Charity shrouds the lion in Blantyre

Mar 4 2010 by Chris Clements, Hamilton Advertiser

Charity shrouds the lion in Blantyre

CHILDREN from Auchinraith Primary School in Blantyre helped to shroud the famous lion statue at the David Livingston Centre yesterday (Wednesday) in a bid to highlight the plight of Africa’s wild lions.

The shrouding was part of a national campaign by the charity LionAid in which well-known statues across the UK were covered in black cloth for a day to mark the dramatic decline of this much-loved species.

As part of the event, the children found out more about the fate of wild lion populations from leading conservationist Dr Pieter Kat.

“In the 1960s, there were over 200,000 lions in the wild,” said Dr Kat.

“Today there are barely 20,000. This is a staggering 90 per cent decline in just 50 years.

“The message of the campaign is quite simple. Lose lions in the wild, and lose them at home.

“Extinction on the African plains means the loss of icons and symbols in everyday use.”

LionAid’s campaign, which is called ‘Where Have all the Lions Gone?’, began on March 2 in Glasgow and ends on March 31 in London’s Trafalgar Square.

During this time, campaigners will visit 11 British towns and cities.

As Blantyre is the birthplace of famous Victorian missionary Dr David Livingstone, the striking statue outside the Trust’s David Livingston Centre was placed there in 2004 by his great-granddaughter.

It shows Dr Livingstone being attacked and mauled in Mabotsa while hunting lions preying on cattle.

“Livingstone loved Africa in all its great diversity, though he could be excused for having mixed feelings for lions having been attacked by one,” said Dr Richard Luxmoore, senior nature conservation adviser with the National Trust for Scotland, which runs the Livingstone Centre.

“Nonetheless, he would have been as horrified as we are to think that lions might be under threat throughout their native land.

“The Trust is currently working with a number of partners to conserve Scotland’s native wild cat – which is increasingly threatened – so we are delighted to support an initiative to protect their African cousins.”