To celebrate the upcoming release of its new film, The Lion King, the Walt Disney company has announced a global conservation campaign to raise awareness of the crisis facing lions and other wildlife across Africa.
The Lion King ‘Protect the Pride’ campaign focuses on protecting and revitalising the lion population, with Disney lending its support to the Wildlife Conservation Network’s (WCN) Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) and their vision to double the lion population across Africa by 2050 through efforts that engage communities to ensure a future for African wildlife and their habitats.
Disney has already donated more than $1.5 million (R22.6m) to the LRF and its partners, and plans to double that amount through additional grants, as well as participation from fans, for a total contribution of up to $3 million (R45m).
To kick off The Lion King Protect the Pride campaign, Disney and WCN recently assembled more than 80 of the world’s leading lion conservation experts from 18 countries and representing more than 50 organisations, for the Lion Footprint Forum at Walt Disney World Resort.
During the meeting, the participants collaborated to develop strategies to address challenges impacting lion populations and help ensure a future for the species, as well as other wildlife across Africa.
Additional information about the LRF’s lion conservation efforts can be found at LionRecoveryFund.org.
