Nonetheless, we consider just African populations and do so without distinction.
Recent research has demonstrated that the lion in West and Central Africa is genetically different from the lion in East and Southern Africa and more closely resembles Asiatic populations (Bertola et al. Lions once lived across Eurasia, but now only a remnant population of a different subspecies ( Panthera leo persica) survives in India. 2008) shows that savannah Africa encompasses most of the present range of the African lion ( Panthera leo leo). (This compares to Cahoon et al.’s ( 1992) estimate of ~10 million km 2.) As we define it, this domain is most of Africa south of the Sahara, excluding the tropical moist forests of West Africa, the Congo, patches of montane forests throughout East Africa, and drier areas in the Southwest, such as the Namib.Īs such, the IUCN Red List entry (henceforth Bauer et al.
Thus defined, we show below that savannahs comprise 13.5 million km 2. For our purposes we call all these areas “savannahs” for simplicity, without wishing to comment on the complexities of what determines the limits of this biome (Sankaran et al. This broad and inevitably arbitrary definition encompasses a wide variety of habitats including grasslands, wetlands, dry woodlands and mosaics of all of these, but most of this area is deemed to be savannah. We define our domain of interest as being those areas of Africa that receive between 300 and 1,500 mm of rain annually. Lion populations in West and Central Africa are acutely threatened with many recent, local extinctions even in nominally protected areas. However, over 6,000 lions are in populations of doubtful long-term viability. Approximately 24,000 lions are in strongholds, with an additional 4,000 in potential ones. Under the criteria we outline, ten lion areas qualify as lion strongholds: four in East Africa and six in Southern Africa. There is abundant evidence of widespread declines and local extinctions. Although these numbers are similar to previous estimates, they are geographically more comprehensive. 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. The current extent of free-ranging lion populations is 3.4 million km 2 or about 25 % of savannah area. 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 comparable area shrank to 9.7 million km 2 by 2000. In 1960, 11.9 million km 2 of these savannahs had fewer than 25 people per km 2. Using high-resolution satellite imagery and human population density data we define lion areas, places that likely have resident lion populations. Dense human populations and extensive conversion of land to human use preclude use by lions. Thus defined, savannahs comprise 13.5 million km 2 and encompass most of the present range of the African lion ( Panthera leo). This broad definition encompasses a variety of habitats. We define African savannahs as being those areas that receive between 300 and 1,500 mm of rain annually.
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