But in order for the animals to continue to exist without inbreeding at least 100 breeding pairs, or 500 to 1,000 animals, are needed.

"For the next century lions will not go extinct but they will be restricted to about a dozen national parks," Hans Bauer, of Leiden University in the Netherlands, told Reuters.

He was one of a group of 30 lion experts who met under the auspices of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in June in Cameroon to discuss the dwindling lion populations in West and Central Africa.

According to 1996 estimates by the IUCN, there are between 30,000 and 100,000 lions throughout all of Africa but Bauer, who has worked in Cameroon for many years, said the real numbers are probably closer to 10,000-30,000.

"In all of West and Central Africa, from Senegal to Chad, there are only 2,000 animals," he said, adding that all of the populations will not survive into the next decade.

According to the 130-page report by the experts, known as the African Lion Working Group, lions are being squeezed into smaller and smaller areas because more land is being used for agriculture and livestock. But the animals need large tracts of land to survive.

"We have an idea of the status of lions in West and Central Africa and an idea of what is happening and the main problems," he added.

"It is a serious problem."

The report, which will be published soon on the Internet at www.african-lion.org, calls for the establishment of a database on lion populations in West and Central Africa.