An Epic Challenge for an Epic Species

Lions are one of the most iconic animals on the planet. It is easy to see why they have been admired throughout history. These big cats are formidable predators with extraordinary senses – their night vision is six times better than a human’s; they can hear prey from up to a mile away; and they are the second fastest wild cat on Earth. 

But it’s not all magnificence and splendour. Lions are in trouble. Real trouble. These beautiful big cats have disappeared from over 90% of their historical range, and there may be as few as 20,000 lions left in the wild.

But our fantastic team are trying to turn that back around.

Southern National Park, South Sudan, is a vast, largely unexplored wilderness. And, back in June, FFI and our partners finally secured definitive proof of lions in Southern National Park, courtesy of carefully placed camera-traps. This is ground-breaking news, and a really promising sigh for the future of lions.

But the team know better than anyone that there’s still so much more to be done. So now they are taking things one step further. 

This Sunday, Alison, Benoit, Michelle, Jasmien, Leigh and Luke from our Africa team will be taking part in a challenge like no other. Together, they will be completing the Run Sandringham 24, a gruelling 24 hour race, all in the name of raising money for FFI. Alison Mollon, our remarkable Regional Director for our Africa Programme at FFI, has already completed the London marathon late last year, helping to raise over £20,000 for the Kasanka Trust and enable this incredible charity to stay running. Now she is taking on this new challenge, with the help of her team, to raise money for FFI.

Our extraordinary conservation team know better than anyone how important these funds could be for the futures of lions in Africa. So please, donate today and support the team as they take on this epic challenge for FFI. Thank you.