Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), Gir, India.
Image: Rohit Sharma, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
At a glance
- IUCN category
- EN · Endangered
- Animal group
- Mammals
- Population trend
- Increasing
- FaunaHub record reviewed
- Checked against IUCN
- Needs review — not found in IUCN's published checklist under this name (it carries species-level assessments only)Checked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28
Conservation overview
The Asiatic lion is a lion subspecies that survives only in and around the Gir Forest of India. It is assessed as Endangered, having recovered from a few dozen animals.
It is slightly smaller than African lions and males have shorter manes.
Range & habitat
The Gir Forest and surrounding areas of Gujarat, India.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- A single, concentrated population
- Disease risk and inbreeding
- Human-lion conflict and habitat pressure
Why it matters
The last lions of Asia, brought back from near-extinction in a single Indian forest, are a flagship for Indian wildlife and a cautionary tale about populations confined to one place.
Gallery
Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica).
Image: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
Sources for Asiatic Lion
- IUCN Red List — look up Asiatic Lion (authoritative status)
- Animal Diversity Web