Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Lions could once be found throughout Africa, southern Europe, and parts of Asia. Today, this territory has decreased and their primary habitats are Africa and the Gir Forest in India.
Climate change is one of the reasons lions numbers are declining. It is leading to outbreaks of the disease distemper. Usually lions can survive these outbreaks with only minor fatalities. However, outbreaks in 1994 and 2001 caused massive fatalities. According to the Defenders of Wildlife, researchers have concluded that these incidences occurred because of droughts that occurred at the time of the outbreaks.
Historically, lions have been killed for sport and are prized as big-game trophies. Just because a lion is located in a protected area does not guarantee its protection. Lions are seen as vermin, and a threat to farmers' livestock. Because of this, farmers will usually shoot them on sight. Also, native tribes in Africa hunted lions for centuries. A boy's becoming a man was signified when he killed his first lion and brought the skin back to the village.
The growth of the human population has caused the territory available to the lions to decrease. Farmers who want to expand their farm and grazing lands put pressure on the government to open national park lands to them, and usually they succeed in their efforts.