Lions are key to keeping a balanced number of different animals and are apex predators. This means they play a crucial role in our environment, yet they are hunted by us humans every day. Some believe this has its benefits. By Polly Photo by Keyur Nandaniya on Unsplash In only two decades the lion populations in Africa have decreased by nearly 50% and only 20,000 remain in the wild today. Lions are quietly going extinct. There is an urgent need to address the threats facing these big cats before it’s too late. One of the main threats lions face is the destruction of their habitat. As our population is expanding, agricultural land and human settlements are also rapidly spreading. The change in land use from humans leaves lion populations isolated, reducing their habitats as well as the habitats of the species lions usually prey on. But there is another major issue, the silent killing of lions daily: lion hunting. Illegal or not, hundreds of lions get killed every year, for our own benefit or amusement. There are several ways in which hunting negatively affects the species themselves and even our environment. Hunting targets specific lions, usually those with valuable genetic traits, which will lead to a decrease in genetic diversity within lion populations., creating further detrimental side effects such as deadly diseases and major environmental changes as lions are apex predators. Because lions are fundamental to our wildlife, the decline of lion populations will impact other species within their ecosystems, ultimately changing predator-prey dynamics. Photo by Pawan Sharma on Unsplash The darkest side of lion hunting is that trophy hunters will often only want in-demand body parts such as teeth, heads and other valuable bones. Once the desired parts are cut off, the lion will be left behind headless, proving that hunting always involves inhumane and cruel methods causing great suffering to the animals. Although lion hunting has horrible impacts on animals, the environment and therefore even us, there are individuals with different, controversial opinions about the crisis. Hunters will pay tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for the opportunity to hunt these species. A portion of this money will often go to local communities in the area. If the money isn't donated, trophy hunting will generate jobs for local citizens, thus creating chances of a better life for many families. The most convincing point supporting the need for this lion poaching is connected to Conservation Funding. Oxford Scientist David MacDonald, a man who has been studying lions for many years, has come to the conclusion that trophy hunting may aid the conservation of lions. MacDonald claims that the largest threat to these species is their destruction of habitat and strictly regulated lion hunting could offer financial benefits, thus preventing further habitat destruction. The money gained through these legal hunting activities may generate financial resources for wildlife parks and other conservation areas. These places will then be able to utilize the funds for a good cause, such as habitat protection and anti-poaching initiatives, benefiting not just lions but whole ecosystems. What happens without this kind of funding? In the end it is our choices and actions that have the power to support or terminate these cruel, possibly beneficial activities, impacting not only the lives of these animals but ultimately our environment and planet. Moral arguments compete with financial ones when it comes to lion hunting. As their numbers continue to dwindle, it is becoming more and more urgent that we find sustainable, effective ways to end this crisis. Is killing really the way to stop death? Works cited:
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AISM parent Laura Alvarey tells a compelling story about a unique encounter with wildlife in Namibia Reporting by Laia Laura Alvery is one of many parents in AISM, who has had her share of exciting adventures and travels, many of them occurring in her time in Namibia with her family, where she lived for 3 years before they arrived in Mozambique in 2022. Laura and her family, as well as her brothers, found themselves in Bwabwata National Park, a protected game reserve that is abundant in all kinds of wildlife, including lions, leopard, zebras and blue wildebeest. It is located in Kavango East region of Namibia, bordering both Angola on its top half and Zambia on its bottom one. After driving 12 hours from Namibia's capital, Windhoek, they camped right by the river bed in a very remote area in the park, with their heads nearing the edge of the water. In the middle of the night, whilst everyone was sleeping, she and her husband began to hear noises coming from the water, right next to where they were lying. “We could smell the river being churned up, and even the animal before we heard it.", said Laura. They quickly realized that it was a hippo who had come up from under the water, and was eating some form of food. Laura described feeling a mixture of shock and fear, as she was worried that something might happen to her and her family. After the hippo had left, she fell back asleep, but her slumber was cut short when she was woken up only a few hours later by another noise that sounded almost like a saw being used. It turned out to be a leopard breathing only a few feet away from them, but Laura wasn't fully aware of this at the time. "A part of me wanted to get up and look around to see what it was making the noise, but I was honestly too scared to even move from my sleeping bag", she remembers. The next morning, they found leopard print tracks around their campsite, proving that the animal had been just nearby. Laura described the experiences as nerve wracking but also very exciting, as it was almost as if she was experiencing all the different senses of the animals at close quarters. Although Laura's encounters with wildlife in the savannah went smoothly, and turned out to be a story to be shared, the events of that night could have taken a much more dangerous turn, and to make it through two close encounters with some of the most dangerous animals in the region is extremely lucky. Although it doesn't happen often, it is not completely uncommon for tourists and people visiting national parks and reserves to be attacked by animals, especially when one is camping out in the open at night. Wild times indeed.
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