The Last Lions

Book Overview

Get an intimate look at the lives of lions in this wildlife photography coffee table book featuring 275 breathtaking photos

Lion experts and conservationists issue a hopeful call to save one of the animal kingdom's most remarkable creatures.

Lions are majestic, fierce, and dying at an alarming rate. The estimated population of 500,000 wild lions that lived in Africa in the 1950s has plummeted to around 20,000 today. The Last Lions is a powerful rallying cry voiced by scientists and conservationists to save the lions before it's too late, with stunning wildlife photography.

Alongside 275 extraordinary images that capture the lions' distinctive beauty and strength, the book offers a sweeping exploration of the biology and behavior of lions, and the urgent work to protect them, including:

Impacts of the lion trade, lion farming, cub petting, canned hunting, and the lion bone tradePast and present distribution and geographyRare white lionsFrontline conservation effortsDynamics and behaviorsPaleontological historyThe future of lions
With wildlife photography that allows readers to peer intimately into the lives of lions and their prides--including ferociously taking down their prey, napping in trees, and nuzzling each other--the stunning photography inspires advocacy. Chapters from lion experts, including a foreword from nature writer David Quammen, share personal experiences witnessing and working with them, reckon with the continual threats to lions and the efforts to counteract them, and explore the relationship between people, lions, and the land. The Last Lions is an unforgettable homage to one of the world's most magnificent animals, and an essential call to ensure their future.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1588348059
• ISBN13: 9781588348050
• Release Date: September 2025
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books
• Length: 488 Pages
• Weight: 3.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 8.4" x 10.0"