"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead, American anthropologist, 1901-1978
The majestic Asiatic lion once roamed across Asia and the Middle East and Asia. But, by the early 1900s, the species had suffered from hunting – so much so that only about 20 remained in Western India.
Today, numbers are increasing and now there are about 600 Asiatic lions in the Gir Forest. The problem is that they are very vulnerable to forest fires and to disease.
ZSL is working with the Wildlife Institute of India and the Gujarat Forest Department to ensure the wonderful Asiatic Lion has a future.
4 ways ZSL are helping Asiatic Lions in the Gir Forest
Conservation support including training wildlife rangers and training them in using the SMART tool, which was developed by conservation organisations to establish effective patrolling systems, monitor wildlife populations and movements and identify threats such as poaching or disease
Veterinary support – lions have got stuck down wells and come into conflict with people, and the ZSL staff have taught vets vital lifesaving techniques such as how to intubate anaesthetised lions to help them breathe
Working with the Sakkarbaug Zoo where about 40 Asiatic Lions live – some have been injured too much to return to the wild or for other good reasons they live at the zoo. ZSL and the staff at the zoo share best practice and knowledge about the Asiatic Lions.
Education is vital to engage local communities and help them appreciate the importance of lion conservation.
Can I mention also the Lion Trust (who are specialist fund managers) who sponsor ZSL’s Asiatic Lions Campaign. We need more businesses to get involved like this. Thank you to the Lion Trust.
World Lions’ Day is ROARING towards us (it’s on 10th August 2020) and in doing some research for this website to put up something about it, I have as always found myself getting very immersed in some of the fantastic work that charities are doing.
One of the amazing programmes I found out about today was about a very special dog called Kura and Kura’s Pride.
Kura lives with the team working with the charity Ewaso Lions, who promote wildlife-human co-existence. They believe "the long-term survival of lions and other carnivores depends on finding ways people can coexist with them".
Kura turned up in the charity’s camp on the day of the Kenyan National Elections back in 2013. He was lost and lame and looking for somewhere safe to stay. And 7 years on, he is still with the camp!
And now Kura is heading the Kura Pride initiative, which is working to improve domestic dog welfare in Northern Kenya.
During the period October 2019 and June 2020, Kura’s Pride and partners managed to vaccinate over 2,600 animals against rabies and distemper. These two disease harm people and wildlife so it’s a wonderful thing to get the jabs done.
This video tells you more about it. I was struck by how happy everyone looks, dogs and people.
Kura is the Director of Emotional Stability for the charity Ewaso Lions. As such, he warns everyone of poisonous snakes and leopards nearby, and of course he loudly announces any visitor to camp.
The WWF Malaysia and Maybank are celebrating tigers from 29 July to 31 August 2020.
They are kicking the event off on Global Tiger Day (29th July) and finishes on Merdeka Day and the idea is to get us all to #KeepRoaring for the Malayan tiger.
There are now fewer 200 Malayan tigers left. And as WWF Malaysia point, out, we all need healthy forests - and forests need tigers.
#KeepRoaring to save Malayan tigers, save our forests, and save ourselves by taking action!
Pledge your support to make tigers a national priority so that decisions on policy, allocation of resources, enforcement and land management favourable for tiger conservation can be made and implemented.
100 years ago, Javan and Balinese tigers prowled the jungles of Indonesia. Over generation after generation of tiger, mother after mother taught cub after cub how to fit the islands they were born on. They became unique – each a subspecies in its own right.
But people slaughtered them. They were tracked, found, killed and skinned to enhance the prestige of the big-game hunter or fill the coffers of a wildlife trader. Both are now extinct. They’ve gone. And on the next island along – the same thing is happening again.
There are fewer than 400 Sumtran tigers left. That number is going down. They are critically endangered.
Despite the persistent efforts of conservation teams, there aren’t enough areas that are protected to stop poachers getting through and setting deadly snares.
The tigers have no idea about all of this. They don’t have a clue. They cannot avert the slaughter they see don’t coming.
We need to make a stand and learn from the mistakes we’ve made before. We cannot lose these tigers from Sumatra.
Fauna and Flora International are putting rangers in place. They are training and equipping them to remove the snares and keep poachers away. Then the beautiful Sumatra tigers can be safe in the wild again.
In short, donations will put more rangers into the field.
Sometimes you see something on the internet or on television that really hits you hard and makes a point extremely well.
I saw this video, this afternoon, and I wanted to share it with you. Please share it with everyone you can.
The ultimate message is that we SHARE this planet. It demonstrates how dominant the human race has become - and how selfish. I am not going to tell you anymore about it - please just watch it for yourself. Here it is:
