Studies reveal hidden consequences of hunting Africa s trophy lions

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1 DIRECTIONS: READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES. ANNOTATE THEM AS YOU READ- CIRCLE ANY WORDS YOU MAY NOT KNOW AND LOOK UP THE DEFINTION OF THAT WORD AND WRITE IT IN THE MARGIN. ANSWER THE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW EACH PIECE. Studies reveal hidden consequences of hunting Africa s trophy lions By Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times on Word Count 835 JOHANNESBURG After the global uproar over the death of a Zimbabwean lion dubbed Cecil, the hunting industry had a response: By killing animals, trophy hunters are actually saving Africa s wildlife. Trophy hunting, the industry contended, gives the animals an economic value to local communities, which otherwise see them as hated vermin to be exterminated at all costs. So although some are killed by hunters, greater numbers are saved. But one body of research suggests an alternative hypothesis: Hunting, as currently practiced, has hidden consequences that take a far greater toll on lion populations than people realize. Craig Packer, director of the Lion Research Center at the University of Minnesota, has led a series of studies identifying over-hunting as the major reason for the steep decline in lion populations in Tanzania, the biggest lion-hunting country in Africa. At the root of the problem, he believes, is the preference of trophy hunters for large male lions, the dominant animals in a pride. When a hunter kills and takes home one big male trophy, other males fight and kill one another for dominance, Packer said. The male lions might also kill off the cubs and attack females who try to defend them. In Tanzania, Packer said, the big, older trophy males became so depleted that hunters started killing immature maneless lions. If you are shooting that many young males, it means you ve shot all the big ones. It was incredibly poorly managed. It s a very efficient way to promote the social instability that will cause a population to decline, he said in a telephone interview. Julian Rademeyer, author of Killing for Profit, a book about poaching in southern Africa, said professional hunters face huge pressure to ensure that foreign hunters bag the big trophies they re after. Professional hunters in Zimbabwe were arrested for their role in the bow hunting death of Cecil, a large, dominant lion, by American dentist Walter Palmer. They will do pretty much anything to get your trophy. There s immense pressure on hunting outfits to get those trophies, Rademeyer said. It s meant to be regulated use and sustainable hunting. In instances where you have widespread corruption and regulations are not adhered to, it just becomes a killing frenzy and that s what s happening in Zimbabwe. From 2002 to 2009, 1,363 lion trophies were exported from Tanzania, but the figure

2 ignores the many lions that were killed in the aftermath of hunts, and the effect on breeding. According to Packer s research, intensive hunting has caused sharp declines in lion populations in Tanzania, not just in hunting areas but also in national parks. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the lion population in Tanzania declined 66 percent from 1993 to A 2009 study by Packer and other scientists concluded that areas with the highest intensity of sport hunting have shown the steepest population declines in African lions... over the past 25 years. A 2011 study he carried out called for reductions in lion hunting quotas, saying that the intensity of trophy hunting was the only significant factor in declines in male trophy lions. Packer s reports led the Tanzanian government to cut hunting quotas and introduce a law against shooting immature males, but he said the law has rarely been enforced because of widespread corruption in the industry. The global population of lions has dropped from 100,000 in the 1980s to an estimated 30,000, but could be much lower. In Kenya, where hunting was banned in 1977, the lion population has dropped from 15,000 to about 2,000 in 15 years, a statistic often cited by the hunting industry to demonstrate that hunting is not the problem. In Kenya, lions roam free and often come into conflict with nomadic cattle-herding people, who kill them with poison to protect the cattle. By contrast, South Africa, which has a big trophy hunting industry popular with Americans, has about 9,000 lions, nearly a third of the global total, and the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa says that trophy hunts contribute about $90 million to the economy. However, only about 2,800 of South Africa s lions are wild. Nearly 70 percent are captive bred, often used as cubs in petting zoos, then sold off to canned hunting outfits where foreign trophy hunters pick off semi-tame lions fenced into small areas, in a practice likened to dynamiting fish. Critics contend that trophy hunting brings little economic benefit to local communities. That s the biggest myth about sport hunting, that it gives value to lions, Packer said. A 2013 study by Economists at Large, an Australian organization of conservationminded economists, found that on average only 3 percent of money generated by trophy hunting winds up in the hands of local people. It formed only 1.2 percent of all tourism revenue in South Africa, 2.3 percent in Tanzania and 3.2 percent in Zimbabwe, the study found. We see that across Africa, local communities receive minimal benefit from trophy hunting, particularly when we consider the vast areas of land that hunting concessions occupy, the report said.

3 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE READING: 1. Which of the following contain two CENTRAL ideas of the article? (A) Recent research has shown that trophy hunting in Africa has hidden consequences that have a great impact on lion populations and question hunters' arguments that hunting protects wildlife and provides important economic gains; the demanding expectations of foreign hunters and the lack of enforced regulation of the trophy hunting industry has dangerously contributed to the impact of hunting on declining lion populations. (B) There is a controversial debate between scientists, who believe trophy hunting is causing a decline in lion populations, and hunters, who believe trophy hunting is promoting the protection of lions by increasing their value; a study published by conservation economists have found that local communities do not significantly benefit form trophy hunting. (C) Recent research has shown that trophy hunting in Africa has hidden consequences that have a great impact on lion populations and question hunters' arguments that hunting protects wildlife and provides important economic gains; the global population of lions has dropped to a dangerously low number despite widespread efforts to cut hunting quotas. (D) There is a controversial debate between scientists, who believe trophy hunting is causing a decline in lion populations, and hunters, who believe trophy hunting is promoting the protection of lions by increasing their value; lions themselves are responsible for a large part of their population decline as it is common for males to fight and kill one another for dominance when a large male is eliminated. 2. Which of the following sentences would be MOST appropriate to include in an objective summary of the article? (A) Despite their controversial role, the intentions of trophy hunters are likely to bring important tourism opportunities into their communities. (B) Professional hunters are pressured to ignore regulations and hunt big trophies at all costs by foreign hunters seeking to kill only large male lions. (C) It is critical that the rising declines in African lions due to trophy hunting be stopped by enforcing laws that limit hunting quotas and protect immature lions. (D) The important examples of Kenya and South Africa prove that trophy hunting is not the determining factor in declining lion populations.

4 3. The author develops the perspective of those against current trophy hunting practices in all of the following ways EXCEPT: (A) by providing data that refutes the claims that trophy hunting offers economic benefits to local communities and protects lions by increasing their value (B) by quoting experts about the underlying factors that determine the consequences of trophy hunting on local lion populations (C) by comparing the lion populations of countries with successful regulation of the trophy hunting industries to the lion populations of countries that lack regulation (D) by describing the corruption that undermines important changes in laws that have reduced hunting quotas and protected young males 4. How does the repeated allusion to the death of the Zimbabwean lion named Cecil in the article contribute to its effectiveness? (A) The author's use of a well-known and highly controversial example of trophy hunting provides the reader with familiar context to create relevancy and highlights the contention of the issue. (B) The author's use of a detailed and emotional anecdote of the negative impact of trophy hunting characterizes the importance of Packer's research on declining lion populations. (C) The author's analysis of the underlying factors that contributed to the notorious death of a famous lion provides important insight into steps toward better regulation to protect lions in the future. (D) The author's analysis of the consequences of one lion's death on the larger population of lions illustrates trophy hunters' argument that hunting protects wildlife by increasing their value.

5 In the race for big cat survival, Africa's lions are sadly losing By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 977 LAGOS, Nigeria Lions are vanishing in Africa, where they have long been a symbol of the continent's wild beauty, power and freedom. The disappearance has researchers worried, including Philipp Henschel, 40, who studies lions for a New York animal conservation group called Panthera Corporation. The situation is particularly dire in West Africa, where Henschel tells The Associated Press that he sought out lions for three years. He did not find a single one until a discovery in Nigeria in 2009, which surprised him. "Nigeria has by far the biggest human population on the continent," Henschel says. "The national parks are fairly small compared to others in West Africa that already have lost their lions." National Symbols Of Pride West African lions are celebrated in Nigeria as a national symbol of pride. With their short manes or none at all, they look more like Asian lions than their southern and east African cousins. "Everyone was excited, including rangers from Nigeria's National Park Service. It was the first time they had seen one too," Henschel says. By 2009, there were fewer than 30 lions left in Nigeria's Kainji Lake National Park, and only about five in the country's Yankari National Park, an incredibly low count that saddened scientists. Henschel says that in 2006, Nigerian conservationists had found lions in six protected areas, but by 2009, lions were only left in two areas. Since then, Henschel has surveyed all 21 West African protected areas where lions might exist. He found only nine lions, and in only four areas. Two of the reserves are Niokolo- Koba National Park in Senegal, and the Pendjari and Arli National Parks, on the border between Benin and Burkina Faso. Protecting Remaining Endangered Lions Last year, Henschel published a report that said lions no longer exist in 99 percent of their historic, West African range. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) added West African lions to its Red List as critically endangered. Henschel also said that the United States might list the West African lion as endangered under its Endangered Species Act, a law protecting endangered wildlife and plants. The listing would prohibit trophy imports by American hunters. Henschel has lived nearly half his life in another West African country, Gabon, where lions had not been seen for 20 years.

6 In January, a researcher was filming chimpanzees and simply by chance, filmed a lion. Ivonne Kienast of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology captured the image in Gabon's Bateke Plateau National Park. Lions have not been sighted there since 1995, and Henschel thinks it probably strayed across the border from Congo. The lion appears to be 4 1/2 years old, just the right age for breeding. Researchers named him Ali, after Gabon's President Ali Bongo, whom Henschel says loves the big cats. Panthera Corporation, the German-based Max Planck Institute, and Gabonese wildlife officials are now searching for two female lions to import in hopes of renewing the park's lion population. Lion Numbers Are Alarmingly Low Lion populations are declining in much of Africa, especially the west and central areas of the continent. Research shows a decrease there in nearly all lion populations since 1990, and both regions could lose half their number of big cats within the next two decades. Henschel contributed to that report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The same report predicts a 37 percent chance that half the lion population of East Africa will also disappear. The report also noted in the south of Africa, lion populations are increasing in only four countries. The nations are Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, where most lions are in fenced-in reserves. Henschel says that until 11,000 years ago, lions roamed much of the world, and could be found in Africa, Europe, Asia, and even North America. Today they are only in India and Africa. Indian officials say only about 500 lions remain, all in the state of Gujarat, and the IUCN says that in all of Africa, fewer than 20,000 lions are left in the wild. In West Africa, Henschel's research shows only 400 lions, making them possibly the most endangered lions on the planet. Humans Are Mostly To Blame There are several reasons for the decline, all caused by humans. More farmers are encroaching on traditional lion ranges, and poachers are taking out more bush meat, such as antelope, the sole food source for the big cat. Global warming is also limiting grazing land, which causes conflict between nomadic herders and farmers, and leaves even less space for lions. As a result, lions stray from protected areas and kill cattle. Henschel says that herders will often poison a cow carcass to kill the lion that felled it. Trophy hunting is another threat, though it is only legal in two West African countries, Burkina Faso and Benin. The number of kills there has diminished over the last year, since the European Union banned imports of lion trophies from both countries. Earlier this year, a famous lion named Cecil was killed by an American trophy hunter in the southern African country of Zimbabwe. Conservationists say he was lured out of a

7 protected area in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, wounded, tracked down and killed. People all over the world were outraged, and the attention brought increased interest in lion conservation. Cecil Summit In February, Panthera and a British group called WildCRU are hosting a Cecil Summit. The gathering in Oxford, England plans to draw attention to the threat to lions like Cecil. Henschel hopes to use Cecil's death to attract funding from conservation agencies and Nigerian philanthropists, to make sure lions do not disappear in Africa. Panthera President Luke Hunter says: "We have to confront that reality. Lions and people both evolved in Africa and co-existed for millennia, but today, one is losing the race for survival."

8 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE READING: 1. Read the paragraph from the section "Humans Are Mostly To Blame." Trophy hunting is another threat, though it is only legal in two West African countries, Burkina Faso and Benin. The number of kills there has diminished over the last year, since the European Union banned imports of lion trophies from both countries. Which statement can be inferred from this paragraph? (A) The European Union has made lion conservation one of its major initiatives. (B) Governments have shown little interest in protecting the lion populations. (C) Trophy hunting poses the greatest current threat to the lion population. (D) Measures by governments to protect lions have been only partially effective. 2. Read the following sentence from the article. Panthera President Luke Hunter says: "We have to confront that reality. Lions and people both evolved in Africa and coexisted for millennia, but today, one is losing the race for survival." Which of the following selections from the article BEST supports the given statement? (A) Lions have not been sighted there since 1995, and Henschel thinks it probably strayed across the border from Congo. (B) Henschel also said that the United States might list the West African lion as endangered under its Endangered Species Act, a law protecting endangered wildlife and plants. (C) Indian officials say only about 500 lions remain, all in the state of Gujarat, and the IUCN says that in all of Africa, fewer than 20,000 lions are left in the wild. (D) Global warming is also limiting grazing land, which causes conflict between nomadic herders and farmers, and leaves even less space for lions.

9 3. What is the MOST likely reason why the author ends the article with the paragraphs in the section "Cecil Summit"? (A) to emphasize that Cecil's death was an important event for conservationists (B) to suggest that conservationists are losing the race to protect the lion population (C) to emphasize how the death of lions like Cecil can help the lion conservation movement (D) to suggest that there are more effective ways that conservationists can attract funding 4. Read the following paragraph. By 2009, there were fewer than 30 lions left in Nigeria's Kainji Lake National Park, and only about five in the country's Yankari National Park, an incredibly low count that saddened scientists. Henschel says that in 2006, Nigerian conservationists had found lions in six protected areas, but by 2009, lions were only left in two areas. How does the last sentence of the paragraph contribute to the development of the MAIN idea of the article? (A) It provides a specific example of documented decreases in the lion population. (B) It provides historical context for the worldwide decreases in the lion population. (C) It furthers the idea that the lion populations in Africa will not be able to reach sustainable levels. (D) It furthers the idea that lion conservation is not an issue that people need to worry about.