Conservationists have welcomed the “extremely encouraging” discovery of a lion in Chad, where the animals were believed to be extinct.
The animal was seen in the Sena Oura National Park, where it had not been seen since 2004.
A team of conservationists from the government of Chad and the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) released a photo of a lioness.
“The image shows an excellent, very healthy adult lioness around the age of five,” Luke Hunter, executive director of the WCS Big Cat programme, told the BBC.
“I’m sure she’s not alone,” he added.
The photo, taken in February by a remote camera inside the sanctuary, was released on Thursday
The lioness was spotted in the Sena Oura National Park in Chad. The image was released by a team of conservationists from the government of Chad and the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society
The photo, taken in February by a remote camera inside the sanctuary, was released on Thursday.
Dr Hunter said: “This is very encouraging as excellent females form the basis of any lion population and they are not great migrants: they inhabit areas where there is prey and where they can safely raise their young.”
He also noted that the discovery was an early sign that lions were recovering in a neighboring national park in Cameroon.
In 2014, the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species determined that lions in Sena Oura were extinct.
Lioness and cubs (file photo). No lions have been seen in the Sena Oura National Park since 2004
The WCS says that the national park “underwent a period of relentless, organized poaching more than a decade ago, but has since benefited from a very strong conservation commitment from the governments of Cameroon and Chad.”
It added: “This has led to better protection of national parks and wildlife populations are now beginning to recover.”
DR Hunter says there are approximately 22,000 to 24,000 lions left in the wild, most of which are classified as subspecies of southern lions, native to southern and eastern Africa.
There are fewer than 1,000 northern lions in Central and West Africa, and they are “particularly endangered and valuable,” he said.
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Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
