Lion among 23,000 species threatened with extinction—group

A range of other mammals have meanwhile fared far worse, due to hunting and the destruction of their natural habitats.

The lion remains listed as vulnerable at a global level, with its western African subpopulation listed as “critically endangered” due to over-hunting and dwindling prey.

Rapid decline has also been recorded in eastern Africa, which historically has been a stronghold for lions, IUCN said, warning that trade in bones and other body parts for traditional medicine in Africa and in Asia was a new and emerging threat to the species.

The organisation also highlighted the decline in the extremely reclusive African Golden Cat, a cinnamon-coloured feline about twice the size of a house cat living in central Africa, which is now listed as “vulnerable”.

And it pointed to the New Zealand Sea Lion — one of the rarest sea lion species in the world — which now is listed as “endangered”, due mainly to disease and changes to its habitat caused by fishing.

IUCN also warned that two species of crab, Karstama balicum and Karstama emdi, found only in a single cave on the island of Bali, are now considered “critically endangered”, as they have been increasingly threatened by growing tourism and numerous religious ceremonies held in the cave.