U.S. moves to list African lion as threatened

WASHINGTON — Fearing that the world’s most iconic big cat could soon go extinct as humans invade its range, the Obama administration on Monday proposed listing the African lion as a threatened species.

The proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would make the African lion the last big cat to receive federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. In the last two decades, their numbers have fallen by 30 percent, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Over that time, human development into areas inhabited by lions has increased. Their prey “is hunted by humans at unsustainable levels” for bush meat, the federal agency said in a statement. To survive, lions kill livestock, and in response, ranchers slaughter lions.

“Demographers believe the human population in sub-Saharan Africa will double by 2050,” said Daniel Ashe, the director of Fish and Wildlife. “Unless things improve, lions will face extinction. It’s up to us and not just the people of Africa to ensure that lions will continue to roam.”

The agency will seek public comment for 90 days. Several groups, including International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Humane Society of the United States and Defenders of Wildlife, petitioned the government in 2012 to list the African lion as endangered, a category that offers slightly more protection than the threatened designation. Tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars and pumas are all listed as endangered.

There were about 75,000 African lions in 1980, according to the best estimates, said the IUCN. Now there are between 32,000 and 33,000, most concentrated in 10 areas in eastern and southern Africa.

After a two-year analysis, Fish and Wildlife stopped short of designating lions as endangered, saying they are not at immediate risk of extinction. Ashe said the agency proposed the threatened designation because lions are likely to “disappear in the foreseeable future” if they are not protected.

Hunting an animal listed as endangered in Africa is legal if the host nation permits it, but the remains of the animal cannot be imported to the United States for a trophy. Hunting and trophies are allowed in the U.S. for threatened animals, but hunters must apply for permits and the government can refuse a permit if it believes the plight of the species has worsened.

“I hope that the proposed listing will be approved,” Goodall said. “How terrible to lose the ‘king of beasts’ from the African scene.”

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