ASIAN LION

Asian lion

Known as: Asian Lion, Asiatic Lion, Indian Lion.
Status: Endangered
Estimated numbers left : 411
Scientific name: Panthera leo persica

Asian lions once prowled from the Middle East to India. Now, only 200 to 260 of these magnificent animals survive in the wild. The Gir Forest's dry teak woods were once a royal hunting ground. Today they are a reserve where the endangered Asian lions are heavily protected. An additional 200 Asian lions live in zoos.
Lions are the only cats that live in groups, called prides. Prides are family units that may include up to three males, a dozen or so females, and their young. All of a pride's lionesses are related and female cubs typically stay with the group as they age. Young males eventually leave and may establish their own prides by taking over a group headed by another male.
Only male lions boast manes, the impressive fringe of long hair that encircles their heads. Males defend the pride's territory. They mark the area with urine, roar menacingly to warn intruders, and chase off animals that encroach on their turf.

Female lions are the pride's primary hunters. They often work together to prey upon large mammals.
After the hunt, the group effort often degenerates to squabbling over the sharing of the kill, with cubs at the bottom of the pecking order. Young lions do not help the pride hunt until they are about a year old. Lions will hunt alone if the opportunity presents itself, and they also steal kills from hyenas or wild dogs









Location

The Asian lion is found only in India’s Gujarat Province today, predominantly in the Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary. Three protected areas (Gir Sanctaury, Gir National Park and Pania Sanctuary) represent the core habitat of the Asian Lion with an area of 1452 km2 of forest. Two further sanctuaries ( Mitiyala and Girnar) provide protection for dispersal or satellite areas. A new sanctuary, in the Barda forest is being established in order to provide alternative habitat for Gir lions. These protected areas consists of dry teak forest, deciduous forest, thorny forest and savanna with diverse flora and fauna





Characteristics

The Asiatic lion has quite distinct physical characteristics such as prominent tufts of hair on their elbows and at the end of their tails. What is most notable is their size in comparison to the African lion. Asiatic lions are significantly smaller than African lions and the males often have smaller, sparser manes. Such features were once thought to have derived from thousands of years of evolution however recent studies have suggested intense inbreeding over recent generations has resulted in such characteristics.

Conservation





Establishment of at least one other wild population is advisable for population safety, for maximizing genetic diversity, and in terms of ecology (re-establishing the lion as a component of the fauna in its former range). However, there are problems in attempting this: a previous attempt to establish a second subpopulation in the Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Uttar Pradesh appeared to be succeeding, as the population grew from three to 11 animals, but then the lions disappeared, presumably shot or poisoned (Nowell and Jackson 1996). Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Madhya Pradesh has now been selected as the best candidate area. Communities will require resettlement to make room for the Lions, but this time great care is being taken to make the process participatory and to attempt to satisfy local needs, and not engender hostility toward Lion conservation.

lion hunting buffalo