Geography For Dummies. Jerry T. Mitchell
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than 23,000 left in Africa (a 40 percent loss in just the last two decades!).
What in the world — or rather, what in Africa — happened to cause such a reduction in the size of lion country? Why did it happen? And what is the significance? I do not really expect you to have the answers at your fingertips. But take a few moments again, and this time see if you can’t come up with some possible reasons as to why lions live where the map says that they do, and why lion country has decreased so substantially.
Where lions hang out
First of all, where do lions live? No, I’m not asking you for a street address; but rather, in what kind of environment do lions tend to hang out? Here are a few choices of where your average well-adjusted lion might live:
In a forest
In a desert
In a grassland
Anywhere it darn well pleases
Although the last choice has considerable merit, the best response is “in a grassland.” Lions generally live in grasslands (you can read more about where they don’t live in the sidebar titled “Animal Geography, Hollywood Style”). You may have known the answer because just about everybody has seen a TV wildlife documentary, which, in graphic detail, shows lions killing their next meal and then eating it. But just in case, next time you see one of those programs, concentrate on the physical setting instead of the kill. That’s right, skip the build-up … . the eyeing of the herd … . the stalk … the chase … . the cute little impala meeting its untimely end. Instead, focus your attention on the surrounding countryside, and what you are bound to see is that this life and death drama is playing out on what is essentially an extensive grassland.
What gives with grasslands?
But what gives with grasslands? Or rather, why do lions choose to inhabit grasslands? Here are a few choices as to why lions live in grasslands:
Green is their favorite color.
That’s where those cute little impalas live.
They run into few trees.
The rents are low.
Although each choice could be correct, the best response is “that’s where those cute little impalas live.” Lions love impalas.
Indeed, they truly love them to death. Like all wild animals, lions tend to live in places where they can find relatively abundant food to their liking. So, lions hang out where impalas, zebras, wildebeests, and other animals are on the menu. Lions, of course, are carnivores — meat-eaters. And nearly all the animals on the menu are herbivores — grass-eaters. Lions prefer to live in a grassland because, as far as they are concerned, it’s one big meat market.
Extinction made easy
Time to stop beating around the bush — and around the grassland, for that matter. The main message of the map is that lion country is a small fraction of its former size. And although the animal itself is not on the brink of extinction, things would appear to be headed in that direction. So what happened?
ANIMAL GEOGRAPHY, HOLLYWOOD STYLE
Movies may be responsible for more environmental misinformation than any other source. Thus, in the world according to Hollywood, animals have a maddening tendency to show up in locations where they have no business being. Sometimes the errors are rather obscure. For example, in the nativity scene at the start of the 1959 movie Ben-Hur, a Holstein calf prances by the manger. Holsteins are those dairy cattle with the black and white splotches. The problem is the Holsteins come from Schleswig-Holstein, the part of Germany that borders Denmark. Two thousand years ago, there would not have been a Holstein anywhere near Bethlehem. Like I said, sometimes the errors are rather obscure. Then again, sometimes the errors are downright outrageous, and, in that regard, nothing beats Hollywood’s treatment of the African lion. Check out just about any of the old Tarzan movies, George of the Jungle, or a host of other flicks set in a rainforest. Almost inevitably, one or more lions show up. The problem, of course, is that a lion has a whole lot less business being in a rainforest than does a Holstein in Bethlehem. Lions do not live in rainforests. Could they be near one? Sure, as habitats do rub up against each other. But an African lion really isn’t the King of the Jungle and the reason is simple. A lion has virtually nothing to eat in a rainforest — except maybe Tarzan.
Perhaps it would be better if I personalized the question. Let’s say you really have it in for the king of beasts and want to get rid them. I’m talking extinction. What is a safe, easy, and effective way to go about it? You have a handful of options:
Shoot every last one of them
Teach impalas self-defense
Destroy their habitat
Pack them off to Australia
Although each response has some possibilities, the best choice is “destroy their habitat.” And that is indeed the main reason for the reduction of lion country from its former dimensions to its present ones and is also the reason why the lion is located where it is now.
A natural habitat can change for natural reasons or for unnatural reasons. As regards to the former, climate change is a major possibility. Natural grasslands are the result of a specific set of climatic characteristics. So if those climatic factors change, you would expect grasslands to change, too. Now, ample evidence exists of climate change in Africa. But the nature and extent of it is insufficient to explain the wholesale disappearance of grasslands over the wide area indicated on the map. So, climate is not the primary culprit. Instead, the fault lies elsewhere and mainly takes the form of human beings. Those humans are building roads, converting land to agriculture, and building settlements. Some people also kill lions as sporting trophies or in retaliation for killing livestock.
Fewer lions? So what?
What, if anything, is the significance of the map and the story behind it? Is there any relevance? I believe so.
The pressure on natural habitats continues (and not only in Africa). Unless something is done to halt the tide, the great grasslands will continue to diminish and so, too, will the lions. Governments in affected areas are increasingly committed to heritage conservation and view protection of natural habitats and wildlife as part of that process. Thus, the average lion in the wild today lives in a national park or national game preserve. But pressure is being put on governments to open the parks to grazing and other activities that constitute “multiple use.” Local officials must make choices that concern balancing the desire for conservation with the needs of citizens.
The situation is relevant to other lands, including the United States. Lions don’t live in the wild in the U.S., but other animals do. And in many cases, their stories mimic the lion’s. That is, they are much less widespread than they used to be. National parks and preserves have helped stem their decline and some species have been successfully re-introduced to some areas. But human population growth, coupled with pressure for land development and multiple uses, make the future uncertain. In the U.S., as in Africa, choices must be made. Looking at the locations of animals and their habitats and thinking geographically about them help clarify the issues and processes that are involved and encourage informed decision-making.
Summing up
The answer to our geographical question (Where are African lions located and why?) is that lions are located in the parts of Africa shown on Figure 2-1 mainly because of habitat reduction that is human in origin. After posing the question, we analyzed geographic information that led to the answer, after which we pondered the implications of our findings to wildlife conservation elsewhere in the world. All in all, the focus was on thinking geographically so as to