From adorning our flags, guarding our temples, and capturing hearts, the lion has rightfully earned its place as the world’s most iconic species. Revered across almost every continent and culture, the lion is seen through the lenses of praise, power, and fascination. But today, this symbolically significant creature is suffering a silent extinction across Africa and India – a global crisis that affects all but is known by few.
In response, World Lion Day was established on August 10th as the first global stance to recognise the critical importance of lion protection, celebrate the lion’s virtue worldwide, and empower the preservation of their mighty presence. Throughout history, lions have played integral roles in religion, culture, economics, and biology for all of humanity. The very thought of losing this majestic animal would mean losing a vital part of our global heritage.
Let lions live.
Why Do We Celebrate Lion Day?
As I sit here, penning these words, my heart aches for the plight of the lions. These majestic creatures, once prolific across Africa and Asia, now face the looming threat of extinction. It is for this reason that we celebrate World Lion Day. It is a day to raise awareness of their plight, to find ways to protect their natural habitats, and to educate those living near them on how to live in harmony with these remarkable animals.
In 1975, there were an estimated 200,000 lions in the wild. Due to a combination of poaching, disease, and habitat loss, that number is now only around 20,000 lions left in the wild. Compared to the 415,000 African elephants still roaming free, these numbers are shockingly low. One of the biggest threats facing lions is the commercialisation of their captivity. According to Panthera, human-lion conflicts are 95% of the threat to the lion population.
In South Africa alone, as many as 10,000 lions are bred and kept in captivity in approximately 350 facilities. They are often bred for commercial purposes, such as cub petting, volun-tourism, lion bone trade, live exports, and canned hunting. Many of the lions used for petting end up in the canned hunting industry.
What is Canned Hunting?
Canned hunting is an prolific business in South Africa, where over 5,000 lions are being bred on farms only to be shot by foreign wealthy trophy hunters. This horrifying practice is where lions are born in captivity and kept on a “game” farm or ranch (sometimes named a “reserve”), and people pay to kill them for what they call sport. Many of these lions are drugged to make it even easier to take the shot. A fully grown captive-bred lion is put into an enclosed area where a rich man – or woman – stands in the safety of a truck and shoots the lion with a shotgun, hand-gun or crossbow and arrow.
There are huge financial incentive of these kills to up to £25,000 or more. With such high price tags on a lion’s body parts, it often leads to a blind eye being turned when poachers graduate from these ranches and begin illegally killing lions in the wild.
Organizations such as Global White Lion Protection Trust have already begun making headway for these animals. Situated with 4,400 acres of protected wildland, this NPO/Public Benefit organization takes captive-bred white lions and reintroduces them to their natural habitat. Through slow release phases to ensure seamless adjustment, these lions gain a newfound sense of freedom and independence.
However, border poaching still occurs for these lions in protected parks. The devastating death of Cecil in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, is an example of this. I communicated with lion-Cecil and you can read what he wanted to share with humanity in Cecil – A Catalyst for Awakening.
The Message of World Lion Day
World Lion Day is the brainchild of Dereck and Beverly Joubert – a husband-and-wife team passionate about lions. They began the initiative of Lion Day in 2013, bringing together National Geographic and the Big Cat Initiative to protect the remaining lions living in the wild. Today, the message of Lion Day is still as clear as it was when it first emerged: to highlight and spread awareness of the fight lions are facing and to empower the development of sound safety measures that protect these beautiful creatures from extinction.
Overall, August 10th is a day when individuals around the globe unite and celebrate the might and beauty of the lion in various ways. It’s a moment to appreciate the strength, beauty, and importance of these creatures and to educate ourselves and others about the importance of conservation efforts. Furthermore, it is a day that reminds us that as people, there is strength in numbers, there is value in awareness, and there is intentional change where love is present.
How Telepathic Animal Communication Can Increase Our Understanding and Love Of Lions
Telepathic animal communication is an innate ability that everyone is born with and enables humans and non-human animals to engage in senses-led communication. The term telepathy directly translates to “feeling across a distance,” indicating an exchange of feelings, emotions, thoughts, impressions, sensations, and pure knowing. It is an extra-ordinary way of feeling, sensing, and perceiving transmissions non-locally from an animal. This very natural exchange is possible because we are all made of energy, connected by an intricate web of energetic pathways that transcend the physical boundaries of our bodies.
More and more people are becoming aware that animals have a unique personality and soul that we can perceive and understand through telepathic communication. By tapping into this universal language of telepathy, we can use our natural intuition and abilities to bridge the gap between our world and the world of other species. Communicating with lions telepathically allows us to understand their personalities, appreciate their unique qualities and wisdom, empathise with their struggles, and develop a deep emotional connection with them. In turn, leading to a bond formed through an intrinsic and deeply in-tuned level of love and understanding.
Remember, we care about what we love.
The Lion – A Symbol of Courage, Power, Strength, and Leadership
As a symbol of raw courage, power, strength, and unwavering leadership, the lion embodies the very essence of what it means to be majestic, bold, and formidable. Renowned for its courage and bravery, the Lion holds a place of reverence and awe in the hearts of all who witness this apex predator with a commanding presence. And yet, there is poise and grace to this noble creature, a regal-ness that can only be described as divine. The White Lions of Tsau are revered as Nature’s King of Kings.
The Lion is an animal of true beauty and wonder, reminding us of the raw potential within us waiting to be unleashed. On Lion Day, this day of celebration, we must continue to fight to protect their habitats, to end the commercialisation of their captivity, and educate those around us on their importance to our ecosystems. After all, the lion is not just a magnificent animal, but also an apex predator who rules from the top and regulates prey populations in lower trophic levels. Lions are a vital part of our natural world that keeps the balance and biodiversity of their ecosystem.
Let lions free. Let lions live.
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Pea Horsley is an international teacher, TEDx speaker and bestselling author of 3 books including ‘Heart to Heart’ and ‘The Animal Communicator’s Guide’, which have been translated into nine languages, online course Animal Communication Made Easy, and creator of the Conversations with Nature World Summit. Pea is the UK’s most highly regarded animal communicator and wild animal retreat facilitator. Join Pea’s membership, The Pride, and be part of a global community listening to a council of animals advising humanity and together forging real transformation.
