Mongabay: Scientists have linked climate shifts in East Africa to die-offs in lion populations in 1994 and 2001. The research is published in the open-access journal PLoS ONE. Analyzing 30 years of data on lion populations and comparing it with precipitation records, an international team researchers found that periods of extreme drought followed by heavy seasonal rains in 1994 and 2001 created conditions for a duel outbreak of canine distemper virus (CDV) and tick-borne Babesia, diseases that …