UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Asiatic Lion population rises from 523 in 2015 to 891 in 2025; Reflects dedication of Forest Officials, Conservationists and Local Communities: Shri Bhupender Yadav
Q1. The natural habitat range of the Asiatic lion, reported at about 35,000 sq. km, is today spread over how many districts of Saurashtra?
- A. Eight districts
- B. Nine districts
- C. Eleven districts
- D. Fourteen districts
Q2. In which year were the Gir forests, the core of the Asiatic lion's present range, first accorded the status of a wildlife sanctuary?
- A. 1913, when the forest tract was constituted as a reserve for the lions
- B. 1965, when the tract was constituted as a wildlife sanctuary
- C. 1972, when the central wildlife statute came into force
- D. 1975, when a part of the tract was constituted as a national park
Q3. Under the revised subspecies classification that abandons Panthera leo persica, the Asiatic lion is placed in Panthera leo leo together with the lions of which one of the following?
- A. Central and West Africa
- B. Southern Africa, including the Kalahari populations
- C. East Africa, including the Serengeti populations
- D. The now-extinct Cape population of South Africa
Q4. Which one of the following external features is characteristically used to tell the Asiatic lion apart from its African counterpart?
- A. A longitudinal fold of skin running along the abdomen
- B. A mane so full that it ordinarily conceals the ears from view
- C. The complete absence of the horny tuft at the tip of the tail
- D. A body size distinctly larger than that of the African lion
Q5. Consider the following statements regarding the conservation status of the Asiatic lion:
1. The Asiatic lion was upgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered in 2008.
2. It is listed in Appendix I of CITES and in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
3. Its Endangered listing rests entirely on its restricted geographic range, no population-size criterion being applicable to it at all.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Asiatic lion was upgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered in 2008.
- It is listed in Appendix I of CITES and in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Its Endangered listing rests entirely on its restricted geographic range, no population-size criterion being applicable to it at all.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q6. The Asiatic lion enjoys the highest degree of statutory protection available in India by virtue of its placement in which Schedule of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972?
- A. Schedule I
- B. Schedule II
- C. Schedule III
- D. Schedule IV
Q7. With reference to the latest Asiatic lion population estimation, consider the following statements:
1. It was the 16th Lion Population Estimation and was carried out by the State of Gujarat.
2. The estimation exercise was conducted in May 2025.
3. It covered a natural habitat range of about 35,000 sq. km spread over the districts of Saurashtra.
4. Junagadh emerged as the single largest lion-holding district, accounting for 332 of the lions counted.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- It was the 16th Lion Population Estimation and was carried out by the State of Gujarat.
- The estimation exercise was conducted in May 2025.
- It covered a natural habitat range of about 35,000 sq. km spread over the districts of Saurashtra.
- Junagadh emerged as the single largest lion-holding district, accounting for 332 of the lions counted.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q8. In the age-sex break-up released with the 2025 Asiatic lion estimation, how many of the animals were classified as cubs?
Q9. Which one of the following correctly describes the project for lion conservation approved by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change?
- A. A five-year project with an outlay of about Rs 180 crore, executed wholly by the Gujarat Forest Department
- B. A three-year project with an outlay of about Rs 97.85 crore, executed through the Central Zoo Authority
- C. A ten-year project with an outlay of about Rs 2,927.71 crore for lion conservation
- D. A fifteen-year project with an outlay of about Rs 1,500 crore, financed from the compensatory afforestation corpus
Q10. According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Asiatic lion population stood at how many individuals in 1990?
Q11. With reference to the lion conservation achievement highlighted by the Union Environment Minister, consider the following:
1. The lion population of the Greater Gir Landscape was estimated at 891 individuals in 2025.
2. This represents a 32 per cent increase over the corresponding figure for 2020.
3. World Lion Day, on which the achievement is showcased, is observed on 10 August every year.
4. Project Lion, the flagship programme under which this rise is reported, was announced from the Red Fort on 15 August 2019.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The lion population of the Greater Gir Landscape was estimated at 891 individuals in 2025.
- This represents a 32 per cent increase over the corresponding figure for 2020.
- World Lion Day, on which the achievement is showcased, is observed on 10 August every year.
- Project Lion, the flagship programme under which this rise is reported, was announced from the Red Fort on 15 August 2019.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 3
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q12. With reference to the search for a second habitat for the Asiatic lion, consider the following:
1. Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, spanning Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka districts, has come to hold a lion population through natural dispersal beginning in 2023.
2. Barda Wildlife Sanctuary extends over about 1,412 sq. km.
3. The Supreme Court directed the translocation of a limited number of Gir lions to the Kuno-Palpur sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh within six months.
4. The IUCN assessment holds the Asiatic lion to be vulnerable to extinction from an unpredictable event such as an epidemic or a large forest fire because it survives as a single subpopulation.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, spanning Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka districts, has come to hold a lion population through natural dispersal beginning in 2023.
- Barda Wildlife Sanctuary extends over about 1,412 sq. km.
- The Supreme Court directed the translocation of a limited number of Gir lions to the Kuno-Palpur sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh within six months.
- The IUCN assessment holds the Asiatic lion to be vulnerable to extinction from an unpredictable event such as an epidemic or a large forest fire because it survives as a single subpopulation.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 1, 3 and 4
- C. 2 and 4
- D. 3 and 4 only