Don Pinnock

Lions are the stuff of legends. Revered and feared in equal measure, both majestic and terrifying, they once reigned supreme over an extensive domain. But this once-dominant beast’s original range has contracted by some 85%, and the world population is thought to have dropped to just over 20,000 individuals. The IUCN Red Data List now classifies lions as Vulnerable, and the West African subpopulation as Critically Endangered. Not only are lion numbers crashing, but the remaining populations cling to their existence on ever smaller, more fragmented pockets of land. Feared and despised by farmers trying to eke out a living on marginal land, lions are increasingly being exterminated or repurposed for commercial gain. Trophy hunters pay extortionate sums to bag specimens in their prime, and lion bones are being sold for the roaring Eastern trade in ‘tiger wine’. This landmark book aims to halt the downward spiral. It takes you on a journey across the continent and into the lives of rangers, scientists and communities, and the majestic creatures they work to conserve. Along with the bad news about today’s lions, it offers a message of hope, showing how innovative conservationists are rethinking our approach to human-lion coexistence. This book, with its searing, inspiring images and vivid accounts from the experts and foot-soldiers of conservation, brings the plight of lions to the attention of the world and is an urgent plea for the actions that need to be taken before it’s too late. Sales points: A must-have for anyone interested in wildlife, conservation and the environment. Text by a host of top scientists, conservationists and others in the field. Outstanding photography by award-winning photographers.

‘When I was born, there were a million elephants roaming Africa. By the time my daughter Charlotte was born in 2015, the numbers of savannah elephants had crashed to just 350,000. At the current pace of illegal poaching, when Charlotte turns twenty-five the African elephant could be gone from the wild.’ HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge An elephant is killed in Africa every 15 minutes. If this continues, these extraordinary animals will become extinct in less than three decades. This magnificently produced book offers a passionate, graphic and moving picture of the African elephant today in over 250 astonishing colour images captured by Africa’s most celebrated wildlife photographers. With texts contributed by leading scientists, conservationists, filmmakers and criminologists on the ground, the book covers the elephant populations of South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Chad and Mali. The book has been created to make the world aware of the devastating problem and as a tribute to those who risk their lives each day to stem the tide of poaching. The Last Elephants – is the title prophetic? We hope not.