African Lions In Sudan On The Verge Of Dying, Campaign Begins To Save Them

Deaths of humans due to hunger and malnutrition in civil war-ravaged Sudan may not be new. But now, animals too are facing a similar fate and are fighting for their lives there.

African lions kept in the Al-Qureshi Park in Sudan’s capital Khartoum are on the verge of dying because of hunger and malnourishment. These hungry and sick lions are counting their last days, and five of them are in such a bad condition that their ribs can be clearly seen protruding from under their skin. The lions are so malnourished that they have lost two-thirds of their weight. While two lions are in very serious condition, one female lion has died already. 

According to the Al-Qureshi Park administration, the lions cannot be fed for even one week from the income made by the Park in one month. 

Frightening photographs of these hapless lions had been posted by Sudanese activist Osman Salih on his Twitter and Facebook handles, after which they quickly went viral.

Salih also used the hashtag #SudanAnimalRescue to save these lions and soon, their photographs went viral on social media, after which an online campaign to salvage them has begun on a large scale. 

Many institutions and animal lovers have come forward to help save these lions, among which is Four Paws International, an organisation which works for animals.

According to media reports, apart from looking after the starving lions of Al-Qureshi Park, Four Paws International has announced that it will also provide training to the staff of all parks in Sudan.

There are no clear statistics on how many African lions are present in Sudan, but according to an estimate, there could be around 20,000 African lions in the jungles of Sudan.