luv2safari-

Are you saying that we shouldn't hunt lion? Not trying to argue, only wondering if they is what you are getting at.

I agree that lion are in trouble but I think that if we as hunters acquiesce to what anti hunters tell us then we have only doomed the animal in question to an even quicker demise. Not to mention that we gave up on the only chance that species may have had to survive. Shooting mature males that are no longer breeding is not going to harm a breeding population. It only helps it to raise more offspring through less competition for the breeders. I do think hunters have erred in the past by shooting male lions that have a nice mane even though they were still in charge of a pride. That of course harms to pride and likely results in the death of the newest generation since any new male will kill the young cubs so he can breed the females quicker. It seems now that reputable PH's are moving away from shooting lions less than 6 yrs old and this is the right thing to do based on the few studies that I have read about lion's ecology.