African lions face extinction as black market trade in body parts surges across continent

A alarming new study reveals that African lions are increasingly falling victim to organized poaching operations that target their bones, skin, teeth, and claws for lucrative black market trade. Researchers warn this emerging threat could push the already vulnerable species toward extinction, adding to the mounting pressures facing one of Africa’s most iconic predators.

The scale of the crisis is staggering. African lion populations have plummeted from hundreds of thousands to just 25,000 individuals today, confined to a mere 6% of their historical range. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the species as Vulnerable, but rising poaching rates suggest their status may worsen rapidly. In Mozambique and South Africa, the situation has become particularly dire—officials in Maputo seized over 660 pounds of lion parts in 2023 alone, while surveys in South Africa’s Kruger National Park documented a devastating 60% population decline between 2005 and 2023.

The driving force behind this surge is growing demand for lion bones in traditional Chinese medicine, particularly for tiger bone wine—an expensive remedy that has shifted to lion parts as tiger populations become increasingly scarce. This organized trade now compounds existing threats including habitat loss, prey depletion from bushmeat hunting, trophy hunting, and retaliatory killings by livestock farmers.

Wildlife experts describe trade-driven poaching as “a defining threat to the future of Africa’s lions.” Without immediate intervention, this relatively new challenge could prove to be the final blow for a species already struggling to survive in an increasingly fragmented landscape across 37 African countries.