Bones of lions increasingly being used as substitute for tiger bones in controversial Asian medicines.

With tigers on the brink of extinction, lion bones are increasingly being used as a substitute in Asia, where some believe the bones of big cats can cure illnesses.

Although there is no scientific proof that tiger or lion bones have any medicinal benefits, the demand continues to grow.

Conservationists are now afraid that the appetite for lion bones will lead to them being poached in the wild, the same way endangered rhinos have been hunted.

Al Jazeera’s Tania Page reports from South Africa.