Panthera and WildCRU Commend U.S. Fish and Service for Science-Based Ruling to Increase Protection for Lions under Endangered Species Act

December 21, 2015

New York, NY - Today, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service announced new protections of the lion under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In response, Panthera issued the following statement from Dr. Luke Hunter, President and Chief Conservation Officer:

“Panthera applauds the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the landmark designation and protection of the African lion as ‘Endangered’ in India, and Central Africa and ‘Threatened’ in East and Southern Africa, under the Endangered Species Act,” said Dr. Hunter. “Today’s listing establishes important science-based standards for the international trade in African lion trophies. As a wild cat conservation organization, Panthera is committed to reversing the lion’s precipitous decline. In the face of the overwhelming pressures on African lions, we must raise the bar on legally allowed trophy hunting. We need an above and beyond standard that requires scientific evidence that lion populations are either being maintained at robust levels or increasing in the presence of trophy hunting. We are heartened that USFWS will now require proof that the presence of trophy hunting demonstrably enhances the conservation of lions. Simply being ‘sustainable’ is no longer enough.”

Dr. Hunter continued, “Trophy hunting is only one small factor contributing to the lion’s current status. While today’s bold actions are welcome, they will not stem the rapid decline of the species brought on by far more pressing and pervasive threats, especially the illegal bushmeat industry that empties African savannahs of wildlife, and the widespread killing of lions by people in defense of their livestock. Lions have already disappeared from 22 countries in Africa. Reversing this tragic pattern will require the many local, national and international stakeholders in the lion’s future to commit to its protection on a grand scale.”

Tackling these issues will be the focus of the Cecil Summit being held in 2016 by Panthera and Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU). The head of WildCRU, Professor David Macdonald remarked, “It is very gratifying to see the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledging the gravity of the lion’s decline, but we have a great deal of work still ahead. The Cecil Summit will look for novel ideas from all branches of learning to help develop solutions to these formidable challenges, of which trophy hunting is just one aspect.”

Hunter concluded, “Today’s listing of the lion is a wake-up call to the world that we are losing Africa’s top predator and one of the most marvelous species to ever grace our planet. This designation is just the beginning of the fight to save the lion. My hope is that the ESA listing catalyzes a new era, of deeper, richer and better resourced cooperation between African governments and the international conservation community to save Africa’s great cat.” Background

On October 26th, a new report co-authored by Panthera, Oxford University’s WildCRU, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, IUCN Species Survival Commission Cat Specialist Group and the Department of , Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota unveiled findings indicating lion populations in West and Central Africa have declined at a catastrophic rate in the past 15 years. Lions in East Africa were also shown to have experienced significant population declines, while lion populations in only four southern African nations have increased.

Given the varying status of lion populations in different regions of Africa, Panthera and its partners recommended that species assessments be made at the regional rather than the global level. Recommendations included uplisting the lion to ‘Endangered’ in Central and East Africa, where populations have plummeted in the past 20 years, and listing the lion as ‘Least Concern’ in southern Africa.

Today, through its Project Leonardo, Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization, is carrying out conservation initiatives in 15 of the 27 lion range states in Africa to increase lion populations to a minimum of 30,000 individuals over 15 years.

Earlier this year, international outrage and awareness about the plight of the lion was triggered when a male lion known as ‘Cecil’ was illegally killed outside of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, supported by Panthera and others, studied this lion for eight years through the Hwange Lion Project before its death.

About Panthera Panthera, founded in 2006, is devoted exclusively to the conservation of wild cats and their landscapes, which sustain people and . Panthera’s team of preeminent cat biologists develop and implement science-based conservation strategies for cheetahs, jaguars, leopards, lions, pumas, snow leopards and tigers. Representing the most comprehensive effort of its kind, Panthera works in partnership with NGOs, scientific institutions, communities, corporations and governments to create effective, replicable models that are saving wild cats around the globe. For more information, visit Panthera.org

About WildCRU The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), founded in 1986 by David Macdonald, has a mission to achieve practical solutions to conservation problems through original scientific research. It is a part of the Zoology Department, University of Oxford and is the leading university-based felid research and conservation centre in the world. Visit www.wildcru.org and follow WildCRU on Twitter @WildCRU_OX.

Contact for Panthera: Karen Wood, (646) 786-0402, or [email protected] Susie Weller Sheppard, (347) 446-9904, or [email protected]

Visit us at www.panthera.org