One of the stone lions on Cowes esplanade.
COWES’S famous sea-front lions will be shrouded in black this month as part of a national campaign to save the king of the beasts from extinction in the wild.
Campaigners from the charity, Lion Aid, will be covering the statues with black cloths on March 23 to highlight the plight of the African lion which has suffered a drastic decline in numbers over the past 50 years — down from around 200,000 in the 1960s to fewer than 20,000 today.
The campaign kicked off in Glasgow on Monday last week and culminates in Trafalgar Square on March 31. In each of the 11 towns and cities which feature in the national campaign, a black tie gala dinner dance will also be held to highlight the plight of the under-threat species.
On the Island, renowned saxophone player, Gary Plumley, and his band, will be providing entertainment at the gala dinner and dance which is due to be held at the Priory Bay Hotel, Seaview, on March 22.
Fundraising on the night will take the form of a live auction of work by celebrated wildlife artists and photographers as well as a signed cricket bat from the South African cricket team. Safari holidays and hotel stays will also be auctioned off.
The evening culminates with a talk by noted lion conservationist and geneticist Dr Pieter Kat, who has worked among the wild lions in Botswana for 15 years.
Chris Macsween, from Lion Aid, said: "We would be very grateful if people would come along to both the shrouding and the dinner and add their voices to this very important campaign."
Tickets can be bought directly from Lion Aid’s website on www.lionaid.org or by e-mailing Chris on
chris@lionaid.org.
Reporter: davidn@iwcpmail.co.uk