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Today is World Lion Day. This comes after one of Cecil the lion's cubs was killed at the weekend in Zimbabwe by another lion who was trying to mate with his mother.
West and Central African lions have been deemed "regionally critically endangered" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (ICUN). Here are some sobering facts that show why:
The estimated African lion population in 1975 was 250,000. Today, it's 30,000 - just 12 per cent of the 1975 total
The African lion has lost 80 per cent of its natural habitat in the past 50 years
Five countries have lost their entire lion population since 2002
100 lions are killed in Kenya alone every year
£35,000 is the amount of money Walter Palmer paid to hunt Cecil the lion
More: Jimmy Kimmel made an emotional Cecil the lion plea. This is what happened next
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