Community Chat

[Drythe]

@KingstonsMom @arabella

Also from Wildcru:

In a similar vein, jazz composer Mark Rapp has composed a remarkable musical tribute to Cecil.  

It’s inspirational, and you can watch it and listen on

http://markrapp.com/cecil.

ROAR CECIL ! 

[fortune]

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@Karnerblue wrote:

So awesome.  Clint's son is the spitting image of him.  I had a huge crush on him in my younger days (still kind of do). 

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Scott Eastwood is really handsome!  He really takes after his dad!  Speaking of Clint, he really got around in his day!  He has 7 children--2 with his wife and 5 with girlfriends!!!

[KingstonsMom]

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@Drythe wrote:

@KingstonsMom@, @arabella

Not meaning to hijack, but also about Cecil,

IF YOU THOUGHT NO GOOD WOULD COME OF CECIL'S DEATH

Read below:

WildCRU and Panthera announce the Cecil Lion Summit
August 31, 2015

Meeting of World Leaders in Lion Conservation Convened by WildCRU and Panthera at the Recanati-Kaplan Centre in Oxford in 2016

New York, NY – Partners WildCRU and Panthera today announced that they are organizing and hosting a landmark summit for range wide lion conservation in 2016, in honour of Cecil the lion, whose death triggered a global outpouring of empathy and awareness for lions and their imperilled status.

As the American talk show host Jimmy Kimmel said when he exhorted his viewers to support WildCRU’s Hwange Lion Project, out of the sadness of the illegal death of Cecil can come good. The global roar for lion conservation that followed has created a unique moment – and potentially a historic turning point – for lion conservation. Seizing that moment, partners WildCRU and Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization, are convening the Cecil Summit to grasp this new momentum in lion conservation, and inviting the foremost conservation experts from organizations throughout the lion conservation community to join us in a concerted effort to save the lion.

Professor David Macdonald, Director of WildCRU, said, “The key question for the summit to address, realistically but ambitiously, will be what could success look like? How might Africa, with all its varied circumstances look, following a successful revolution in lion conservation and how could this feasibly be delivered.” He added, “and delivering the well-being of lions, and other big carnivores, necessitates also delivering the well-being of local people, communities and nations that live alongside them – that is the holistic goal of modern wildlife conservation.”

Lions are in crisis. Because lions are uniquely visible to tourists there is a false impression that they are not endangered. The opposite is true: they are disappearing in plain sight. From an estimated population of 200,000 across Africa a century ago, and 30,000 a decade ago, as few as 20,000 lions may now roam free in the entire continent. Their numbers have been devastated by loss of habitat and wild prey, poaching, conflict with farming communities, unsustainable legal hunting, and emerging threats including the use of lion bones in traditional Asian medicine. Lions are being killed daily in Africa.

Dr. Luke Hunter, President of Panthera, said, “When I first started studying lions over two decades ago, it was inconceivable that the species might one day be endangered. Now, 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. The Cecil Summit will bring together the best minds to respond to this massive conservation challenge. ”

Cecil was studied through the Hwange Lion Project, operated by Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) and supported by Panthera, for eight years before being tragically killed outside Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park.

ROAR CECIL !

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@Drythe

That's so funny Drythe, I thought of you when I did this OP, wondering if you had any updates from WildCRU!

Thank you so much for posting these updates!

[Drythe]

ROAR CECIL !

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@Drythe

That's so funny Drythe, I thought of you when I did this OP, wondering if you had any updates from WildCRU!

Thank you so much for posting these updates!

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@KingstonsMom

Thank you!  I like so much knowing other people still care about this!

They have been able to make so many changes with the donations for Cecil.  They're going to be able to expand to two more areas and create a real swath for the roaming.  

Also, they have been able to amp up their work with the local citizens (humans) and hire more 'long shield" workers who ride bikes around the perimeter and use fog horns to chase lions back onto the preserve and AWAY from domestic cattle.  This has lowered lion raids on domestic animals by > 80%!  This really lessens the humans mixed feelings about the lions!

Best to you!

ROAR CECIL !

[KingstonsMom]

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@Drythe wrote:

ROAR CECIL !

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@Drythe

That's so funny Drythe, I thought of you when I did this OP, wondering if you had any updates from WildCRU!

Thank you so much for posting these updates!

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@KingstonsMom

Thank you!  I like so much knowing other people still care about this!

They have been able to make so many changes with the donations for Cecil.  They're going to be able to expand to two more areas and create a real swath for the roaming.  

Also, they have been able to amp up their work with the local citizens (humans) and hire more 'long shield" workers who ride bikes around the perimeter and use fog horns to chase lions back onto the preserve and AWAY from domestic cattle.  This has lowered lion raids on domestic animals by > 80%!  This really lessens the humans mixed feelings about the lions!

Best to you!

ROAR CECIL !

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@Drythe

That is sooooo awesome!

At the very least, Cecil's death was not totally in vain and is bringing positive changes for not only his current pride, but for his generations to come, as well as other animals on the reserve.

That in no way excuses his death nor the reason why he was killed, but it's comforting to me to know that his death had great meaning in a positive way.

I'm so happy to hear that they're involving the local citizens to deter the raids, rather than just killing the lions if/when they show up.

I certainly understand and respect both sides between the citizens and the lions. The citizens are raising cattle, etc. to feed their families and the lions are acting strictly on instinct to find food to sustain themselves and their families......it's a double edged sword.

I will refrain from voicing my opinion on 'trophy' killing, which I've voiced many times before, LOL!

Have a great weekend and keep those updates comin'!