FaunaHub
ENEndangeredPartial review

Asiatic Lion

Panthera leo persica

Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) walking in the Gir Forest.

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
Last verified

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

An Asiatic lion resting.

Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica).

Image: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources

Sources for Asiatic Lion

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Asiatic lion different from the African lion?
It is a subspecies, generally a little smaller, with a fold of skin along the belly and males with somewhat shorter manes. It survives only in India, whereas other lions live in Africa.
Why is the Asiatic lion Endangered?
Published assessments cite its single concentrated population (vulnerable to disease and inbreeding) and conflict and habitat pressure, even though numbers have recovered from a historic low. See the IUCN Red List.

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