A hidden population of nearly 200 lions was recently found in a remote northwestern region of Ethiopia. Wildlife researchers from Born Free Foundation said the lions were spotted using camera traps set up in the Alatash national park on Ethiopia's border with Sudan.
A hidden population of nearly 200 lions was recently found in a remote northwestern region of Ethiopia. Wildlife researchers from Born Free Foundation said the lions were spotted using camera traps set up in the Alatash national park on Ethiopia's border with Sudan.
"The confirmation that lions persist in this area is exciting news," Born Free Foundation said in a statement. "With lion numbers in steep decline across most of the African continent, the discovery of previously unconfirmed populations is hugely important."
Hans Bauer, a lion conservationist from the University of Oxford's Conservation Research Unit who led the tracking expedition, said there could be up to 200 lions in the park.
"On a total surface area of about 10,000 square kilometers, this would mean a population of 100-200 lions for the entire ecosystem."
In recent years, lions who are an endangered species have disappeared from much of Ethiopia, and only about 20,000 lions are left in the wild across Africa.
In fact, researchers estimate that west and central Africa populations may even be cut in half within the next 20 years.
Source: PL