We are so used to associating lions with Africa that we forget they once populated Europe and much of Asia.,
The Asiatic lion (Panthera leo leo) nearly went extinct but now it is a remarkable wildlife conservation triumph. The Greeks and Romans were familiar with lions but by the early 1900s few survived in the dry deciduous woodlands of Gujarat’s Gir Protected Area Network in India.
India is home to about half of species of wild cats. Many are threatened. India has been a leader in conserving and expanding habitat for wild cats.
Today, although Gujarat remains the last home for these lions their numbers have increased greatly. Gujarat and the nation have imposed anti poaching measures, habitat management, and community involvement.
An official lion census shows a 32%increase since 2020. From 674 to 891.
Success breeds challenges of course. The lions are surging out of the protected zone. Gujarat is now having to balance the success with issues caused by roving lions.
Lions now occupy more than 30,000 square kilometers across several districts, including Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, and Porbandar.
They now live in and around the coast, farmland and river corridors.
Threats are not over. They all descend from a small population so gender diversity is low.
Canine distemper and tick borne illnesses are a great risk to low diversity populations in a relatively small area.
Moving into human territories raises issues over depredations and other threats including wells, auto strikes and electric fences.
As a result authorities are collaring lions, constructing walls around thousands of open wells and strengthening rapid-response veterinary units.
Active efforts are underway to establish secondary habitats—most notably restoring Gujarat’s Barda Wildlife Sanctuary—to disperse the population, alleviate territorial crowding in Gir, and secure a future for India’s royal predators.