A Wildlife Photographer has increased £81,000 in only 24 hours after launching a Kickstarter campaign.
Marsel van Oosten, as well as other photographers including current Wildlife Photographer of the Year winner Margot Raggett, have published a book for charity to raise awareness about the dangers lions face.
“Remembering Lions” is the fourth book in a series of photographs by Ms. Raggett, which has already raised half a million pounds for conservation projects in Africa and Asia.
The book contains stunningly candid photographs of lions in their natural environment in African savannahs.
Along with Margot Raggett and Marsel van Oosten are photographers Steve Winter, Art Wolfe, and Frans Lanting, who have donated photographs to raise awareness and funding to protect lions.
There are about 20,000 lions that remain in the wild today, and their numbers have been decreased by half in less than a quarter of a century.
They are threatened by many problems, including ivory and bone poaching, hunting, habitat loss, as well as human-wildlife conflict.
Lions were once found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. They are now limited to sub-Saharan Africa and a tiny region in northern India.
Past fans of the Remembering Wildlife series include Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Pfeiffer, Joanna Lumley, and Russell Crowe.
Margot Raggett said. ‘So much of our wildlife is disappearing under our very noses; our generation has so much to answer for.
‘These books are a way for the wildlife community to say take a stand and say enough is enough.’
Visit Kickstarter to contribute to the cause or pre-order a copy of Remembering Lions.
A lioness comforts her cub as she tucks its head under her chin and wraps her legs around it. The picture, taken by Billy Dodson, will be included in the book Remembering Lions and will serve as a reminder of what special bonds could be lost if more conservation work isn’t done to protect lions. The Remembering Wildlife campaign has already raised £460,000A rare white lioness is pictured in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve by Chad Cocking. Timbavati means ‘the place where something sacred came down to the Earth from the heavens’ and refers to the rare white lions that can be found in this South African reserve. The reserve was founded in 1956 and covers 206 square milesA male lion greets his cub for the first time by rubbing his nose against it. The picture, taken by Suzi Eszterhas, highlights the tender bonds that lions can have with each other. Remembering Lions will be released on October 14 and its Kickstarter campaign has already raised £81,000 in just 24 hoursThe famous lion known as ‘Scar’ in Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve taken by Marlon du Toit. This lion got his Disney-inspired nickname after he lost his right eyelid in a territorial fight. Famous among locals and regular safari-goers, Scar is also admired for the black widow’s peak in his mane
Playful lion cubs nip at each other in the grass while surrounded by the rest of their pride who laze around in the sun. The picture, taken by James Gifford, is one of the donations from over 50 photographers to Margot Raggett’s book, Remembering Lions, which is the fourth in her Remembering Wildlife seriesA lioness exhaling misty breath at sunrise in Kenya’s Maasai Mara by Andy Rouse. The Maasai Mara reserve covers 583 square miles and is home to about half of the entire country’s population of lions as well as countless other animals including elephants, rhinoceros, leopards and buffaloTwo young male lions are pictured here on top of a mount in golden light by Daryl Balfour. Mr. Balfour used to run a safari camp in the 1980s but gave it up to become a full-time wildlife photographer with his wife. There are around 20,000 lions left in the wild but their numbers have been halved in just the last quarter of a centuryThis misty picture taken by Pete Oxford shows a proud lioness facing down a herd of cape buffalo. Lions will often work together in groups in order to take down cape buffalo by herding them into one central point where more experienced lions will then take over and try and trip them up before going in for the ki.l.l
Remembering Lions will be published on October 14 as the fourth book in Margot Raggett’s Remembering Wildlife series. The series has gained support from various celebrities including Pierce Brosnan, Joanna Lumley, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Russell CroweA lion cub tries to get its mother’s attention by squeezing through her legs while she stands in the grass. This picture was taken by Margot Raggett who first created the Remembering Wildlife series in 2014 when she saw a po.ach.ed elephant in Northern Kenya and was moved to take action to protect wildlifeA sleeping lion is pictured here as a lightning storm approaches in the distance. The picture was taken by Hannes Lochner who spent five years living by the Kalahari desert. Lions face many threats from issues such as poaching for their skins and bones, hunting, and most critically of all, habit loss and conflict with humans
