New study reveals lions are rapidly losing ground in Africa

Suitable lion habitat reduced by 75 percent and wild lion population under decline

2012-12-04

(Press-News.org) A new study released this week confirms that lions are rapidly and literally losing ground across Africa's once-thriving savannahs due to burgeoning human population growth and subsequent, massive land-use conversion. Representing the most comprehensive assessment of the state and vitality of African savannah habitat to date, the report maintains that the lion has lost 75% of its original natural habitat in Africa – a reduction that has devastated lion populations across the continent.

Co-authored by Panthera's Lion Program Survey Coordinator, Dr. Philipp Henschel, and a team of researchers coordinated by Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, this report, entitled The size of savannah Africa: A lion's (Panthera leo) view, was published online this week in the journal 'Biodiversity and Conservation.'

Using Google Earth's high-resolution satellite imagery, the study examined savannah habitat across Africa, which comprises the majority of the lion's current range, and also analyzed human population density data to identify areas of suitable habitat currently occupied by lions. Incredibly, the analysis identified only 67 isolated regions across the continent where significant lion populations may persist. Of these areas, just 15 were estimated to maintain a population of at least 500 lions.

"The reality is that from an original area a third larger than the continental United States, only 25% remains," explained Stuart Pimm, co-author and Doris Duke Chair of Conservation at Duke University.

The study also confirms that in West Africa, where the species is classified as Regionally Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, fewer than 500 lions remain, scattered across eight isolated regions.

"Lions have been hit hardest in West Africa, where local governments often lack direct incentives to protect them," Dr. Henschel commented. "While lions generate billions of tourist dollars across Eastern and Southern Africa, spurring governments to invest in their protection, wildlife-based tourism is only slowly developing in West Africa. Currently lions still have little economic value in the region, and West African governments will require significant foreign assistance in stabilizing remaining populations until sustainable local conservation efforts can be developed."

Luke Dollar, co-author and Grants Program Director of National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative (BCI), which provided partial funding for this work, added, "This research is a major step in helping prioritize funding strategies for saving big cats."

Earlier this year, Panthera became a scientific and strategic collaborator on the National Geographic Society's Big Cats Initiative (BCI) to jointly address the most serious threats facing big cats in the wild and facilitate the direction of financial support to the most efficient and impactful conservation programs. Since then, with the support of the BCI, Panthera's Lion Program Survey Coordinator, Dr. Henschel, has conducted a survey of West Africa's last lion stronghold, the tri-national W-Arly-Pendjari Complex (located in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger), whose findings will be soon published.

Panthera also recently assessed the status of lion populations in all critical conservation areas of West Africa, and is currently involved in the development of a lion conservation strategy for the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex.

Read Panthera's recent report, Illegal Hunting and the Bush-Meat Trade in Savanna Africa: Drivers, Impacts and Solutions to Address the Problem.

Read Panthera's co-authored reports on the state of lions in West and Central Africa, Lion status updates from five range countries in West and Central Africa and 2011 Survey of Lion (Panthera leo) in Yankari Game Reserve and Kainji Lake National Park, Nigeria.

INFORMATION:

About Panthera

Panthera, founded in 2006, is the world's leading organization devoted exclusively to the conservation of wild cats and their ecosystems. Utilizing the expertise of the world's premier cat biologists, Panthera develops and implements global conservation strategies for the largest, most imperiled cats – tigers, lions, jaguars, and snow leopards. Representing the most comprehensive effort of its kind, Panthera works in partnership with local and international NGOs, scientific institutions, local communities and governments around the globe. Visit http://www.panthera.org/

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for Dec. 4, 2012

2012-12-04

1. American College of Physicians Says Upper Endoscopy Overused in Patients with Reflux Routine use of upper endoscopy for most patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) does not improve patient health, is associated with preventable harms, and may lead to unnecessary interventions and costs, says the American College of Physicians (ACP) Clinical Guidelines Committee in a new evidence-based clinical policy paper. Heartburn, a symptom of GERD, is a common reason for people to see a doctor. Long term complications of GERD can include scarring of the esophagus ...

American College of Physicians: Upper endoscopy is overused in patients with heartburn

2012-12-04

PHILADELPHIA, December 4, 2012 -- Heartburn is one of the most common reasons for people to see a doctor, and some physicians often use upper endoscopy to diagnose and manage gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). But most patients do not require the procedure unless other serious symptoms are present, according to the American College of Physicians (ACP) Clinical Guidelines Committee in a new evidence-based clinical policy paper published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. "The evidence indicates that upper endoscopy is indicated in patients with heartburn only when ...

Healthy eating beneficial beyond drug therapy in preventing a second heart attack

2012-12-04

Hamilton, ON (Dec. 3, 2012) - A heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fish significantly reduces the chance of a second heart attack and stroke in people with cardiovascular disease, McMaster University researchers have found. A five-year study of almost 32,000 patients (average age 66.5 years) in 40 countries discovered those who ate a heart-healthy diet had a: 35 per cent reduction in risk for cardiovascular death 14 per cent reduction in risk for new heart attacks 28 per cent reduction in risk for congestive heart failure 19 per cent reduction ...

Healthy diet may help prevent recurrent heart attacks, strokes

2012-12-04

If you have cardiovascular disease, a heart-healthy diet may help protect you from recurrent heart attacks and strokes, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. "At times, patients don't think they need to follow a healthy diet since their medications have already lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol — that is wrong," said Mahshid Dehghan, Ph.D., study author and a nutritionist at the Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. "Dietary modification has benefits in addition to those ...

Social media may help fight childhood obesity

2012-12-04

Social media may be an effective tool to help children overcome obesity, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement. The statement is published online in the association's journal Circulation. "Online communication and social media are an increasing part of our lives and our overall social network of family, friends and peers," said Jennifer S. Li, M.D., M.H.S., chair of the writing group. "Healthcare providers should embrace its potential as a tool for promoting healthy behavioral change." The writing group evaluated research on Internet-based ...

New findings on glucagon synthesis

2012-12-04

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have shown that the cells that produce glucagon are stimulated by the hormone itself. A previous study by the same group demonstrated that this principle also applies to insulin. This means that a feedback system is at work in the body, whereby hormone secreting cells receive an immediate signal to produce more of the hormone. While insulin is a hormone that lowers the level of glucose in the blood, glucagon is a hormone that increases it. Associate Professors Barbara and Ingo Leibiger and Professor Per-Olof Berggren at ...

Why older adults become fraud victims more often

2012-12-04

Why are older people especially vulnerable to becoming victims of fraud? A new UCLA study indicates that an important clue may lie in a particular region of the brain that influences the ability to discern who is honest and who is trying to deceive us. Older people, more than younger adults, may fail to interpret an untrustworthy face as potentially dishonest, the study shows. The reason for this, the UCLA life scientists found, seems to be that a brain region called the anterior insula, which is linked to disgust and is important for discerning untrustworthy faces, ...

Longer treatment for male UTI not associated with reduced early or late recurrence risk

2012-12-04

CHICAGO – A study of more than 33,000 outpatient male veterans suggests that a longer duration of antimicrobial treatment of more than seven days for a urinary tract infection (UTI) appeared not to be associated with a reduced risk of early or late recurrence compared to a shorter duration (seven days or less) of treatment, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. The optimal treatment duration for UTI in ambulatory, noncatheterized women is well defined, but the optimal treatment duration in men is unknown. ...

Study examines psychotropic medication use among US adolescents with mental disorders

2012-12-04

CHICAGO – A survey finds that 14.2 percent of adolescents ages 13 to 18 years with any mental disorder reported being treated with a psychotropic medication in the last 12 months, which researchers suggest challenges concerns about widespread overmedication and misuse of psychotropic medications among young people in the U.S., according to a study published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. Concern has been raised about inappropriate prescribing of psychotropic medications to children and adolescents, but these criticisms ...

Research, response for future oil spills: Lessons learned from Deepwater Horizon

2012-12-04

A special collection of articles about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill provides the first comprehensive analysis and synthesis of the science used in the unprecedented response effort by the government, academia, and industry. Papers present a behind-the-scenes look at the extensive scientific and engineering effort—teams, data, information, and advice from within and outside the government—assembled to respond to the disaster. And, with the benefit of hindsight and additional analyses, these papers evaluate the accuracy of the information that was used in real-time to ...

New study reveals lions are rapidly losing ground in Africa

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: