Documentary filmmakers Beverly and Dereck Joubert have worked to conserve wildlife in Africa for more than 30 years. Last year, I visited the Jouberts in one of the Great Plains safari camps and preserves they founded: Great Plains Conservation, launched a few years ago in Botswana and Kenya. You can read about my 2016 visit and their work in honor of World Lion Day.

Another year has passed and I wish I could say that the situation has improved, but lions and other big cats are still a very threatened species. Beverly and Dereck continue to work relentlessly to save big cats in Africa, but their numbers continue to diminish. National Geographic’s Big Cat Initiative, the sponsor of World Cat Day, is “partnering with some of the world’s leading big cat experts, the initiative funds on-the-ground research and innovative conservation projects to protect our planet’s top felines and leads a global public awareness campaign to shine light on the issue.” You can stay in touch with National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert and receive updates by subscribing to their newsletter.

Today, they posted a video to their Facebook page detailing the decimation of the lion population over the past 40 years.

Visit Big Cat Conservation to learn more about their efforts and to find out what you can do to help. For a list of other organizations to support, visit the World Lion Day website.