Night Prowler: A lion roams in Chobe National Park, a wildlife conservation area near Kasane, Botswana. Photograph by Frans Lanting, National Geographic Creative

by Becky Little

Cecil the Lion’s death in Africa has focused attention on wildlife crime.

Lions aren’t the only threatened species.

Against the Wind: A lion wanders the dry Nossob riverbed in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, near the border of two protected areas: South Africa’s Kalahari Gemsbok National Park and Botswana’s Gemsbok National Park.

Image Credit: Photograph by Chris Johns,

But they may well be the most charismatic.Int

See more Images via 15 Intimate Portraits of Lions