And in the midst of all this,
man progresses. Man’s progress is Lion’s destruction. Man builds, farms, usurps
land, they do all but do not protect. And when they hear of lion’s sudden disappearance,
their extinction, they come up with steps to show that they care.
While increasing farming and
cultivating land seems to be the main factor for this, it is also true that
West African nations are among the poorest and funding initiatives are hard to
get implemented. Radical steps need to be taken and it will need a Herculean
effort on the part of Government and communities to do this. Perhaps it will
take international communities to see the problem and help the impoverished nations
to fund for saving the lions. Or perhaps they can get a cue from the success of
Gujarat, where the lion population soared and thrived. It may have been because
of local people’s active participation in conservation efforts and tolerance to
the lions or better management of local communities and wildlife land, but the
results are there for all to see. But, while we are alarmed at this news, the
population of lions in South and East Africa is alarmingly healthy and
prospering!!
So let’s hope that lions thrive
in these West African states and do not get declining with every passing year.
