When Walt Disney Animation Studios’ classic, The Lion King, first debuted in 1994, Africa’s iconic big cat found a place in the spotlight and in the hearts of a generation. Yet in the 30 years since Simba’s adventures first illuminated the big screen, Africa has lost half of its lions. Habitat loss, human-lion conflict, and wildlife crime have taken a considerable toll on their numbers, with only about 23,000 lions remaining in the wild today.
“Everything the light touches is our kingdom.” This is what the regal Mufasa tells Simba, his son and heir to this aforementioned kingdom, in the original The Lion King film. In real life, to recover Africa’s lions, we must take an approach that also encompasses everything the light touches; a holistic approach that includes lions, landscapes, and local communities. Since 2017, WCN’s Lion Recovery Fund has used this approach to advance lion conservation across Africa, supporting impactful organizations that protect lions, their landscapes and prey species, and promote coexistence between lions and the people that live alongside them.
To celebrate the release of the stunning live-action adaptation of The Lion King in 2019, Disney collaborated with the Lion Recovery Fund to launch the global Protect the Pride campaign, which raised awareness and funds for lion recovery. The success of this campaign has helped the Lion Recovery Fund invest in more than 300 lion conservation projects in 25 countries, with at least 50 percent of the sites receiving LRF investment already showing stable or increasing lion populations. And now, five years later, the circle of life continues.
With the theatrical release of Mufasa: The Lion King—the highly anticipated feature film that explores the unlikely rise of the beloved king of the Pride Lands—only in theaters December 20, Disney and the Lion Recovery Fund will once again reignite the Protect the Pride campaign in continued support of our vision to double the number of Africa’s lions by 2050. The funds provided through this campaign will help the Lion Recovery Fund expand its efforts to support conservation groups, governments, and local communities across Africa and create long-lasting impacts for lions and their landscapes. By working together, Disney and the Lion Recovery Fund will continue helping the king of beasts reclaim its kingdom.
We’re grateful to Disney for their continued commitment to lion conservation. We hope you’ll help us Protect the Pride and build a brighter future for lions, alongside the people and wildlife that share their pride lands. Learn more and support the #Mufasa #ProtectThePride campaign at lionrecoveryfund.org/disney.
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