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Dybas, C.L.:
Leo's Star Sets in the West - Vulnerable everywhere in the wild, lions already face regional extinction
2013  Natural History: 21-35

West Africa's Mandinka tribe has a legend about the greatest of cats, the Wanjilanko. The Wanjilanko . . . the lion that eats lions. It's said to be the color of grass, with longer teeth than a lion and a roar that freezes a hunter's soul. Paralyzed with fear, the hunter becomes easy prey. Lions, even the Wanjilanko, stalk and ambush by night. When daylight comes, where does the Wanjilanko hide? In the deep gloom of a West African woodland, in the canyons and caves of the wildest tracts of wilderness. Does the Wanjilanko exist, or is it a figment of the human imagination? The answer could go either way, for the Wanjilanko and indeed for the lions it hunts. Red spots splashed across a map of West and Central Africa: the known range of lions in countries from Senegal to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). "By 'known' we mean areas where it is certain that lions exist, certain being that there are data points within the last ten years," says biologist Philipp Henschel. By "data points," he refers to actual sightings. From an office in Gabon, he coordinates the West and Central Africa Lion Program for Panthera, an organization headquartered in New York. Panthera works to ensure the future of wild cats through scientific research and global conservation. On the map, as the lifeblood drains from the lion's known range, red fades into pink for "possible" range: areas in lions' historical territory where conditions remain favorable-healthy habitat, enough prey, and low numbers of humans. "And," adds Henschel, "where there are no data to indicate that lions do not exist."

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