The Akron Zoo is looking beyond its own fences and working to help re-establish the African lion in the wild.
The zoo announced Friday that it will host a new event May 11 dubbed Hope for the Wild.
The fundraiser will feature Guy Western, a conservationist from Kenya, who will talk about his work with group Rebuilding the Pride.
Akron Zoo President & CEO Doug Piekarz and other zoo staff also will talk about local efforts to encourage conservation and saving animals on a global level.
Akron Zoo spokesman David Barnhardt said just Akron and the Cincinnati Zoo have stepped up so far to promote Western’s efforts in the wild.
Rebuilding the Pride is working on lion conservation by encouraging the “positive coexistence” of farmers and natural predators like lions.
For example, when a farmer has to move through an area where lions are believed to be on the prowl the group will send out a Conflict Response Team to ride along, Barnhardt said. They also help find and recover lost livestock.
On two ranches alone — the Olkiramatian and Shompole — the lion population has grown from 10 to as many as 70.
In the last 20 years, lion populations worldwide have declined more than 40 percent due to loss of their prey base, habitat loss and killings by humans, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Akron Zoo is home to a female African lion named Mandisa and a male named Tamarr.
Tickets for the reservation-only fundraiser event on May 11 are $35 and include private tours of the zoo from 6 to 9 p.m.
Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3547.