If they lose their cubs, they will be willing to reproduce within a couple of weeks. The reason why cubs are killed is that females don’t reproduce until the cubs are almost two years of age. Food shortage is a major contributor to infant mortality.īecause male lions are very territorial, they kill all the cubs of defeated rivals to produce their own offspring with the females. Afterward, the lionesses eat, and the leftovers are for the cubs. Even though male lions do not hunt, they are the leaders of the pride and get to eat first. The mortality rate of lion cubs is as high as 80%, due to the hierarchical structure among big cats. In addition to human threats, lion cubs are facing the biggest danger within their own species. However, in many cases, regulatory numbers of male lion offtake have been exceeded, which means that trophy hunting is a threat. Trophy hunting can bring in necessary revenue while maintaining the population status. While some people argue that trophy hunting, if done correctly, is a legitimate conservation measure, there are several negative effects. Trophy HuntingĪnother sensitive topic that always stirs up a heated debate is Trophy hunting. Farmers simply poison a carcass which gets eaten by the carnivorous animals. Especially poisoning has become common practice because it is effective and can kill several predators at once. This is why lions who preyed on livestock, more particularly cattle, were killed out of retaliation or threat prevention.
Moreover, many farmers still look upon lions as threats to their livelihood. The decrease in herbivores, in turn, depletes the lion’s food possibilities. Livestock territories are fenced, limiting the herbivore food supply. Former savanna grasslands became farmland occupied by livestock. Lion and human territory have merged due to the expansion of settlements and livestock farming. The rapid decline of these regal cats came with Africa’s immense population growth.
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