The murder of Cecil the lion put the king of the jungle at the top of everyone’s minds and made this year’s World Lion Day that much more significant.
Since 2013, the World Lion Day campaign has been working to raise awareness of and foster support for the endangered species. They wrote on their Facebook, “Today is World Lion Day. Today we hope to all stand together to celebrate the world’s most iconic species. Today we hope to make a difference. Let us use passion, outrage, fascination, admiration and even moments of anguish proactively. Let us support those working to save the King of Beasts and his kingdom.”
The campaign focuses on the African lion, which is considered vulnerable, and the Asiatic lion, which is considered endangered. Cecil was an African lion.
While the world continues to demand that Cecil’s killer, Dr. Walter James Palmer, face the penalty for his crimes in Zimbabwe, others have used World Lion Day 2015 to support living lions and celebrate Cecil’s majestic nature.
#5ForBigCats #WorldLionDay @TheLionsNY @Sara_Sampaio
— Jonathan Davasligil (@canatandavas) August 10, 2015
My High five for you and Lions pic.twitter.com/zoRK7Jgy3u
Happy World Lion Day! #5forBigCats 🐆 @NatGeo http://t.co/ipZGGAiIXy pic.twitter.com/THmyHmEbC0
— Jessica Rose (@Jessica__Roses) August 10, 2015
The lion population in Africa has declined by 90 percent in the last 75 years. So while National Mojito Day and Snowman Burning Day might not be worth your time, the king of the jungle deserves a little respect.
Photo via monkeywing/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
