It is a fact that lions lose every time there is an interaction between lions and humans. A majority of the lions in Africa and Asia have been killed by people. Though people are killed by lions on extremely rare situations, they kill livestock such as goats and cows for food. Therefore in order to safeguard their property and themselves, people started killing lions.

For centuries, hunting lions has been a way of showing how brave someone was. Amenhotep III, the Egyptian pharaoh who was the ruler in around 1375 B.C used a bow and arrow while riding on his chariot to hunt lions. He killed a hundred and two lions in this way. Lions were also killed using crossbows by Saint Louis and his followers while on horseback. This happened in the time of the Seventh Crusade Until recent times, in East Africa, the Masai tribe’s warriors hunted lions while on foot.

The Asiatic lion has been classified as an endangered species. The few of the Asiatic lions that are left in their natural habitat are living in the sanctary of India’s Gir Forest. But the habitat of the lions has been destroyed by the cutting down of trees by the people in order to provide wood for timber and fuel. Lions have started killing domestic animals, for example cattle, for food. The reason for this is that there is no natural prey or deer for the lions to hunt. But it has still made the farmers in the area hate the lions.

Lions in Africa have a much stronger chance to survive. There are numerous reserves in Africa where it is illegal to shoot a lion. Hunters can still kill lions in certain specified areas, but they can not do so unless they possess a special license. But with increasing awareness of the plight of lions, most people would rather photograph lions than shoot them now.

It is the natural instinct of a lion to stay away from people. There is an extremely low chance that it would attack someone until and unless it has been injured or tormented in some way. A person can be within twelve meters of a lion without any danger of being harmed in any way. But when a lion is aggravated, and especially when it is wounded, the lion can turn into a horrifying enemy.

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