The illegal killing of Cecil - a famous and magnificent black-maned Zimbabwean lion - by an
American big-game hunter in 2015 sparked international outrage. More significantly it drew the
world's attention to the devastating plight of Africa's lions. A century ago there were more
than 200 000 wild lions living in Africa. Today with that population reduced by more than 90
per cent many experts believe that without effective conservation plans Africa's remaining
wild lions could be completely wiped out by the mid-half of this century. When the Last Lion
Roars explores the historic rise and fall of the lion as a global species and examines the
reasons behind its catastrophic decline. Interwoven with vivid personal encounters of Africa's
last lions Sara Evans questions what is being done to reverse (or at least stem) this
population collapse and she considers the importance of human responsibility in this decline
and more crucially in their conservation. From the Lion Guardians in Kenya to the Living
Walls of Tanzania and the Hwange Lion Research Project in Zimbabwe Sara meets both lions and
their champions people who are fighting to bring this iconic species back from the brink of
extinction.
