According to National Geographic, the world lion population has declined from around 450,000 to 20,000 since 1940.
Aug. 10 is World Lion Day, which aims to raise awareness of the species’ decreasing population.
One way organizations have often gone about raising awareness is sharing photos of the incredible animals via social media. One such non-profit organization is the Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation which, with backing from the Mexican government, rescues various big cats and provides them with better lives.
The organization was founded in 2014 and, while it hides its location for safety reasons, one of its regular visitors is three-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Followers of Hamilton on Instagram and Snapchat often get to see him playing with these animals, which have included Nicole, the partially-blind Bengal tiger:
Ayrton, a lion named after three-time Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna:
Ma-Tzu, a playful adult male jaguar who had lost part of his vision before he was rescued, but has since gained it back:
And Lewis, a lion named after the three-time champion himself:
Lewis (Hamilton, not the lion) has been stopping at various places including Black Jaguar-White Tiger during his summer break, and will be back behind the wheel for the Belgian GP at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Aug. 29.
These are just a few of the many Black Jaguar-White Tiger posts Hamilton has shared, with more available on his Instagram account.
