Abstract
Lions and their prey are threatened across Africa, we present trends and regional differences. Research on lions is difficult and there is often much uncertainty over numbers, we present the two most important survey techniques. Major threats are prey depletion, habitat loss and human-lion conflict; we present various mitigation measures. Lion conservation cannot be seen in isolation, lions are rather a charismatic flagship species for more holistic conservation. Funding is the main issue; if African Protected Areas would be properly funded the current estate could have 4x more lions without competing with people for scarce land. We will make special reference to the situation in Ethiopia, in connection with the research of Tariku Mekonnen.
Hans Bauer, University of Oxford (Department of Zoology)