City Hall lions shrouded in black

Version 0 of 1.

The twin statues of lions outside City Hall in Norwich have been shrouded in black to raise awareness of the decline of lions in the wild.

Wildlife group Lion Aid said the symbolic "disappearance" of the Norwich lions represented the loss of the real animals.

Lion numbers have fallen 90% from 200,000 in the 1960s to 20,000 today, it added.

Expanding populations are partly to blame for the loss of habitat.

The organisation wants conservation programmes to protect lions in the wild, and for an accurate count and disease assessment to take place.