Asiatic lion

Geography glossary

Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 2 "Forest and Wildlife Resources"

Meaning

The Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is a lion subspecies that lives in the wild only in India, in Gir National Park and the wider Saurashtra landscape (Greater Gir Landscape), Gujarat. It is listed as Endangered as a separate population.

It matters because India has brought it back from very low numbers: from 284 in 1990 to 891 in 2025 [2]. But every wild lion still lives in one region, so one disaster could wipe out most of them.

Explanation

What kind of animal it is

  • Subspecies means a group within a species that looks a little different and lives in its own area. The Asiatic lion is one subspecies of the lion.
  • IUCN Red List is the global list of threatened species. It ranks animals by how likely they are to die out: Vulnerable → Endangered → Critically Endangered (danger rises in that order).

  • The Asiatic lion is Endangered, the middle level.

  • It is a flagship species: a large, well-known animal used to protect a whole habitat. Saving the lion also protects the Gir forest and the land around it.

How India protects it

  • India runs a species project for the Asiatic lion. A species project is a special government programme for one animal in serious danger. It brings together money, protected land, research and protection staff.
  • The lion is on the same list of species projects as the tiger, the one-horned rhinoceros, the hangul and the three crocodiles.
  • Strict protection is the main tool behind its recovery.

How the numbers grew

  • 1990: only 284 lions [2].
  • 2020: 674 lions [2].
  • 2025: 891 lions, counted in the 16th Lion Population Estimation, which Gujarat carried out [2].
  • This is a 32% rise over 2020 [2].

The problem of one home

  • Cause: every wild lion lives in one area, the Greater Gir Landscape.
  • Risk: one epidemic (a disease that spreads fast) or one natural disaster could kill most of them.
  • Response: in Centre for Environmental Law v. Union of India (2013), the Supreme Court ordered a second home at Kuno, Madhya Pradesh.
  • Result: the lions were never moved. Kuno later received cheetahs instead.

Where it occurs

  • Gir National Park, Gujarat: the core and main stronghold.
  • Wider Saurashtra landscape (Greater Gir Landscape), Gujarat: lions have spread here beyond the park.
  • Only in India: there is no other wild population anywhere in the world.
  • Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh: the second home the Supreme Court ordered in 2013. It has no lions. It is now a site of Project Cheetah.
  • Who counts them: the Gujarat government runs the Lion Population Estimation. The 16th count was in 2025 [2].

Don't confuse with

  • Cheetah (Project Cheetah): the cheetahs at Kuno are African cheetahs brought from Namibia (2022) and South Africa (2023) [3][4]. Kuno was meant for lions, but it got cheetahs instead.
  • Kuno vs. Gir: Gir (Gujarat) is the lion's only wild home. Kuno (Madhya Pradesh) is the planned second home that never received lions.
  • Status of the lion vs. other big animals: the Asiatic lion is Endangered. The snow leopard and the one-horned rhino are only Vulnerable. The Great Indian Bustard and the gharial are Critically Endangered.
  • Asiatic lion vs. African lion: both are lions (Panthera leo), but the Asiatic lion is a separate subspecies (persica). In the wild it is found only in India.

Prelims Hooks

  • Only wild home: Gir NP and the Greater Gir Landscape, Saurashtra, Gujarat. Trap: it is not found wild in Madhya Pradesh.
  • Count order: 284 (1990) → 674 (2020) → 891 (2025), a 32% rise between 2020 and 2025 [2].
  • The 2025 count was the 16th Lion Population Estimation, run by Gujarat [2].
  • IUCN status: Endangered. Scientific name: Panthera leo persica.
  • Court case: Centre for Environmental Law v. Union of India (2013) ordered a second home at Kuno, MP. The move was never carried out, and Kuno got cheetahs instead.
  • Pair: Kuno NP → cheetahs from Namibia, released 17 September 2022 [4]. Gir → Asiatic lions.

Mains Points

  • Keeping all of one species in one place is dangerous (GS-III):
  • All lions live in Gir, so one epidemic or disaster could wipe them out.
  • Moving some animals to a second site lowers this risk. Indian Rhino Vision 2020 did this for rhinos by moving them from Kaziranga and Pobitora to Manas.

  • The planned Gir–Kuno move never happened. This shows conflict between states and weak follow-up of court orders.

  • A conservation success story:

  • Lion numbers rose from 284 in 1990 to 891 in 2025 [2].
  • Strict protection and a dedicated species project did this work.

  • The same tools help other species. Rhinos recovered from under 200 to thousands, and gharials came back through captive breeding.

  • Policy lesson:

  • A rising count is not enough on its own. A species is safe only when it lives in more than one place.
  • So conservation plans should add second homes to the work of protecting numbers in the main site.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1Class 10, Ch 2 "Forest and Wildlife Resources" (primary)
  2. 2PIB: "PM Modi's Leadership Roars Behind Project Lion's Triumph" (lion estimation 2025)pib.gov.in · tier 1
  3. 3PIB: "A Sprinting Revival: The Return of the Cheetah" (12 December 2025)pib.gov.in · tier 1
  4. 4PIB: "PM releases wild Cheetahs - which had become extinct from India - in Kuno National Park"pib.gov.in · tier 1