Lions are now listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature)Red List.
There are now about between 20,000 to 39,000 lions in the wild globally, down significantly from 200,000 about 100 years ago.
Conservation organisations such as the David Shepherd Foundation, are concerned about the declining numbers. In just twenty years, populations across Africa were reduced by 43%.
Numbers in Africa, are at an estimated 20-23,000.
A Green Status assessment on the lion, shows the Panthera leo (lion) is Largely Depleted, while the species remains Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
They are hard pressed by human impacts, preventing the species from being fully ecologically functional across its range. This has led to its decline across large areas and is extinct from North Africa and Southwest Asia.
However, the assessment also shows that conservation has prevented likely extinctions from West and Southern Central Africa, South Africa and India.
The IUCN said more must be done to maintain the existing population as human settlements across its range continue to grow.
Picture: Supplied