Bored Panda was so intrigued by some of the facts on the Insta page that we just could not help doing a deep dive down the rabbit hole to find out more information. One of the sadder facts on the page focuses on the “king of the jungle”, stating that "there are more lion statues in the world than there are real lions in the wild."
While we don’t necessarily find that hard to believe, we would prefer for it not to be true. We reached out to a lion expert to find out more. Dr. Andrew Loveridge is the Lion Program Director for Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization.
"Less than 23,000 lions are estimated to remain in the wild, down from an estimated 90,000 in 1970," he told us, adding that the decline is "primarily due to poaching for the illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss, loss of prey due to overhunting by people, bushmeat poaching and human-wildlife conflict." Loveridge says the vast majority of lions live in east and southern Africa, with a small population in India.
Bored Panda asked Loveridge whether he thinks there are more lion statues than living lions in the world. "I’m afraid I have no way to corroborate this (as I spend my time counting live lions rather than lion statues!)," he said. "But it's possible, given how culturally important the species is even in parts of the world where lions are extinct or have never occurred."
It would indeed be difficult to count the exact number of statues on the planet. And we couldn’t find concrete stats. But to put things into perspective, London alone has 10,000 lion statues. That's according to a photographer who once tried to capture all of them.
While the number of live lions is going down, new lion statues are being made. As Marbleism reports, “Large lion statues have been created for centuries, dating back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Some of the most famous lion statues in the world include the guardian lions of the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Lion of Lucerne in Switzerland, and the Trafalgar Square lions in London.” And just a few months ago, a New Orleans man made headlines for putting a giant lion statue on his roof.
So is there anything the ordinary person can do to help the living lions? Loveridge says Panthera is running a "Home for the Holidays" campaign. "Just as people around the world head home to see family and loved ones for the holiday season, we’re reminded of the importance of protecting critical species and helping them return to their natural homes," he told Bored Panda. All donations made to Panthera between November 22 and December 31, 2024, will be matched dollar-for-dollar by The Ayers Wild Cat Conservation Trust.
Another post that caught our attention was this one: The “dead” man who came back to life after the ambulance he was traveling in hit a pothole. While the story seems bizarre, it turns out that it’s been widely reported by several news outlets. And not on April Fools.
The reports go something like this: An 80-year-old man’s relatives started preparing for his memorial, soon after he was declared dead by doctors in January this year. Darshan Singh Brar’s body was being transported from the hospital in Patiala, India to his home near a place called Karnal. NDTV reported that “mourning relatives had gathered, food had been laid out and wood had been collected for his funeral, when the ambulance hit a pothole.”
The man’s grandson was with him in the back of the ambulance and noticed his hand moving after the sudden pothole jolt. Upon noticing a heartbeat, the paramedics headed straight to the nearest hospital. The man was admitted in a “critical” condition. NDTV even posted a photo of him in his hospital bed after the incident.
"We cannot say that the patient had died. When he was brought to us, he was breathing and had blood pressure as well as a pulse. We don't know what happened at the other hospital, whether it was a technical error or something else," said a doctor at the hospital, where the patient was being treated.
If you love the ocean, you’ll be spoilt for choice should you visit (or live in) Australia. Many of us are lucky if we have a beach or two nearby. But according to this post, Australians are blessed with over 11,000 beaches: you could visit a new one every day for the next 32 years. Sounds like bliss to us, so we dove a little deeper.
As an island continent, Australia is completely surrounded by water. It has over 16,000 miles of coastline, and naturally more than its fair share of beaches. According to this government report, 87% of Australia’s population live within a 31-mile radius of the coast.
“It is not surprising that coastal tourism dominates the Australian tourism market,” reads the report. “Australian coastal locations (particularly beaches and the Great Barrier Reef) have been identified as the most attractive destinations, with aquatic and coastal experiences among the greatest drivers.”
