Cecil’s death highlights struggle to conserve lions

OVER the last 20 years, the lion population in Africa has halved. Some estimates show that there are just 15 000 lions left in Africa, with 2 500 left in South Africa alone. The killing of Cecil the lion, one of the most popular attractions at Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, has received worldwide attention and fuelled growing anger about trophy hunting.

Walter Palmer, the man responsible for shooting the famed lion, had to close his practice after receiving death threats. The US resident paid $55 000 for the ‘pleasure’ of killing the 13-year-old wildlife celebrity.

Palmer, a trophied archer, allegedly paid a guide to lure Cecil out of the park so he could be hunted. He shot and wounded Cecil with a bow, but was only able to kill him 40 hours later. Cecil was beheaded and skinned – his carcass remained unused.

However, his death, sad as it is, has also brought about a silver lining, felt none more so than by Durban North residents, Mathew Wright and Natalie Rautenbach. The honorary officers at the Umfolozi Nature Reserve said the tragedy has brought even more awareness to the plight of Africa’s largest carnivore. The big cat is precariously moving towards the brink of extinction, mostly due to habitat loss, conflict with humans over livestock and illegal killing, often for lion bones, used in Asian traditional medicine or trophy hunting.

The duo are also involved in a lion collaring project at the game reserve which they hope will raise awareness on canned hunting and the loss of habitat for lions.

Lion numbers are declining

“It was extremely saddened when I heard about Cecil’s death, particularly because he was being studied and was a collared lion. Mounting evidence is showing that lion numbers are declining. The lion is in trouble.

“For Mat and I, lion conservation is a priority. Their conservation is not only important from a scientific position, but also because of the impact their decline will have on the eco-systems they live in,” said the former Danville Park Girls’ High School pupil.

Her thoughts were echoed by her boyfriend, Mat, a former Northwood School pupil who pointed out the importance of collaring.

“The collaring project is in order to monitor the number of lions at the park and their demographics (sex and age structure). With the collars, you can track them and also study their behaviour and movement. This information can then be used to mitigate conflict and avoid the lions being killed.

“Our project, although in its infancy, aims at promoting the conservation of the species. We are hoping that local businesses and schools will come on board to help raise funds for the project as well as listen to our message of conservation,” Mathew said.

If you would like to get involved in Mathew and Natalie’s project, e-mail matwright10@gmail.com or contact 083 778 2747.