‘World must step in to save lions’

ONCE they were the stars of the first wildlife soap opera, but now a documentary warns that the big cats whose lives and loves have been watched by millions are facing extinction.

- Eugene Henderson

Wildlife experts hope the type of TV coverage that saw the Marsh Pride shoot to fame could help spread the message that the world needs to step in to help.

Over 40 years, cameras have followed the epic story of the pride of lions in the heart of the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

When first shown in 1996, Big Cat Diary became one of the most successful nature documentary series broadcast on the BBC and made celebrities out of its subjects.

Originally intended as a one-off, the show proved so popular that eight more series – including Big Cat Week and occasional specials – followed, attracting seven million viewers.

Members of the March Pride – such as Scar, Scruffy, Simba, Blondie and lioness Bibi – became household names. In 2015, fans were left heartbroken when Bibi and another lion died after eating a carcass poisoned by farmers trying to protect their illegally grazing herds.

Now more than six years after the cameras last rolled, a new 90-minute documentary will show how, in a world where conflict between humans and animals is increasing, the Marsh Pride has become a symbol of the catastrophic decline of lions in the wild.

In recent decades, over half of Africa’s lions have disappeared, leaving just 20,000 in the wild.