildebeest, plains zebra, African buffalo, gemsbok, and giraffe.
Single lions are capable of bringing down zebra and wildebeest, while larger prey like buffalo and giraffe are riskier. Lions are not particularly known for their stamina, running quickly only in short bursts at about 48-59 km/h. They take advantage of factors that reduce visibility and kill with a clamping bite to the throat or muzzle.
Conservation Status and Threats
Historically, the lion population in Ghana has been little studied, and its status is poorly documented. Currently, many authors believe that the Ghanaian lion population is most likely extinct. The West African populations of lions are Critically Endangered and currently occupy only 1% of their historical range.
Threats to lion populations include:
- Retaliation for livestock depredation.
- Diminution of natural prey due to bushmeat poaching.
- Lion by-catch in snares and gin traps.
- Direct poaching for body parts.
- Road kills and unsustainable trophy hunting.
Lions also suffer from diseases and parasites, including feline immunodeficiency virus, feline parvovirus, hookworm, tapeworm, babesia, theileria, and trypanosomes.
Conservation Efforts and Recommendations
Lion conservation is underfunded and conflicted, with some organizations promoting trophy hunting as a "conservation" measure. There is very little funding for crucial nationwide population surveys. Some nations have seen lions reintroduced to former ranges, but these populations are heavily managed and kept in fenced areas.
Recommendations for stronger lion conservation measures include:
- Developing and implementing stronger lion conservation measures.
- Spending greater funds on proper lion population surveys.
- Funding proven effective programs that reduce lion/human/livestock conflict.
- Working more closely with African wildlife departments.
- Placing lions on CITES Appendix 1 and moving all African lions from "vulnerable" to "endangered" on the IUCN Red List.
Conservation Perception Rank
LionAid evaluated a Conservation Perception Rank (CPR) for lion range states based on nine evaluation parameters. Nations that rank between 1 and 3 will likely continue to lose lion populations without stronger political will to conserve the species.
The evaluation parameters include:
- Gross domestic product per capita.
- Percentage of the population employed by agriculture.
- Number of international tourists arriving in the country.
- Ranking of the lion range state by the Fragile State Index.
- Ranking of the lion range state in terms of the Human Development Index.
- Ranking of lion range states according to the Global Hunger Index.
- Ranking of lion range states according to the effectiveness/existence of functional wildlife departments.
- Ranking of lion range states according to the presence of wildlife NGOs.
- Ranking of lion range states according to the existence of a National Lion Conservation Strategy.
Analysis by Country
Based on an evaluation of the scientific literature, limited population surveys, informal reports, wildlife department estimates, credible authority personal communications with researchers and guesstimates, LionAid here provides an overview of the status of lion conservation in African nations that were considered to maintain lion populations. Even where these populations occur, many remaining populations are largely small, scattered and long-term non-viable. This continues to be the real and present danger for lions - if they only exist as a few viable populations, their long-term future is uncertain.
Lion populations remaining can be summarised as follows (detailed country reports provided below):
- Angola: 30
- Botswana: about 1,445
- Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Mali: 70-100
- Cameroon: <120
- Chad: effectively extinct
- Central African Republic: <50
- Democratic Republic of Congo: unknown
- Ethiopia: <915
- Kenya: <1,558
- Malawi: <92
- Mozambique: <996
- Namibia: <457
- Nigeria: <50
- Senegal: <37
- Somalia: essentially extinct
- South Africa: <1,900
- Sudan, South Sudan: essentially extinct
- Tanzania: <5,360
- Uganda: <302
- Zambia: <1,163
- Zimbabwe: <814
Below a summary of different country assessments:
Angola: CPR = 2. Years of civil strife likely had a strong negative impact on survival of wildlife populations. A recent ground survey in one of Angola’s largest protected area returned an estimate of 30 lions while many hundreds had been guesstimated before.
Botswana: CPR = 3. Botswana has designated large areas to protected wildlife areas. Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks needs to do much better in terms of conservation planning and implementation.
Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali and Niger: CPR = 2 are relatively small western African states that allowed a high level of lion trophy hunting. The Wildlife Department is not well staffed with qualified personnel and there is no indication that wildlife conservation is important to the people and Governments of these states.
Cameroon: CPR= 1. Based on estimates and very limited surveys, the total wild lion population of Cameroon is estimated at <120 animals. Only in Bouba Njida National Park is there considered to be a somewhat viable population of about 60 animals. Human/lion/livestock levels of conflict are high as is bushmeat poaching.
Chad: CPR = 1. Chad is a highly fragile state. There is no effective Wildlife Department and levels of commercial poaching are extremely high. There is little to no interest by citizens or Government to conserve wildlife.
Central African Republic: CPR = 1. Central African Republic is close to being a failed state. Over 66% of the population is living below the international extreme poverty line of USD 2.15 per day. There is no effective Wildlife Department and levels of commercial poaching are extremely high.
DRC: CPR = 1. DRC has seen a very high level of civil strife over the past decades. Since the toppling of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, the country has been subjected to internecine and neighbouring country battles over territory and resources. As there is no effective Government control over vast areas, wildlife conservation will be non-existent.
Ethiopia: CPR = 2. Ethiopia has a strong commitment to wildlife conservation at the Federal Government level. This does not translate to the level of the Provinces that are highly autonomous. Large areas of land are being sold off to foreign investors for agricultural purposes.
Kenya: CPR = 3. Kenya has struggled to ensure protection of wildlife in the past, to some degree because the Kenya Wildlife Service is an organization that receives little political support.
Malawi: CPR = 2. Malawi’s lion population has largely resulted from re-introductions from South Africa. The current population is estimated at 92 animals, mainly in the southern Majete Wildlife Reserve.
Mozambique: CPR = 2. Mozambique has experienced a long and drawn out civil war in past years. Militias invaded protected areas to both provide food for the troops and ivory to fund ongoing military activities. Despite a high population density of impoverished citizens, there remains a will by Government to ensure survival of the little wildlife that remains.
Namibia: CPR = 3. Namibia is a conflicted nation in terms of effective lion conservation. Despite a considerable increase in the number of community conservancies that combine trophy hunting and tourism as primary income ...
West African Lions: A Genetically Distinct Population
The African lion has declined to fewer than 35,000 individuals occupying 25% of its historic range. The situation is most critical for the geographically isolated populations in West Africa, where the species is considered regionally endangered.
Recent molecular studies establish the genetic distinctiveness of West and Central African lions from other extant African populations. Interventions to save West African lions are urgently required. Effective conservation strategies have been hampered by a lack of data on the species' current distribution, status, and potential management deficiencies of protected areas (PAs) harboring lions.
A study synthesized available expert opinion and field data to close this knowledge gap, and formulate recommendations for the conservation of West African lions. Lion surveys were undertaken in 13 large (>500 km2) PAs and compiled evidence of lion presence/absence for a further eight PAs.
Lions were confirmed in only 4 PAs, and results suggest that only 406 (273-605) lions remain in West Africa, representing fewer than 250 mature individuals. Confirmed lion range is estimated at 49,000 km2, or 1.1% of historical range in West Africa. PAs retaining lions were larger than PAs without lions and had significantly higher management budgets.
Recommendations for West African Lion Conservation
- Revision of lion taxonomy to recognize the genetic distinctiveness of West African lions.
- Listing of the lion as critically endangered in West Africa.
A lioness in West Africa.
Historically, lions occurred in all biomes in West Africa, with the exception of the coastal Upper and Lower Guinean Forests and the interior of the Saharan Desert. The collapse of lion range in West Africa is poorly documented, but appears to be linked to large-scale habitat loss outside PAs through conversion to agriculture. Consequently, lion range in this region is largely restricted to PAs.
Lion Conservation Units (LCUs)
In 2005, the IUCN and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) organized a lion conservation workshop for wildlife authorities from all lion range countries within West and Central Africa. The workshop consisted of a technical session to map current lion range and status, followed by a strategic planning session to develop lion conservation strategies.
Experts were guided to produce maps of current lion range and delimit areas harboring known or suspected populations called Lion Conservation Units (LCUs). LCU delimitation relied on credible evidence of lion presence within the preceding 10 years, and for each LCU participants assigned lion population trends and approximate lion population size.
Between October 2006 and May 2012, field surveys were conducted in PAs within designated LCUs to confirm lion presence and establish lion population estimates.
Survey Methods
Survey methods commonly used for African savannah mammals, such as aerial surveys or line transects, typically yield few observations of large terrestrial carnivores. Consequently, prior efforts to establish large carnivore occurrence and/or abundance over large spatial scales relied on interviews, remote cameras, or track surveys.
Track surveys were predominantly employed, owing to their comparatively high detection efficiency, and low effort and cost. All surveys teams included experienced observers, and field sign was ascribed to species based on pugmark characteristics.
In Mole NP and Gbele Resource Reserve in Ghana, camera traps were the primary survey method. In Comoé National Park (NP) in Côte d'Ivoire, an aerial survey was conducted prior to the ground survey to identify areas with important concentrations of potential lion prey.
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