VIDEO: Lions Up Close. Slowly Becoming Endangered

Scary or not, we can all agree that lions are majestic. Even if you wouldn’t be caught dead next to one because you fear for your life, you still like watching videos and pictures of them in their natural element.

They are truly beautiful and elegant creatures. They might not be as gentle as cats usually, but it seems that when they hang out with certain people they can be just a big lovely cat.

According to huffingtonpost.com, self-proclaimed animal behaviorist and lion whisperer, Kevin Richardson, has a controversial relationship with animals, to say the least.

Footage of his trip to Pretoria, South Africa, reveals his extremely close encounters with his lion and hyena friends, and many argue that the interactions are much too close for comfort.

Regardless of what you think about Richardson, it’s hard to deny the majesty of the big cats when they are viewed through a GoPo lens, and are in slow motion.

The camera effect makes it feel as though you are with them, and you will want to reach out to touch the animals through your screen. They just look so soft!

Richardson warns that lions may be the next endangered species because of the damage to their habitat, and hopes to use his unique relationship with them to bring attention to the fact that wildlife in Africa is suffering.

Lions are not officially listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, even though their population has dramatically decreased in a short period of time.

According to a study by researchers at Duke University, lion populations in Africa have gone down by almost two-thirds over the last 50 years.

The study shows that in the 1950s there were as many as 100,000 lions on the continent, but now there may be as few 32,000.

Because they are not yet recognized as endangered, the big cats are not protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and it is legal to import lion trophies and parts into the U.S.

The Kevin Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary’s mission is to preserve African carnivores through education, awareness and funding.

The sanctuary aims to bring awareness to “the rapid decline of large carnivores in Africa due to habitat loss, human-predator conflict, unscrupulous hunting, disease and their illegal trade.”

To make a donation to Richardson’s cause, visit the PAW Conservation Trust.

It’s sad that every year we have more and more endangered animals and we keep ruining the environment and not care about what we destroy.

If we could make an effort we could save our planet and no animals or people would have to die just to satisfy our stupid needs.

Global warming, deforestation and killing animals for trophies is ruining everything around us. The normal way of the world is slowly changing and becoming a horrible place in which we can barely survive.

If you want you great grand children to have a life on this world then you should start doing your part.