Threats to Lions & Lion Conservation

[iNdlovu]

No maybe Avaaz will see what we are dealing with here and focus a little more on issues

[Flutterby]

Acsa, Primedia taken to court over posters
2012-09-23 19:21

Johannesburg - International NGO Avaaz.org on Sunday announced that they were taking Acsa and Primedia to court for removing posters about lion hunting from OR Tambo International Airport.

"Ripping down these ads smacks of censorship and silences the voices of 700 000 people who care deeply about saving South Africa’s lions," Avaaz executive director, Ricken Patel, said in a statement.

"We are confident that the court will act to protect free expression and ensure this important debate about the future of South Africa's lions continues."

The posters, depicting President Jacob Zuma overseeing a lioness about to be executed with a handgun, were hung from the pillars of the airport's international arrival hall, in Kempton Park.

In August, the Airports Company SA (Acsa) told Primedia, who put the posters up on behalf of Avaaz.org, to remove the posters.

The posters, which were digitally altered to have Zuma's face on it, read: "President Zuma can save her [the lioness's] life".

The posters were part of a campaign to prevent the canned hunting of lions, as well as the sale of their organs to the Far East.

In the statement, Avaaz said that the adverts were removed because Acsa was concerned that the inclusion of Zuma in the advertisements would cause a "public relations nightmare".

Avaaz's Sam Barratt said it appears that the decision was politically-motivated that goes against freedom of speech and expression.

More details regarding the legal procedures would be available in the week to come, Barratt added.



- SAPA

[PennyinSA]

If Acsa defends this court action lets hope its not at our expense!!!! Let the Govt start paying for their own stupidity in not allowing the truth to be told!

[iNdlovu]

Either way, it's yours and my tax money that will be used Penny

[Flutterby]

This is all over the news this morning.

[Toko]

Business Day Live

Suit over pulling of Zuma lion-bones ad
BY NICK HEDLEY, 16 OKTOBER 2012, 06:07

NTERNATIONAL lobby group Avaaz announced on Monday that media group Primedia said it would not challenge Avaaz’s free-speech lawsuit relating to the removal of its advertisements about lion bone trading at OR Tambo International Airport which featured President Jacob Zuma’s face.

Avaaz announced last month it would take legal action against Airports Company South Africa and Primedia after Avaaz’s adverts calling on Mr Zuma to ban the trade in lion bones were removed from OR Tambo’s international arrivals hall.

The lobby group said the adverts had been preapproved by Primedia and displayed in the airport’s international arrivals hall for more than a week before Airports Company South Africa noticed the ads and ordered them to be removed.

Spokesman Solomon Makgale said on Monday Airports Company South Africa was defending the matter in court "as it believes that it acted lawfully in terms of the contract that it has with Primedia".

Airports Company South Africa has a contract with Primedia to manage the airport’s advertising spaces. "The material was assessed and it was found to be objectionable," Mr Makgale said. Primedia could not be reached late on Monday after attempts to get its view on the issue.

Avaaz said the case was expected to be heard in the South Gauteng High Court "in the coming weeks".

Emma Ruby-Sachs, campaign director for Avaaz, said: "Primedia has chosen not to defend the decision to censor the voices of 700,000 world citizens calling for the protection of South Africa’s last remaining wild lions, likely because it knows there is no legal defence.

"This makes it all the more remarkable that Airports Company South Africa is still digging in its heels to prevent legitimate public discussion."

According to Avaaz, by censoring the adverts, Primedia and Airports Company South Africa violated the organisation’s right to freedom of expression under the constitution of South Africa. Avaaz demands the adverts be reinstated.

"In announcing its decision not to oppose Avaaz’s legal claims, Primedia is abandoning Acsa to defend itself against the claims that its censorship violated the constitution."

Lion bones were highly sought after to make phony "medicines" in some parts of Asia and were worth thousands of dollars on the market, Avaaz said.

Avaaz said South Africa was the largest exporter of lion bones and between 2009 and 2010 these exports increased by 250%, adding that the government had decided against taking action on the issue.

Africa’s lion population has dropped from about 200,000 in the late 1970s to about 20,000 currently, with only 2,200 of those in South Africa.

Geraint Crwys-Williams, group commercial and legal executive at Primedia, said on Tuesday Primedia’s decision not to oppose the lawsuit instituted by Avaaz "was based purely on legal advice that the company obtained, and not on any emotional grounds, issues of morality or subjective judgement".

Primedia had a binding contractual relationship with Acsa regarding the placing of advertising on behalf of clients on platforms that belong to, or were under the control of, Acsa, Mr Crwys-Williams said.

The landlord-tenant relationship meant Primedia had to comply with the terms and conditions of the contract, since the advertising platforms belonged to Acsa.

"Primedia filed an affidavit, which forms part of the court record in this matter, in which we explained the legal position. As a responsible, law abiding corporate entity of South Africa, Primedia indicated that we will abide by whatever decision the court comes to regarding the dispute between Avaaz and Acsa."

* This article was updated with Primedia's comment on October 18

[Toko]

Download full article here: The size of savannah Africa: a lion’s (Panthera leo) view


The size of savannah Africa: a lion’s (Panthera leo) view

Abstract
We define African savannahs as being those areas that receive between 300 and 1,500 mm of rain annually. This broad definition encompasses a variety of habitats. Thus defined, savannahs comprise 13.5 million km2 and encompass most of the present range of the African lion (Panthera leo). Dense human populations and extensive conversion of land to human use preclude use by lions. Using high-resolution satellite imagery and human population density data we define lion areas, places that likely have resident lion populations. In 1960, 11.9 million km2 of these savannahs had fewer than 25 people per km2. The comparable area shrank to 9.7 million km2 by 2000. Areas of savannah Africa with few people have shrunk considerably in the last 50 years and human population projections suggest they will likely shrink significantly in the next 40. The current extent of free-ranging lion populations is 3.4 million km2 or about 25 % of savannah area. Habitats across this area are fragmented; all available data indicate that between 32,000 and 35,000 free-ranging lions live in 67 lion areas. Although these numbers are similar to previous estimates, they are geographically more comprehensive. There is abundant evidence of widespread declines and local extinctions. Under the criteria we outline, ten lion areas qualify as lion strongholds: four in East Africa and six in Southern Africa. Approximately 24,000 lions are in strongholds, with an additional 4,000 in potential ones. However, over 6,000 lions are in populations of doubtful long-term viability. Lion populations in West and Central Africa are acutely threatened with many recent, local extinctions even in nominally protected areas.

[Sprocky]

2012-12-05 11:39

Johannesburg - The lions that roam Africa's savannahs have lost as much as 75% of their habitat in the last 50 years as humans overtake their land and the lion population dwindles, said a study released on Tuesday.

Researchers at Duke University, including prominent conservationist Stuart Pimm, warn that the number of lions across the continent have dropped to as few as 32 000, with populations in West Africa under incredible pressure.

"Lion numbers have declined precipitously in the last century," the study, published on Tuesday by the journal Biodiversity and Conservation, reads. "Given that many now live in small, isolated populations, this trend will continue. The situation in West Africa is particularly dire, with no large population remaining and lions now absent from many of the region's national parks."

Fifty years ago, nearly 100 000 lions roamed across the African continent. In recent years, however, an ever-growing human population has come into the savannah lands to settle and develop. That has both cut down the amount of land lions have to roam, as well as fragmented it, researchers said.

Using satellite imagery, the researchers determined the amount of land now available for lions that remains wild and minimally impacted by human growth. Those lands are rapidly diminishing, and more territory will likely be lost in the next 40 years, the report said.

Five countries in Africa have likely lost their lions since a 2002 study was run, the report said. Only nine countries contain at least 1 000 lions, while Tanzania alone has more than 40% of the continent's lions, it said.

"An obvious caveat is that areas for which we detect little conversion of savannahs to croplands may still suffer human impacts that make them unsuitable for lions," the report said. "Over-hunting for trophies, poaching - of lions and of their prey species - and conflict with pastoralists may not have (present) any visual signal to satellites. Even where there are low human population densities and areas designated as national parks, there (may) not be lions within them."

The report calls for more mapping and studying to be done to ensure the lions' protection.



- SAPA

[Toko]

In the News: African savanna may be more endangered than rainforests

Dec 5

In the News: African savanna may be more endangered than rainforests

The iconic savannas of Africa have been found to be under greater threat than rainforests, a ground-breaking study has revealed.


Iconic Africa

Africa’s sprawling savanna ecosystems, defined as areas that receive between 300 and 1,500 millimetres of rain each year, are home to well-known, charismatic species such as giraffes, rhinos and elephants, and are at the heart of Africa’s wildlife tourism. However, a new study published recently in Biodiversity Conservation has found that 75% of the continent’s large-scale, intact grasslands have been lost.

“These savannas conjure up visions of vast open plains. The reality is that from an original area a third larger than the continental United States, only 25 percent remains,” said co-author Stuart Pimm from Duke University.

While routine global assessments are carried out on tropical rainforest ecosystems to determine the rate of habitat loss, with the Brazilian Amazon being assessed every month, similar studies on dry woodlands and savannas are few. This new study has shown that, shockingly, a smaller proportion of grassland habitats are left than tropical rainforests, of which only 30% remain.

High-resolution satellite imagery

Exacerbated by a greatly increasing human population across much of the continent, Africa’s vital savanna ecosystem is currently experiencing widespread destruction and loss as a result of ever-expanding agriculture and urbanisation.

Researchers used high-resolution satellite imagery to measure the extent of Africa’s savanna, enabling them to paint a more accurate picture of how much of this critical habitat remains.

“Based on our fieldwork, we knew that most of the information out there from low-resolution satellite-based studies was wrong,” explained lead author Jason Riggio of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. “Existing global maps are quite coarse and show large areas of African woodlands as being intact. Only by utilising very high-resolution imagery were we able to identify many of these areas as being riddled with small fields and extensive, if small, human settlements.”

Lion’s view

The study took a ‘lion’s view’ in order to determine how much intact savanna remains, focusing on habitat that is healthy enough to support the continent’s top predator, the African lion.

“If areas retain lions, the continent’s top predator, they are likely to be reasonably intact ecosystems,” the scientists explained in their paper. “By considering the size of savanna Africa from the lion’s perspective, we can assess how much of it remains in large, relatively intact areas, not yet heavily modified by human influence. Clearly, smaller areas will still support less complete sets of species.”

The results of the study indicate that just 3.3 million square kilometres of savanna capable of containing African lions remains, with this vital habitat vanishing at an alarming rate.

Decline of Africa’s top predator

Lion populations have suffered a dramatic and unprecedented decline in the last few decades, with numbers decreasing from around 100,000 individuals just fifty years ago to as few as 32,000 today, a worrying decline of 68%.

In addition to declines as a result of degradation and loss of its savanna habitat, the African lion, currently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, faces a whole host of other threats. Legal hunting, poaching and human-wildlife conflict are all taking their toll on this iconic species, and there are concerns that lions are being killed to fuel the Chinese traditional medicine market as an alternative to tiger bones.

Urgent action

The recent study found that 24,000 African lions, a disconcerting 75% of the total remaining population, are located in just ten separate strongholds. All of these strongholds are in eastern and southern Africa, with Tanzania alone housing 40% of the global population.

Worryingly, researchers found that approximately 6,000 African lions exist in populations which may not be viable in the long term, and the study also produced evidence of local extinctions of lions, even in protected areas.

“There is evidence of strong declines and even extirpation of lions in some range countries. Especially in West and Central Africa, declines have been dramatic and conservation measures are urgent,” said the researchers. “While lions are protected in some of the lion areas, in many they are not, and in others they are hunted.”

A lack of lions in West Africa’s national parks is of particular concern to conservationists, with the region housing just 525 individuals. West African lions are considered by some to be a separate subspecies, Panthera leo senegalensis, and recent genetic studies have indicated that this population may actually be more closely related to the Asiatic lion than to other African lions.

“This research is a major step in helping prioritise funding strategies for saving big cats,” said co-author Luke Dollar of National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative (BCI), which helped fund the study. “The research will help us better identify areas in which we can make a difference.”

“Giving these lions something of a fighting chance will require substantial increases in effort,” added co-author Andrew Jackson from Duke University. “The next 10 years are decisive for [West Africa], not just for lions but for biodiversity, since lions are indicators of ecosystem health.”

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

[Richprins]

Thanks, Toko!

"Savannah" can be a loose term, with lions perfectly adaptable to ecosystems ranging from woodland to semi-desert...just not rainforests!
West Africa is a problem regarding simple human encroachment, I think...as lion need a large home range or territory, depending on the density of the population...

They can breed very quickly to catch up with problems, due to their pride structure!