Просмотр кода страницы Английская Википедия:Asiatic lion

{{Английская Википедия/Панель перехода}}
{{short description|Lion population in India}}
{{pp-pc|small=yes}}
{{Population taxobox
| status = EN
| status_system=IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Breitenmoser, U. |author2=Mallon, D.P. |author3=Ahmad Khan, J. |author4=Driscoll, C. |year=2023 |title=''Panthera leo (Asiatic subpopulation)'' (amended version of assessment) |volume=2023 |page=e.T247279613A247284471 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T247279613A247284471.en |access-date=27 January 2024}}</ref>
|genus = Panthera
|species = leo
|subspecies = leo
|population = Asiatic lion
| image = Gir lion.jpg
| image_caption = Male Asiatic lion in Gir National Park
| image2 = Asiatic_Lioness_with_around_30_days_old_cub.jpg
| image2_caption = Female with cub
| range_map = Map Guj Nat Parks Sanctuary.png
| range_map_caption = Current range of the Asiatic lion
}}
The '''Asiatic lion''', also known as the '''Persian lion''',<ref name=Geptner>{{Cite book |last1=Heptner |first1=V. G. |last2=Sludskii |first2=A. A. |orig-year=1972 |year=1992 |title=Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola |trans-title=Mammals of the Soviet Union, Volume II, Part 2 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation |location=Washington DC |chapter=Lion |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov221992gept#page/82/mode/2up |pages=83–95 |isbn=978-90-04-08876-4}}</ref><ref name=Humphreys1999>{{cite book |last1=Humphreys, P. |last2=Kahrom, E. |year=1999 |title=Lion and Gazelle: The Mammals and Birds of Iran |publisher=Images Publishing |location=Avon |isbn=978-0951397763 |chapter=Lion |pages=77−80 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esV0hccod0kC&pg=PP1}}</ref> is a population of ''[[Panthera leo leo]]'' that today survives in the wild only in [[India]].<ref name=catsg>{{cite journal |author1=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Breitenmoser-Würsten, C. |author3=Eizirik, E. |author4=Gentry, A. |author5=Werdelin, L. |author6=Wilting, A. |author7=Yamaguchi, N. |author8=Abramov, A. V. |author9=Christiansen, P. |author10=Driscoll, C. |author11=Duckworth, J. W. |author12=Johnson, W. |author13=Luo, S.-J. |author14=Meijaard, E. |author15=O’Donoghue, P. |author16=Sanderson, J. |author17=Seymour, K. |author18=Bruford, M. |author19=Groves, C. |author20=Hoffmann, M. |author21=Nowell, K. |author22=Timmons, Z. |author23=Tobe, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2017 |title=A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group |journal=Cat News |volume=Special Issue 11 |pages=71–73 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#page=71 |access-date=2019-08-18 |archive-date=2020-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117172708/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#page=71 |url-status=live }}</ref> Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to [[Gir National Park]] and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of [[Gujarat]]. Historically, it inhabited much of [[southwest Asia]] to northern India.<ref name=Nowell1996>{{cite book |author=Nowell, K. |author2=Jackson, P. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Asiatic lion |title=Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |chapter-url=http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf#page=62 |year=1996 |pages=37–41 |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |location=Gland, Switzerland |isbn=978-2-8317-0045-8 |access-date=2019-08-13 |archive-date=2005-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050529182212/http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf#page=62 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The first [[scientific description]] of the Asiatic lion was published in 1826 by the [[Austria]]n zoologist Johann N. Meyer, who named it ''Felis leo persicus''.<ref name=Meyer1826>{{cite thesis |last1=Meyer |first1=J. N. |year=1826 |title=Dissertatio inauguralis anatomico-medica de genere felium |location=Vienna |type=Doctoral thesis |publisher=University of Vienna}}</ref> On the [[IUCN Red List]], it is listed under its former [[scientific name]] ''Panthera leo persica'' as [[Endangered species|Endangered]] because of its small population size and [[area of occupancy]].<ref name=iucn/>Until the 19th century, it occurred in [[Saudi Arabia]],<ref name="Nader_al1989">{{cite book |last=Nader |first=I. A. |year=1989 |chapter=Rare and endangered mammals of Saudi Arabia |pages=220–228 |editor1-last=Abu-Zinada |editor1-first=A. H. |editor2-last=Goriup |editor2-first=P. D. |editor3-last=Nader |editor3-first=L. A |title=Wildlife conservation and development in Saudi Arabia |publisher=National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development Publishing |number=3 |location=[[Riyadh]] |chapter-url=http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/05_library/5_3_publications/N_and_O/Nader_1989_Rare_and_endangered_mammals_of_Saudi_Arabia.pdf |access-date=2019-01-26 |archive-date=2019-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126113847/http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/05_library/5_3_publications/N_and_O/Nader_1989_Rare_and_endangered_mammals_of_Saudi_Arabia.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="IUCN, Lion">{{cite iucn |title=''Panthera leo'' |author=Bauer, H. |author2=Packer, C. |author3=Funston, P. F. |author4=Henschel, P. |author5=Nowell, K. |name-list-style=amp |year=2016 |page=e.T15951A115130419}}</ref> eastern [[Turkey]], [[Iran]], [[Mesopotamia]], [[Pakistan]], and from east of the [[Indus River]] to [[Bengal]] and the [[Narmada River]] in [[Central India]].<ref name= Pocock1939>{{cite book |author=Pocock, R. I. |year=1939 |chapter=''Panthera leo'' |title=The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma |volume=((Mammalia. – Volume 1)) |publisher=Taylor and Francis Ltd. |location=London |pages=212–222 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/PocockMammalia1/pocock1#page/n261/mode/2up}}</ref>

The population has steadily increased since 2010.<ref name=Singh2011>{{cite journal |author1=Singh, H. S. |author2=Gibson, L. |name-list-style=amp |title=A conservation success story in the otherwise dire megafauna extinction crisis: The Asiatic lion (''Panthera leo persica'') of Gir forest |year=2011 |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=144 |issue=5 |pages=1753–1757 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2011.02.009|bibcode=2011BCons.144.1753S |citeseerx=10.1.1.707.1382 }}</ref> In May 2015, the 14th Asiatic Lion Census was conducted over an area of about {{cvt|20000|km2}}; the lion population was estimated at 523 individuals, comprising 109 adult males, 201 adult females and 213 cubs.<ref name=Venkataraman2016>{{cite book |author=Venkataraman, M. |year=2016 |chapter=Wildlife and human impacts in the Gir landscape |title=Human Animal Conflict in Agro-Pastoral Context: Issues & Policies |editor1=Agrawal, P. K. |editor2=Verghese, A. |editor3=Krishna, S. R. |editor4=Subaharan, K. |publisher=Indian Council of Agricultural Research |location=New Delhi |page=32−40}}</ref><ref name=SinghHS2017>{{cite journal |last=Singh, H. S. |year=2017 |title=Dispersion of the Asiatic lion ''Panthera leo persica'' and its survival in human-dominated landscape outside the Gir forest, Gujarat, India |journal=Current Science |volume=112 |issue=5 |pages=933–940 |doi=10.18520/cs/v112/i05/933-940 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=SinghAP2017>{{cite journal |last=Singh, A. P. |year=2017 |title=The Asiatic Lion (''Panthera leo persica''): 50 years journey for conservation of an Endangered carnivore and its habitat in Gir Protected Area, Gujarat, India |journal=Indian Forester |volume=143 |issue=10 |pages=993–1003 |url=http://indianforester.in/index.php/indianforester/article/download/119351/82123 |access-date=2021-12-25 |archive-date=2022-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331063920/http://indianforester.in/index.php/indianforester/article/download/119351/82123 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In August 2017, surveyors counted 650 wild lions.<ref name="Kaushik, H. 2017">{{cite news |title=Lion population roars to 650 in Gujarat forests |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Lion-population-roars-to-650-in-Gujarat-forests/articleshow/59907625.cms |last=Kaushik, H. |newspaper=The Times of India |date=2017 |access-date=9 August 2017 |archive-date=8 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808193821/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/lion-population-roars-to-650-in-gujarat-forests/articleshow/59907625.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2020, an estimation exercise counted 674 Asiatic lions in the Gir forest region, an increase of 29% over the 2015 census figure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/science/lions-roar-in-gujarats-gir-population-of-asiatic-lions-up-by-29/1987582/ |title=Lions roar in Gujarat's Gir! Population of Asiatic Lions up by 29% |date=10 June 2020 |work=[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]] |agency=[[Press Trust of India|PTI]] |access-date=11 June 2020 |archive-date=11 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611214106/https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/science/lions-roar-in-gujarats-gir-population-of-asiatic-lions-up-by-29/1987582/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The lion is one of five [[Pantherinae|pantherine cats]] native to India, along with the [[Bengal tiger]] (''P. tigris tigris''), [[Indian leopard]] (''P. pardus fusca''), [[snow leopard]] (''P. uncia'') and [[clouded leopard]] (''Neofelis nebulosa'').<ref name="Jhalaetal2011">{{cite book |last1=Jhala |first1=Y. V. |last2=Qureshi |first2=Q. |last3=Sinha |first3=P. R. |name-list-style=amp |year=2011 |title=Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India, 2010. TR 2011/003 |location=Dehradun |publisher=National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and Wildlife Institute of India |pages=302 |url=http://www.projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/Tiger_Status_oct_2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120232451/http://www.projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/Tiger_Status_oct_2010.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-01-20 |author1-link=Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala }}</ref><ref name=Pandit>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-BLEGylIIasC&pg=PP1 |title=You Deserve, We Conserve: A Biotechnological Approach to Wildlife Conservation |last1=Pandit, M. W. |last2=Shivaji, S. |last3=Singh, L. |name-list-style=amp |publisher=I. K. International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. |location=New Delhi |year=2007 |isbn=9788189866242}}</ref>

== Taxonomy ==
''Felis leo persicus'' was the scientific name proposed by Johann N. Meyer in 1826 who described an Asiatic lion skin from [[Persia]].<ref name=Meyer1826/>
In the 19th century, several zoologists described lion [[zoological specimen]] from other parts of Asia that used to be considered [[synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]]s of ''P. l. persica'':<ref name= Pocock1939/>
*''Felis leo bengalensis'' proposed by [[Edward Turner Bennett]] in 1829 was a lion kept in the [[menagerie]] of the [[Tower of London]]. Bennett's essay contains a drawing titled 'Bengal lion'.<ref>{{cite book |author=Bennett, E. T. |year=1829 |url=https://archive.org/stream/towermenagerieco00benn#page/n23/mode/2up |title=The Tower Menagerie, Comprising the Natural History of the Animals Contained in That Establishment; With Anecdotes of Their Characters and History |publisher=Robert Jennings |location=London}}</ref>
*''Felis leo goojratensis'' proposed by Walter Smee in 1833 was based on two skins of maneless lions from Gujarat that Smee exhibited in a meeting of the [[Zoological Society of London]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Smee, W. |year=1833 |url=https://archive.org/stream/lietuvostsrmoksl33liet#page/n153/mode/2up |title=''Felis leo'', Linn., Var. ''goojratensis'' |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |volume=Part I |issue=December 1833 |page=140}}</ref>
*''Leo asiaticus'' proposed by [[Sir William Jardine, 7th Baronet]] in 1834 was a lion from India.<ref>{{cite book |author=Jardine, W. |year=1834 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/lionstigerscc00jardrich#page/n131/mode/2up |chapter=The Lion |title=Natural History of the Felinae. Series: Naturalist's library |page=87−123 |publisher=H. G. Bohn |location=London}}</ref>
*''Felis leo indicus'' proposed by [[Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville]] in 1843 was based on an Asiatic lion [[skull]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Blainville, H. M. D. |year=1843 |chapter-url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6538959f.image.f167 |chapter=Felis. Plate VI. |title=Ostéographie, ou Description iconographique comparée du squelette et du système dentaire des mammifères récents et fossiles pour servir de base à la zoologie et à la géologie. |publisher=J.B. Ballière et fils |location=Paris |access-date=2014-08-29 |archive-date=2014-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141203192420/http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6538959f.image.f167 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2017, the Asiatic lion was subsumed to ''P. l. leo'' due to close [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]] and [[Molecular genetics|molecular genetic]] similarities with [[Barbary lion]] specimens.<ref name=catsg/><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Yamaguchi, N. |author2=Kitchener, A. C. |author3=Driscoll, C. A. |author4=Macdonald, D. W. |year=2009 |title=Divided infraorbital foramen in the lion (''Panthera leo''): its implications for colonisation history, population bottlenecks, and conservation of the Asian lion (''P. l. persica'') |journal=Contributions to Zoology |volume=78 |issue=2 |pages=77–83 |doi=10.1163/18759866-07802004 |url=http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/record/314192 |access-date=2019-08-16 |archive-date=2020-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602144331/https://www.repository.naturalis.nl/record/314192 |url-status=live }}</ref>
However, several scientists continue using ''P. l. persica'' for the Asiatic lion.<ref name=SinghHS2017/><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Singh, A. P. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Nala, R. R. |year=2018 |url=https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20193027436|title=Estimation of the Status of Asiatic Lion (''Panthera leo persica'') Population in Gir Lion Landscape, Gujarat, India |journal=Indian Forester |volume=144 |issue=10 |pages=887–892}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Schnitzler, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Hermann, L. |year=2019 |title=Chronological distribution of the tiger ''Panthera tigris'' and the Asiatic lion ''Panthera leo persica'' in their common range in Asia |journal=Mammal Review |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=340–353 |doi= 10.1111/mam.12166|s2cid=202040786 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Finch, K. |author2=Williams, L. |author3=Holmes, L. |name-list-style=amp |year=2020 |doi=10.19227/jzar.v8i4.475|title=Using longitudinal data to evaluate the behavioural impact of a switch to carcass feeding on an Asiatic lion (''Panthera leo persica'') |journal=Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=283–287}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Chaudhary, R. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Zehra, N. |author3=Musavi, A. |author4=Khan, J.A. |year=2020 |title=Spatio-temporal partitioning and coexistence between leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') and Asiatic lion (''Panthera leo persica'') in Gir protected area, Gujarat, India |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=e0229045 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0229045|pmid=32160193 |pmc=7065753 |bibcode=2020PLoSO..1529045C|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Sood, P. |year=2020 |title=Biogeographical distribution of Asiatic Lion (''Panthera leo persica''), Cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus venaticus'') in ancient, medieval and modern Rajasthan: Study of plans to relocate them in Rajasthan |journal=Indian Journal of Environmental Sciences |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=35–41}}</ref>

== Evolution ==
{{Main|Lion#Evolution and phylogeny}}
[[Fossil]] remains of ''[[Panthera spelaea]]'' [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavated]] in the [[Cromer Forest Bed|Cromer Stage]] indicate that it represented a genetically isolated and highly distinct lineage, not closely related to Asiatic lions.<ref name=Barnett2016>{{cite journal |author1=Barnett, R. |author2=Mendoza, M. L. Z. |author3=Soares, A. E. R. |author4=Ho, S. Y. W. |author5=Zazula, G. |author6=Yamaguchi, N. |author7=Shapiro, B. |author8=Kirillova, I. V. |author9=Larson, G. |author10=Gilbert, M. T. P. |name-list-style=amp |year=2016 |title=Mitogenomics of the Extinct Cave Lion, ''Panthera spelaea'' (Goldfuss, 1810), resolve its position within the ''Panthera'' cats |journal=Open Quaternary |volume=2 |page=4 |doi=10.5334/oq.24 |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9d4f84e6-64c6-49fd-a1dc-a981ba7e8028/download_file?file_format=pdf |doi-access=free |hdl=10576/22920 |hdl-access=free |access-date=2019-05-27 |archive-date=2022-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701151930/https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9d4f84e6-64c6-49fd-a1dc-a981ba7e8028/download_file?file_format=pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Fossil lion remains were found in [[Pleistocene]] deposits in [[West Bengal]].<ref name=Dutta1976>{{cite journal |author=Dutta, A. K. |year=1976 |title=Occurrence of fossil lion and spotted hyena from Pleistocene deposits of Susunia, Bankura District, West Bengal |url=http://www.i-scholar.in/index.php/JGSI/article/view/108954 |journal=Journal of the Geological Society of India |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=386–391 |access-date=2020-12-13 |archive-date=2022-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006130829/https://www.i-scholar.in/index.php/JGSI/article/view/108954 |url-status=live }}</ref> A fossil [[carnassial]] excavated in the [[Batatotalena Cave|Batadomba]] Cave indicates that the [[Sri Lanka lion]] (''P. l. sinhaleyus'') inhabited [[Sri Lanka]] during the [[late Pleistocene]], and is thought to have become extinct around 39,000 years ago. [[Paules Edward Pieris Deraniyagala|Deraniyagala]] described this lion in 1939.<ref>{{Cite journal |first1=K. |last1=Manamendra-Arachchi |first2=R. |last2=Pethiyagoda |first3=R. |last3=Dissanayake |first4=M. |last4=Meegaskumbura |name-list-style=amp |year=2005 |title=A second extinct big cat from the late Quaternary of Sri Lanka |journal=[[The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology]] |issue=Supplement 12 |pages=423–434 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237009731 |access-date=2019-02-16 |archive-date=2023-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307230249/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237009731 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Phylogeography ===
Results of a [[phylogeographic]] analysis based on [[Mitochondrial DNA|mtDNA]] sequences of lions from across the global range, including now extinct populations like Barbary lions, indicates that [[sub-Saharan Africa]]n lions are [[Phylogenetics|phylogenetically]] basal to all modern lions. These findings support an African origin of modern lion evolution with a probable centre in East and [[Southern Africa]]. It is likely that lions migrated from there to West Africa, eastern [[North Africa]] and via the periphery of the [[Arabian Peninsula]] into Turkey, [[southern Europe]] and northern India during the last 20,000 years. The [[Sahara]], [[Congolian rainforests]] and the [[Great Rift Valley]] are natural barriers to lion [[Biological dispersal|dispersal]].<ref name=Barnett>{{cite journal |title=The origin, current diversity and future conservation of the modern lion (''Panthera leo'') |first1=R. |last1=Barnett |first2=N. |last2=Yamaguchi |first3=I. |last3=Barnes |first4=A. |last4=Cooper |name-list-style=amp|journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society B]] |year=2006 |volume=273 |pages=2119–2125 |issue=1598 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2006.3555 |pmid=16901830 |pmc=1635511}}</ref>

[[Genetic marker]]s of 357 samples from captive and wild lions from Africa and India were examined. Results indicate four lineages of lion populations: one in Central and North Africa to Asia, one in [[Kenya]], one in Southern Africa, and one in Southern and [[East Africa]]; the first wave of lion expansion probably occurred about 118,000 years ago from East Africa into [[West Asia]], and the second wave in the late Pleistocene or early [[Holocene]] periods from Southern Africa towards East Africa.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Antunes, A. |author2=Troyer, J. L. |author3=Roelke, M. E. |author4=Pecon-Slattery, J. |author5=Packer, C. |author6=Winterbach, C. |name-list-style=amp|author7=Winterbach, H. |author8=Johnson, W. E. |title=The evolutionary dynamics of the Lion ''Panthera leo'' revealed by host and viral population genomics |journal=PLOS Genetics |volume=4 |issue=11 |pages=e1000251 |year=2008 |pmid=18989457 |pmc=2572142 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1000251 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
The Asiatic lion is genetically closer to North and West African lions than to the group comprising East and Southern African lions. The two groups probably diverged about 186,000–128,000 years ago. It is thought that the Asiatic lion remained connected to North and Central African lions until [[gene flow]] was interrupted due to extinction of lions in Western Eurasia and the Middle East during the Holocene.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bertola |first1=L. D. |last2=Van Hooft |first2=W. F. |last3=Vrieling |first3=K. |last4=Uit De Weerd |first4=D. R. |last5=York |first5=D. S. |last6=Bauer |first6=H. |last7=Prins |first7=H. H. T. |last8=Funston |first8=P. J. |last9=Udo De Haes |first9=H. A. |last10=Leirs |first10=H. |last11=Van Haeringen |first11=W. A. |last12=Sogbohossou |first12=E. |last13=Tumenta |first13=P. N. |last14=De Iongh |first14=H. H. |name-list-style=amp|title=Genetic diversity, evolutionary history and implications for conservation of the lion (''Panthera leo'') in West and Central Africa |journal=[[Journal of Biogeography]] |volume=38 |issue=7 |pages=1356–1367 |year=2011 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02500.x |bibcode=2011JBiog..38.1356B |s2cid=82728679 |url=http://dspace.learningnetworks.org/bitstream/1820/4311/1/2011_Bertola,Hooft,Vrieling,Weerd,York,Bauer,Prins,Haes,Iongh_GeneticDiversityEvolutionaryHistoryAndImplicationsForConservationOfTheLionInWestAndCentralAfrica.pdf |access-date=2017-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608070014/http://dspace.learningnetworks.org/bitstream/1820/4311/1/2011_Bertola,Hooft,Vrieling,Weerd,York,Bauer,Prins,Haes,Iongh_GeneticDiversityEvolutionaryHistoryAndImplicationsForConservationOfTheLionInWestAndCentralAfrica.pdf |archive-date=2019-06-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Bertola, L.D. |author2=Jongbloed, H. |author3=Van Der Gaag K.J. |author4=De Knijff, P. |author5=Yamaguchi, N. |author6=Hooghiemstra, H. |author7=Bauer, H. |author8=Henschel, P. |author9=White, P.A. |author10=Driscoll, C.A. |author11=Tende, T. |author12=Ottosson, U. |author13=Saidu, Y. |author14=Vrieling, K. |author15=De Iongh, H. H. |name-list-style=amp|year=2016 |title=Phylogeographic patterns in Africa and High Resolution Delineation of genetic clades in the Lion (''Panthera leo'') |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=6 |page=30807 |doi=10.1038/srep30807 |pmid=27488946 |pmc=4973251 |bibcode=2016NatSR...630807B}}</ref>

Asiatic lions are less [[genetic diversity|genetically diverse]] than African lions, which may be the result of a [[founder effect]] in the recent history of the remnant population in the Gir Forest.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=O’Brien, S. J. |name-list-style=amp|author2=Martenson, J. S. |author3=Packer, C. |author4=Herbst, L. |author5=de Vos, V. |author6=Joslin, P. |author7=Ott-Joslin, J. |author8=Wildt, D. E. |author9=Bush, M. |year=1987 |title=Biochemical genetic variation in geographic isolates of African and Asiatic lions |journal=National Geographic Research |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=114–124 |url=http://www.cbs.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/downloads/Biochemical_Genetic_Variation_in_Geographic_Isolates_of_African_and_Asiatic_Lions.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502101107/http://www.cbs.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/downloads/Biochemical_Genetic_Variation_in_Geographic_Isolates_of_African_and_Asiatic_Lions.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-05-02 }}</ref>

== Characteristics ==
{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical
 |image1=Asiatic Lion Cub.jpg |caption1=Asiatic lion cub
 |image2=Lion Gir.jpg |caption2=An Asiatic lioness}}
The Asiatic lion's fur ranges in colour from ruddy-tawny, heavily speckled with black, to sandy or buffish grey, sometimes with a silvery sheen in certain lighting. Males have only moderate mane growth at the top of the head, so that their ears are always visible. The mane is scanty on the cheeks and throat, where it is only {{cvt|10|cm|in|0}} long. About half of Asiatic lions' skulls from the Gir forest have divided [[Infraorbital foramen|infraorbital foramina]], whereas African lions have only one foramen on either side. The [[sagittal crest]] is more strongly developed, and the [[Frontal bone|post-orbital area]] is shorter than in African lions. Skull length in adult males ranges from {{cvt|330|-|340|mm|frac=4}}, and in females, from {{cvt|292|-|302|mm|frac=8}}. It differs from the African lion by a larger tail tuft and less inflated [[Tympanic part of the temporal bone|auditory bullae]].<ref name= Pocock1939/>
The most striking morphological character of the Asiatic lion is a longitudinal fold of skin running along its belly.<ref name=OBrien1987>{{cite journal |author1=O’Brien, S. J. |name-list-style=amp|author2=Joslin, P. |author3=Smith, G. L. III |author4=Wolfe, R. |author5=Schaffer, N. |author6=Heath, E. |author7=Ott-Joslin, J. |author8=Rawal, P. P. |author9=Bhattacharjee, K. K. |author10=Martenson, J. S. |year=1987 |url=http://dobzhanskycenter.bio.spbu.ru/pdf/sjop/MS129_O%27Brien_ZooBiol.pdf |title=Evidence for African origins of founders of the Asiatic lion Species Survival Plan |journal=Zoo Biology |volume=6 |pages=99–116 |doi=10.1002/zoo.1430060202 |issue=2 |access-date=2012-12-29 |archive-date=2014-02-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225092713/http://dobzhanskycenter.bio.spbu.ru/pdf/sjop/MS129_O%27Brien_ZooBiol.pdf}}</ref>

Males have a shoulder height of up to {{cvt|107|-|120|cm|frac=2}}, and females of {{cvt|80|-|107|cm|frac=2}}.<ref name=Sterndale>{{cite book |author=Sterndale, R. A. |year=1884 |chapter=No. 200 ''Felis leo'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/naturalhistoryof00ster#page/158/mode/2up |url=https://archive.org/stream/naturalhistoryof00ster#page/n0/mode/2up |pages=159–161 |title=Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon |publisher=Thacker, Spink and Co. |location=Calcutta}}</ref> Two lions in Gir Forest measured {{cvt|1.98|m|ftin|frac=2}} from head to body with a {{cvt|0.79|-|0.89|m|in|frac=2}} long tail of and total lengths of {{cvt|2.82|-|2.87|m|ftin|frac=2}}. The Gir lion is similar in size to the Central African lion,<ref name= Pocock1939/> and smaller than large African lions.<ref name=Smuts_etal_1980>{{cite journal |last=Smuts |first=G.L. |author2=Robinson, G.A. |author3=Whyte, I.J. |name-list-style=amp|title=Comparative growth of wild male and female lions (''Panthera leo'') |journal=Journal of Zoology |year=1980 |volume=190 |issue=3 |pages=365–373 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1980.tb01433.x }}</ref>
An adult male Asiatic lion weighs {{cvt|160.1|kg|lb|frac=4}} on average with the limit being {{cvt|190|kg}}; a wild female weighs {{cvt|100|to|130|kg|lb|round=5}}.<ref name=Chellam1993>{{cite book |author=Chellam, R. |name-list-style=amp|author2=Johnsingh, A. J. T. |year=1993 |chapter=Management of Asiatic lions in the Gir Forest, India |pages=409–423 |title=Mammals as predators: the proceedings of a symposium held by the Zoological Society of London and the Mammal Society, London. Volume 65 of Symposia of the Zoological Society of London |editor1-last=Dunstone |editor1-first=N. |editor2-last=Gorman |editor2-first=M. L. |publisher=Zoological Society of London |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jhala|first1=Yadvendradev V.|last2=Banerjee|first2=Kausik|last3=Chakrabarti|first3=Stotra|last4=Basu|first4=Parabita|last5=Singh|first5=Kartikeya|last6=Dave|first6=Chittaranjan|last7=Gogoi|first7=Keshab|date=2019|title=Asiatic Lion: Ecology, Economics, and Politics of Conservation|journal=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution|language=English|volume=7|doi=10.3389/fevo.2019.00312|issn=2296-701X|doi-access=free}}</ref>[https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/454387/fevo-07-00312-HTML/image_m/fevo-07-00312-t001.jpg]

=== Manes ===
[[File:P. l. leo & P. l. melanochaita.jpg|thumb|Asiatic (above) and southern African (below) lions. Note the larger tail tuft, sparser mane on the head and prominent fold of skin on the abdomen of the former.]]
Colour and development of manes in male lions varies between regions, among populations and with age of lions.<ref name=Haas2005>{{cite journal |author1=Haas, S.K. |author2=Hayssen, V. |author3=Krausman, P.R. |title=''Panthera leo'' |year=2005 |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=762 |pages=1–11 |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/762_Panthera_leo.pdf|doi=10.1644/1545-1410(2005)762[0001:PL]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=198968757 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728131140/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/762_Panthera_leo.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2017}}</ref> In general, the Asiatic lion differs from the African lion by a less developed mane.<ref name= Pocock1939/> The manes of most lions in ancient Greece and Asia Minor were also less developed and did not extend to below the belly, sides or [[ulna]]s. Lions with such smaller manes were also known in the [[Syrian region]], [[Arabian Peninsula]] and [[Egypt]].<ref name=Geptner/><ref name="CG2006">{{Cite journal |last=Barnett |first=R. |author2=Yamaguchi, N. |author3=Barnes, I. |author4=Cooper, A. |name-list-style=amp|year=2006 |title=Lost populations and preserving genetic diversity in the lion ''Panthera leo'': Implications for its ''ex situ'' conservation |journal=Conservation Genetics |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=507–514 |doi=10.1007/s10592-005-9062-0|bibcode=2006ConG....7..507B |s2cid=24190889 }}</ref>

=== Exceptionally sized lions ===
The confirmed record total length of a male Asiatic lion is {{cvt|2.92|m|ftin|frac=2}}, including the tail.<ref>{{cite thesis |author=Sinha, S. P. |date=1987 |title=Ecology of wildlife with special reference to the lion (''Panthera leo persica'') in Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, Saurashtra, Gujurat |type=PhD thesis |publisher=Saurashtra University |location=Rajkot |isbn=3844305459}}</ref> [[Emperor Jahangir]] allegedly speared a lion in the 1620s that measured {{cvt|3.10|m|ftin|frac=2}} and weighed {{cvt|306|kg}}.<ref>{{cite book |author=Brakefield, T. |year=1993 |title=Big Cats |location=St. Paul |publisher=Voyageur Press |page=67 |chapter=Lion: physical characteristics |isbn=9781610603546 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=szBm5kPeC-cC&pg=PA}}</ref>
In 1841, English traveller [[Austen Henry Layard]] accompanied hunters in [[Khuzestan]], Iran, and sighted a lion which "had done much damage in the plain of [[Ramhormoz|Ram Hormuz]]," before one of his companions killed it. He described it as being "unusually large and of very dark brown colour", with some parts of its body being almost black.<ref name=Kinnear1920>{{cite journal |author=Kinnear, N. B. |year=1920 |title=The past and present distribution of the lion in south eastern Asia |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=27 |pages=34–39 |url=https://archive.org/stream/journalofbombayn27192022bomb#page/32/mode/2up}}</ref>
In 1935, a British admiral claimed to have sighted a maneless lion near [[Quetta]] in Pakistan. He wrote "It was a large lion, very stocky, light tawny in colour, and I may say that no one of us three had the slightest doubt of what we had seen until, on our arrival at Quetta, many officers expressed doubts as to its identity, or to the possibility of there being a lion in the district."<ref name=Nowell1996/>

== Distribution and habitat ==
[[File:The Gir forest.jpg|thumb|Habitat in Gir Forest]]
In [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]]'s Gir Forest, an area of {{cvt|1412.1|km2}} was declared as a sanctuary for Asiatic lion conservation in 1965. This sanctuary and the surrounding areas are the only [[habitat]]s supporting the Asiatic lion.<ref name=Singh2011/> After 1965, a national park was established covering an area of {{cvt|258.71|km2}} where human activity is not allowed. In the surrounding sanctuary only [[Maldharis]] have the right to take their livestock for grazing.<ref name=Varma>{{cite journal |url=http://sa.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/Lion.pdf |doi=10.1177/1070496508329352 |title=The Asiatic Lion and the Maldharis of Gir Forest |journal=The Journal of Environment & Development |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=154–176 |year=2009 |last1=Varma |first1=K. |s2cid=155086420 |access-date=2012-12-30 |archive-date=2014-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813213331/http://sa.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/Lion.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lions inhabit remnant forest habitats in the two hill systems of Gir and [[Girnar]] that comprise Gujarat's largest tracts of [[tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests]], [[Deserts and xeric shrublands|thorny forest]] and savanna, and provide valuable habitat for a diverse flora and fauna. Five protected areas currently exist to protect the Asiatic lion: Gir Sanctuary, Gir National Park, Pania Sanctuary, Mitiyala Sanctuary, and Girnar Sanctuary. The first three protected areas form the Gir Conservation Area, a {{cvt|1452|km2}} large forest block that represents the core habitat of the lion population. The other two sanctuaries Mitiyala and Girnar protect satellite areas within dispersal distance of the Gir Conservation Area. An additional sanctuary is being established in the nearby [[Barda Wildlife Sanctuary]] to serve as an alternative home for lions.<ref name=Singh2011/> The drier eastern part is vegetated with [[acacia]] thorn savanna and receives about {{cvt|650|mm}} annual rainfall; rainfall in the west is higher at about {{cvt|1000|mm}} per year.<ref name=Chellam1993/>

The lion population recovered from the brink of [[extinction]] to 411 individuals by 2010. In that year, approximately 105 lions lived outside the Gir forest, representing a quarter of the entire lion population. [[Dispersal (ecology)|Dispersing]] sub-adults established new territories outside their natal prides, and as a result the satellite lion population has been increasing since 1995.<ref name=Singh2011/>
By 2015, the total population had grown to an estimated 523 individuals, inhabiting an area of {{cvt|7000|km2}} in the Saurashtra region.<ref name=Venkataraman2016/><ref name=SinghHS2017/><ref name=SinghAP2017/> The Asiatic Lion Census conducted in 2017 revealed about 650 individuals.<ref name="Kaushik, H. 2017"/>

By 2020, at least six satellite populations had spread to eight districts in Gujarat and live in human-dominated areas outside the protected area network.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Kagathara, T. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Bharucha, E. |year=2020 |title=Building walls around open wells prevent Asiatic Lion ''Panthera leo persica'' (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) mortality in the Gir Lion Landscape, Gujarat, India |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=15301–15310 |doi=10.11609/jott.5025.12.3.15301-15310 |doi-access=free}}</ref> 104 lived near the coastline. Lions living along the coast, as well as those between the coastline and the Gir forest, have larger individual ranges.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/19/why-are-indias-lions-increasingly-swapping-the-jungle-for-the-beach-aoe |title=Why are India's lions increasingly swapping the jungle for the beach? |author=Sushmita Pathak |work=The Guardian |date=19 May 2023 |access-date=26 May 2023 |archive-date=26 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526032755/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/19/why-are-indias-lions-increasingly-swapping-the-jungle-for-the-beach-aoe |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Former range ===
{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical
 |image1=Antoin Sevruguin 7 Men with live lion.jpg |caption1=Men with a chained lion in [[Iran]], {{Circa|1880}}.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sevruguin, A. |title=Men with live lion |website=National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, The Netherlands; Stephen Arpee Collection |url=http://archive.asia.si.edu/iran-in-photographs/sevruguin-negatives.asp |date=1880 |access-date=2018-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326202724/http://archive.asia.si.edu/iran-in-photographs/sevruguin-negatives.asp |archive-date=2018-03-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Photograph by [[Antoin Sevruguin]] exhibited in the [[National Museum of Ethnology (Netherlands)]]
 |image2=Britishmuseumassyrianlionhuntreliefdyinglion.jpg |caption2=The ''[[Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal]]'', a sequence of [[Assyrian palace reliefs]], [[Nineveh]], [[Mesopotamia]], 7th century BC}}
The Asiatic lion used to occur in [[Arabia]], the [[Levant]], Mesopotamia and [[Baluchistan]].<ref name=Pocock1939/> In [[South Caucasia]] (present day [[Armenia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], and [[Azerbaijan]]), it was known since the [[Holocene]], and became extinct in the 10th century. Until the middle of the 19th century, it survived in regions adjoining Mesopotamia and [[Syria]], and was still sighted in the upper reaches of the [[Euphrates]] River in the early 1870s.<ref name=Geptner/><ref name=Humphreys1999/> By the late 19th century, the Asiatic lion had become extinct in [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Turkey]].<ref name="Nader_al1989"/><ref>{{cite book |author=Üstay, A. H.|year=1990 |title=Hunting in Turkey |publisher=BBA |location=Istanbul}}</ref> The last known lion in [[Iraq]] was killed on the lower Tigris in 1918.<ref name=Hatt1959>{{cite book |author=Hatt, R. T. |year=1959 |title=The mammals of Iraq |location=Ann Arbor |publisher=Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan}}</ref>

Historical records in Iran indicate that it ranged from the [[Khuzestan Plain]] to [[Fars Province]] at elevations below {{cvt|2000|m}} in [[steppe]] vegetation and [[pistachio]]-[[almond]] woodlands.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Khosravifard |first1=S. |last2=Niamir |first2=A. |name-list-style=amp |year=2016 |title=The lair of the lion in Iran |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 10 |pages=14–17 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309410288 |access-date=2018-01-12 |archive-date=2018-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830174140/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309410288 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was widespread in the country, but in the 1870s, it was sighted only on the western slopes of the [[Zagros Mountains]], and in the forest regions south of [[Shiraz]].<ref name=Geptner/> It served as the [[national emblem]] and appeared on the country's flag. Some of the country's last lions were sighted in 1941 between Shiraz and [[Jahrom County|Jahrom]] in Fars Province, and in 1942, a lion was spotted about {{cvt|65|km}} northwest of [[Dezful]].<ref name=Firouz05>{{cite book |last=Firouz |first=E. |year=2005 |chapter=Lion |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2EZCScFXloC&pg=PA65 |title=The complete fauna of Iran |publisher=I. B. Tauris |location=London, New York |isbn=978-1-85043-946-2 |page=65}}</ref> In 1944, the corpse of a lioness was found on the banks of the [[Karun]] River in Iran's [[Khuzestan Province]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Guggisberg, C. A. W. |year=1961 |title=Simba: The Life of the Lion |publisher=Howard Timmins |location=Cape Town}}</ref><ref name=Mitra2005>{{cite book |last1=Mitra |first1=S. |title=Gir Forest and the saga of the Asiatic lion |year=2005 |publisher=Indus |location=New Delhi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J0rME6RjC1sC&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-8173871832}}</ref>

In India, the Asiatic lion occurred in [[Sind Province (1936–55)|Sind]], [[Bahawalpur]], [[Punjab]], Gujarat, [[Rajasthan]], [[Haryana]], [[Bihar]] and eastward as far as [[Palamu district|Palamau]] and [[Rewa, Madhya Pradesh]] in the early 19th century.<ref name=Blanford1889>{{cite book |author=Blanford, W. T. |year=1889 |chapter=''Felis leo''. The Lion |pages=56–58 |title=The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia |publisher=Taylor and Francis |location=London |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalia00blan#page/56/mode/2up}}</ref><ref name=Kinnear1920/> It once ranged to Bangladesh in the east and up to [[Narmada River]] in the south.<ref name=Kinnear1920/>
Because of the lion's restricted distribution in India, [[Reginald Innes Pocock]] assumed that it arrived from Europe, entering southwestern Asia through Balochistan only recently, before humans started limiting its dispersal in the country. The advent and increasing availability of firearms led to its local [[extirpation]] over large areas.<ref name=Pocock1939/>
Heavy hunting by [[British India|British colonial officers]] and [[Princely state|Indian rulers]] caused a steady and marked decline of lion numbers in the country.<ref name=Varma/> Lions were exterminated in Palamau by 1814, in [[Baroda State|Baroda]], Hariana and [[Ahmedabad district]] in the 1830s, in [[Kot Diji]] and [[Damoh district|Damoh]] in the 1840s. During the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], a [[British Indian Army|British]] officer shot 300 lions. The last lions of [[Gwalior district|Gwalior]] and [[Rewa (princely state)|Rewah]] were shot in the 1860s. One lion was killed near [[Allahabad]] in 1866.<ref name=Blanford1889/> The last lion of [[Mount Abu]] in [[Rajasthan]] was spotted in 1872.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Sharma, B. K. |author2=Kulshreshtha, S. |author3=Sharma, S. |author4=Singh, S. |author5=Jain, A. |author6=Kulshreshtha, M. |year=2013 |chapter=''In situ'' and ''ex situ'' conservation: Protected Area Network and zoos in Rajasthan |title=Faunal Heritage of Rajasthan, India: Conservation and Management of Vertebrates |editor1=Sharma, B. K. |editor2=Kulshreshtha, S. |editor3=Rahmani, A. R. |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |location=Heidelberg, New York, Dordrecht, London |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UDS5BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 |isbn=9783319013459}}</ref> By the late 1870s, lions were extinct in Rajasthan.<ref name=Kinnear1920/> By 1880, no lion survived in [[Guna district|Guna]], [[Deesa]] and [[Banaskantha district|Palanpur]] districts, and only about a dozen lions were left in [[Junagadh district]]. By the turn of the century, the Gir Forest held the only Asiatic lion population in India, which was protected by the [[Nawab of Junagarh]] in his private hunting grounds.<ref name=Pocock1939/><ref name=Kinnear1920/>

== Ecology and behaviour ==
{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical
|image1=Asiatic Male Lion in Gir Forest National Park.jpg |caption1=A male lion [[scent marking]] his territory in Gir Forest
|image2=Receive Great honour MUFASA, my Love & the King of our Kingdom.jpg |caption2=Female and male lion
|image3=Panthera_leo_persica(Asiatic_Lion)_Gir.jpg |caption3=Young male}}
Male Asiatic lions are solitary, or associate with up to three males, forming a loose [[Lion#Group organisation|pride]]. Pairs of males rest, hunt and feed together, and display [[Marking territory|marking behaviour]] at the same sites. Females associate with up to twelve other females, forming a stronger pride together with their cubs. They share large carcasses among each other, but seldom with males. Female and male lions usually associate only for a few days when [[mating]], but rarely live and feed together.<ref name=Joslin1973>{{cite book |author=Joslin, P. |year=1973 |title=The Asiatic lion: a study of ecology and behaviour |location=University of Edinburgh, UK |publisher=Department of Forestry and Natural Resources}}</ref><ref name=Meena2008>{{cite book |author=Meena V. |year=2008 |title=Reproductive strategy and behaviour of male Asiatic Lions |location=Dehra Dun |publisher=Wildlife Institute of India}}</ref>

Results of a [[radio telemetry]] study indicate that annual home ranges of male lions vary from {{cvt|144|to|230|km2}} in dry and wet seasons. Home ranges of females are smaller, varying between {{cvt|67|and|85|km2}}.<ref name=Chellam93>{{cite book |author=Chellam, R. |year=1993 |title=Ecology of the Asiatic lion (''Panthera leo persica'') |location=Saurashtra University, Rajkot, India |publisher=Wildlife Institute of India}}</ref> During hot and dry seasons, they favour densely vegetated and shady riverine habitats, where prey species also congregate.<ref name=Chellam1997>{{cite journal |author=Chellam, R. |year=1997 |title=Asia's Envy, India's Pride |journal=Srishti |pages=66–72}}</ref><ref name=Jhala2009>{{cite journal |author=Jhala, Y. V. |author2=Mukherjee, S. |author3=Shah, N. |author4=Chauhan, K. S. |author5=Dave, C. V. |author6=Meena, V. |author7=Banerjee, K. |name-list-style=amp |year=2009 |title=Home range and habitat preference of female lions (''Panthera leo persica'') in Gir forests, India |journal=Biodiversity and Conservation |volume=18 |issue=13 |pages=3383–3394 |doi=10.1007/s10531-009-9648-9 |bibcode=2009BiCon..18.3383J |s2cid=21167393}}</ref>

Coalitions of males defend home ranges containing one or more female prides.<ref name=Johnsingh1991>{{cite book |author=Johnsingh, A.J.T. |author2=Chellam, R. |name-list-style=amp |year=1991 |chapter=Asiatic lions |pages=92–93 |editor1=Seidensticker, J. |editor2=Lumpkin, S. |editor3=Knight, F. |title=Great Cats |location=London |publisher=Merehurst}}</ref>
Together, they hold a territory for a longer time than single lions. Males in coalitions of three to four individuals exhibit a pronounced hierarchy with one male dominating the others.<ref name=Chakrabarti2017>{{cite journal |author=Chakrabarti, S. |author2=Jhala, Y. V. |name-list-style=amp |year=2017 |title=Selfish partners: resource partitioning in male coalitions of Asiatic lions |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=28 |issue=6 |pages=1532–1539 |doi=10.1093/beheco/arx118|pmid=29622932 |pmc=5873260}}</ref>

The lions in Gir National Park are [[Crepuscular animal|active at twilight]] and by [[Nocturnality|night]], showing a high temporal overlap with [[Sambar deer|sambar]] (''Rusa unicolor''), [[wild boar]] (''Sus scrofa'') and [[nilgai]] (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'').<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Chaudhary, R. |author2=Zehra, N. |author3=Musavi, A. |author4=Khan, J.A. |name-list-style=amp |year=2020 |title=Spatio-temporal partitioning and coexistence between leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') and Asiatic lion (''Panthera leo persica'') in Gir protected area, Gujarat, India |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=15 |issue=3 |page=p.e0229045 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0229045 |pmid=32160193 |pmc=7065753 |bibcode=2020PLoSO..1529045C|doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Feeding ecology ===
In general, lions prefer large prey species within a weight range of {{cvt|190|to|550|kg}}, irrespective of their availability.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Hayward, M. W. |author2=Kerley, G. I. H. |name-list-style=amp |year=2005 |title=Prey preferences of the lion (''Panthera leo'') |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=267 |pages=309–322 |doi=10.1017/S0952836905007508 |issue=3 |citeseerx=10.1.1.611.8271 |url=http://www.ibs.bialowieza.pl/g2/pdf/1595.pdf |access-date=2012-12-30 |archive-date=2016-11-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105035207/http://www.ibs.bialowieza.pl/g2/pdf/1595.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Domestic cattle have historically been a major component of the Asiatic lions' diet in the Gir Forest.<ref name= Pocock1939/>
Inside Gir Forest National Park, lions predominantly kill [[chital]] (''Axis axis''), sambar deer, nilgai, [[cattle]] (''Bos taurus''), domestic [[water buffalo]] (''Bubalus bubalis''), and less frequently wild boar.<ref name=Chellam93/> They most commonly kill chital, which weighs only around {{cvt|50|kg}}.<ref name=Johnsingh1991/> They prey on sambar deer when the latter descend from the hills during summer. Outside the protected area where wild prey species do not occur, lions prey on water buffalo and cattle, and rarely on [[dromedary]] (''Camelus dromedarius''). They generally kill most prey less than {{cvt|100|m}} away from water bodies, charge prey from close range and drag carcasses into dense cover.<ref name=Chellam93/>
They regularly visit specific sites within the protected area to scavenge on dead livestock dumped by [[Maldhari]] livestock herders.<ref>{{cite report |author1=Jhala, Y. V. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Banerjee, K. |author3=Basu, P. |author4=Chakrabarti, S. |author5=Gayen, S. |author6=Gogoi, K. |author7=Basu, A. |year=2016 |title=Ecology of Asiatic Lions in Gir, P. A., and Adjoining Human-Dominated Landscape of Saurashtra, Gujarat |location=Dehradun, India |publisher=Wildlife Institute of India}}</ref>
During dry, hot months, they also prey on [[mugger crocodile]]s (''Crocodylus palustris'') on the banks of [[Kamleshwar Dam]].<ref name=Mitra2005 />{{rp|148}}

In 1974, the Forest Department estimated the wild [[ungulate]] population at 9,650 individuals. In the following decades, the wild ungulate population has grown consistently to 31,490 in 1990 and 64,850 in 2010, including 52,490 chital, 4,440 wild boar, 4,000 sambar, 2,890 nilgai, 740 [[chinkara]] (''Gazella bennetti''), and 290 [[four-horned antelope]] (''Tetracerus quadricornis''). In contrast, populations of domestic buffalo and cattle declined following resettlement, largely due to direct removal of resident livestock from the Gir Conservation Area. The population of 24,250 domestic livestock in the 1970s declined to 12,500 by the mid-1980s, but increased to 23,440 animals in 2010. Following changes in both predator and prey communities, Asiatic lions shifted their predation patterns. Today, very few livestock kills occur within the sanctuary, and instead most occur in peripheral villages. Depredation records indicate that in and around the Gir Forest, lions killed on average 2,023 livestock annually between 2005 and 2009, and an additional 696 individuals in satellite areas.<ref name=Singh2011/>

Dominant males consume about 47% more from kills than their coalition partners. Aggression between partners increases when coalitions are large, but kills are small.<ref name=Chakrabarti2017/>

=== Reproduction ===
{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical
 |image1=Asiatic Lions Mating in Gir Forest.jpg |caption1=Lions mating in Gir Forest
 |image2=FAMILY TIME.jpg |caption2=A pride of adult lions and their cubs}}
[[File:Asiatic Lion Mating 01.ogv|thumb|right|Asiatic lions mating]]
Asiatic lions mate foremost between October and November.<ref>{{cite report |title=Annual Report |date=1972 |publisher=Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust |page=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CK5CDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA42}}</ref> Mating lasts three to six days. During these days, they usually do not hunt, but only drink water. [[Gestation]] lasts about 110 days. Litters comprise one to four cubs.<ref name=Chellam1987>{{cite journal |author=Chellam, R. |year=1987 |title=The Gir Lions |journal=Vivekananda Kendra Patrika |pages=153–157}}</ref>
The average interval between births is 24 months, unless cubs die due to [[infanticide]] by adult males or because of diseases and injuries. Cubs become independent at the age of about two years. Subadult males leave their natal pride latest at the age of three years and become nomads until they establish their own territory.<ref name=Meena2008/>
Dominant males mate more frequently than their coalition partners. During a study carried out between December 2012 and December 2016, three females were observed switching mating partners in favour of the dominant male.<ref name=Chakrabarti2017/> Monitoring of more than 70 mating events showed that females mated with males of several rivaling prides that shared their home ranges, and that these males were tolerant toward the same cubs. Only new males that entered the female territories killed unfamiliar cubs. Young females mated foremost with males within their home ranges. Older females selected males at the periphery of their home ranges.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chakrabarti, S. |last2=Jhala, Y. V. |name-list-style=amp |year=2019 |title=Battle of the sexes: a multi-male mating strategy helps lionesses win the gender war of fitness |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume= 30|issue=4 |pages=1050–1061 |doi=10.1093/beheco/arz048}}</ref>

== Threats ==
[[File:Shah-Jahan hunting lions at Burhanpur (July 1630).jpg|thumb|A painting of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal Emperor]] [[Shah Jahan]] hunting lions in the area of [[Burhanpur]], present-day [[Madhya Pradesh]], from 1630]]

The Asiatic lion currently exists as a single subpopulation, and is thus vulnerable to extinction from unpredictable events, such as an [[epidemic]] or large forest fire. There are indications of [[poaching]] incidents in recent years, as well as reports that organized poacher gangs have switched attention from local Bengal tigers to the Gujarat lions. There have also been a number of drowning incidents, after lions fell into wells.<ref name=iucn/>

Prior to the resettlement of Maldharis, the Gir forest was heavily degraded and used by livestock, which competed with and restricted the population sizes of native ungulates. Various studies reveal tremendous habitat recovery and increases in wild ungulate populations following the resettlement of Maldharis since the 1970s.<ref name=Singh2011/>

Nearly 25 lions in the vicinity of Gir Forest were found dead in October 2018. Four of them had died because of [[canine distemper virus]], the same virus that had also killed several lions in the [[Serengeti]].<ref name="IndiaTimes 10-2018">{{cite news |last=Bobins |first=A. |title=Did The Failure To Set Up A 'Second Home' For In Madhya Pradesh Cause Lion Deaths In Gir? |newspaper=India Times |url=https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/did-the-failure-to-set-up-a-second-home-for-in-madhya-pradesh-cause-lion-deaths-in-gir-354235.html |date=2018 |access-date=2018-10-05 |archive-date=2018-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005091330/https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/did-the-failure-to-set-up-a-second-home-for-in-madhya-pradesh-cause-lion-deaths-in-gir-354235.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="PTI 10-2018">{{cite news |title=Asiatic lions in Gujarat's Gir forest dying of Canine Distemper Virus: ICMR |newspaper=The [[Hindustan Times]] |location=New Delhi |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/asiatic-lions-in-gujarat-s-gir-forest-dying-of-canine-distemper-virus-icmr/story-vXPHiwUIyM0ksK84EgPDWO.html |date=2018 |access-date=2018-10-05 |archive-date=2018-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005142923/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/asiatic-lions-in-gujarat-s-gir-forest-dying-of-canine-distemper-virus-icmr/story-vXPHiwUIyM0ksK84EgPDWO.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Conflicts with humans ===
Since the mid 1990s, the Asiatic lion population has increased to an extent that by 2015, about a third resided outside the protected area. Hence, conflict between local residents and wildlife also increased. Local people protect their crops from nilgai, wild boar, and other [[herbivore]]s by using electrical fences that are powered with high voltage. Some consider the presence of predators a benefit, as they keep the herbivore population in check. But some also fear the lions, and killed several in retaliation for attacks on livestock.<ref name=Meena2016>{{cite book |author=Meena, V. |year=2016 |chapter=Wildlife and human impacts in the Gir landscape |editor=Agrawal, P.K. |editor2=Verghese, A. |editor3=Radhakrishna, S. |editor4=Subaharan, K. |title=Human Animal Conflict in Agro-Pastoral Context: Issues & Policies |publisher=Indian Council of Agricultural Research |location=New Delhi}}</ref>

In July 2012, a lion dragged a man from the veranda of his house and killed him about {{convert|50|-|60|km|miles|abbr=on}} from Gir Forest National Park. This was the second attack by a lion in this area, six months after a 25-year-old man was attacked and killed in Dhodadar.<ref name=DNA2012>{{cite news |author=Anonymous |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-man-eater-lion-kills-50-year-old-in-amreli-preys-on-him-1717542 |title=Man-eater lion kills 50-year-old in Amreli, preys on him |newspaper=DNA India |date=2012 |access-date=March 28, 2015 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402163231/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-man-eater-lion-kills-50-year-old-in-amreli-preys-on-him-1717542 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Conservation ==
''Panthera leo persica'' was included on [[CITES Appendix I]], and is fully protected in India,<ref name=Nowell1996/> where it is considered [[endangered]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://faunaofindia.nic.in/PDFVolumes/spb/023/index.pdf|title=Red Data Book on Indian Animals. Part. 1: Vertebrata (Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia and Amphibia), The|publisher=White Lotus Press|location=Calcutta|year=1994|author=Zoological Survey of India|access-date=2022-10-12|archive-date=2022-12-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206004027/https://faunaofindia.nic.in/PDFVolumes/spb/023/index.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Reintroduction ===
[[File:Lion Reintron Sites in India.png|thumb|right|Proposed reintroduction sites in India. Pink spots indicate former populations, blue spots indicate proposed sites.]]

==== India ====
{{Main|Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project}}
In the 1950s, biologists advised the Indian government <!--a guess at the missing words-->to re-establish at least one wild population in the Asiatic lion's former range to ensure the population's [[reproductive health]] and to prevent it from being affected by an outbreak of an [[epidemic]]. In 1956, the Indian Board for Wildlife accepted a proposal by the Government of [[Uttar Pradesh]] to establish a new sanctuary for the envisaged reintroduction, [[Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary]], covering {{convert|96|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in eastern Uttar Pradesh, where climate, terrain and vegetation is similar to the conditions in the Gir Forest. In 1957, one male and two female wild-caught Asiatic lions were set free in the sanctuary. This population comprised 11 animals in 1965, which all disappeared thereafter.<ref name = Johnsingh2004>{{cite book |author=Johnsingh, A.J.T. |year=2006 |title=Field Days: A Naturalist's Journey Through South and Southeast Asia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EU3inCiGFYYC&pg=PA126 |chapter=Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary ready to play second home to Asiatic lions? |publisher=Universities Press |location=Hyderabad |isbn=978-8173715525 |pages=126–138}}</ref>

The [[Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project]] to find an alternative habitat for reintroducing Asiatic lions was pursued in the early 1990s. Biologists from the [[Wildlife Institute of India]] assessed several potential translocation sites for their suitability regarding existing prey population and habitat conditions. The Palpur-[[Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary]] in northern Madhya Pradesh was ranked as the most promising location, followed by [[Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary]] and [[Darrah National Park]].<ref>Walker, S. (1994). ''Executive summary of the Asiatic lion PHVA. First draft report.'' Zoo's Print: 2–22.</ref> Until 2000, 1,100 families from 16 villages had been resettled from the Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, and another 500 families from eight villages were expected to be resettled. With this resettlement scheme the protected area was expanded by {{convert|345|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.<ref name = Johnsingh2004/><ref>{{Cite web |author=Hugo, K. |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/asia-endangered-world-lion-day-conservation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810180912/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/asia-endangered-world-lion-day-conservation/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 10, 2016 |title=Asia's Lions Live In One Last Place on Earth—And They're Thriving |newspaper=National Geographic Society |year=2016 |access-date=2016-08-10}}</ref>

Gujarat state officials resisted the relocation, since it would make the Gir Sanctuary lose its status as the world's only home of the Asiatic lion. Gujarat raised a number of objections to the proposal, and thus the matter went before the [[Supreme Court of India|Indian Supreme Court]]. In April 2013, the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Gujarat state to send some of their Gir lions to Madhya Pradesh to establish a second population there.<ref>Anand, U. (2013). [http://www.indianexpress.com/news/supreme-court-gives-madhya-pradesh-lions-share-from-gujarats-gir/1103080/ ''Supreme Court gives Madhya Pradesh lions' share from Gujarat's Gir''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520004510/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/supreme-court-gives-madhya-pradesh-lions-share-from-gujarats-gir/1103080 |date=2013-05-20 }}. The Indian Express Ltd., 17 April 2013.</ref> The court had given wildlife authorities six months to complete the transfer. The number of lions and which ones to be transported will be decided at a later date. As of now, the plan to shift lions to Kuno is in jeopardy, with Madhya Pradesh having apparently given up on acquiring lions from Gujarat.<ref name="TOI 12-2017">{{cite news |author=Sharma, R. |newspaper=The Times of India |title=Tired of Gujarat reluctance on Gir lions, MP to release tigers in Kuno |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/tired-of-gujarat-reluctance-on-gir-lions-mp-to-release-tigers-in-kuno/articleshow/61937836.cms |date=2017 |access-date=2018-01-27 |archive-date=2018-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128093407/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/tired-of-gujarat-reluctance-on-gir-lions-mp-to-release-tigers-in-kuno/articleshow/61937836.cms |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="HT 2017">{{cite news |newspaper=Hindustan Times |title=Stalemate on translocation of Gir lions Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh to be used as tiger habitat now |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/stalemate-on-translocation-of-gir-lionskuno-palpur-in-madhya-pradesh-to-be-used-as-tiger-habitat-now/story-hX8ELtxSSL4I8GeLTh6xYI.html |date=2017 |access-date=2018-01-27 |archive-date=2018-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127202550/https://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/stalemate-on-translocation-of-gir-lionskuno-palpur-in-madhya-pradesh-to-be-used-as-tiger-habitat-now/story-hX8ELtxSSL4I8GeLTh6xYI.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Iran ====
{{See also|Iran's Project Lion}}
In 1977, Iran attempted to restore its lion population by transporting Gir lions to [[Arzhan National Park]], but the project met resistance from the local population, and thus it was not implemented.<ref name=Humphreys1999/><ref name=Firouz05/> However, this did not stop Iran from seeking to bring back the lion.<ref name="TOI2009Cheetah">{{cite news |author=Dey, A. |title=Rajasthan to be home for cheetahs |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-07-26/flora-fauna/28154728_1_cheetahs-fastest-animal-wild-fowls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024093921/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-07-26/flora-fauna/28154728_1_cheetahs-fastest-animal-wild-fowls |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-10-24 |date=2009 |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=2009-08-09}}</ref><ref name="Khostravifard2010">{{cite news |author=Khosravifard, S. |url=http://www.payvand.com/news/10/may/1232.html |title=Russia, Iran exchange tigers for leopards but some experts express doubts |newspaper=Payvand News |date=2010 |access-date=6 August 2011 |archive-date=15 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015102253/http://www.payvand.com/news/10/may/1232.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In February 2019, [[Tehran Zoological Garden]] obtained a male Asiatic lion from [[Bristol Zoo]] in the United Kingdom,<ref>{{cite news |last=Amlashi |first=H. |title=Return To Motherland: Asiatic lion returns to Iran after 80 years |publisher=[[Tehran Times]] |url=http://www.payvand.com/news/19/may/1005.html |year=2019 |access-date=2019-10-14 |archive-date=2020-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110082244/http://www.payvand.com/news/19/may/1005.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> followed in June by a female from [[Dublin Zoo]]. There are hopes for them to successfully reproduce.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=Iran Front Page |title=From Dublin to Tehran: Persian Lioness Joins Male Companion |url=https://ifpnews.com/from-dublin-to-tehran-persian-lioness-joins-male-companion |year=2019 |access-date=2019-10-14 |archive-date=2019-10-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014125005/https://ifpnews.com/from-dublin-to-tehran-persian-lioness-joins-male-companion |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== In captivity ===
{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical
|image1 = Asiatic Lion in Lucknow Zoo.jpg |caption1=Lion in [[Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden]]
|image2 = Panthera leo persica - Tierpark Berlin - 2015.jpg |caption2=Asiatic lion in [[Tierpark Berlin]]}}

Until the late 1990s, captive Asiatic lions in Indian zoos were haphazardly interbred with African lions confiscated from circuses, leading to [[genetic pollution]] in the captive Asiatic lion stock. Once discovered, this led to the complete shutdown of the European and American endangered species breeding programs for Asiatic lions, as its founder animals were captive-bred Asiatic lions originally imported from India and were ascertained to be intraspecific hybrids of African and Asian lions. In North American zoos, several Indian-African lion crosses were inadvertently bred, and researchers noted that "the fecundity, reproductive success, and spermatozoal development improved dramatically."<ref name="Tudge2011">{{cite book|last=Tudge|first=C. |title=Engineer In The Garden |year=2011 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9781446466988|page=42}}</ref><ref name="AviseHamrick1996">{{cite book |last1=Avise|first1=J. C.|last2=Hamrick|first2=J. L.|title=Conservation Genetics: Case Histories from Nature |year=1996 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9780412055812|page=67}}</ref>

[[DNA profiling|DNA fingerprinting]] studies of Asiatic lions have helped in identifying individuals with high [[genetic variability]], which can be used for conservation breeding programs.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Shankaranarayanan, P. |author2=Banerjee, M. |author3=Kacker, R. K. |author4=Aggarwal, R. K. |author5=Singh, L. |year=1997 |title=Genetic variation in Asiatic lions and Indian tigers |journal=Electrophoresis |volume=18 |issue=9 |pages=1693–1700 |doi=10.1002/elps.1150180938 |pmid=9378147 |s2cid=41046139 |url=http://www.freewebs.com/hmgrgcb/publication/Elec%20shankar%20et%20al%201997.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723034412/http://www.freewebs.com/hmgrgcb/publication/Elec%20shankar%20et%20al%201997.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-07-23 }}</ref>

In 2006, the [[Central Zoo Authority of India]] stopped breeding Indian-African cross lions stating that "hybrid lions have no conservation value and it is not worth to spend resources on them".<ref name="Tudge2011"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hybrid-lions-at-Chhatbir-Zoo-in-danger/articleshow/2000527.cms|title=Hybrid lions at Chhatbir Zoo in danger|date=18 September 2006|work=The Times of India|access-date=30 September 2014|archive-date=23 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223235318/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hybrid-lions-at-Chhatbir-Zoo-in-danger/articleshow/2000527.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> Now only pure native Asiatic lions are bred in India.

In 1972 the [[Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden|Sakkarbaug Zoo]] sold a pair of young pure-stock lions to the [[Fauna and Flora International|Fauna Preservation Society]]; which decided they would be accommodated at the [[Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust|Jersey Wildlife Trust]] where it was hoped to begin a captive breeding programme.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=CK5CDwAAQBAJ&dq=are+zoo+animals+starved+one+day+a+week&pg=PA42 Annual Report 1972: Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust; pp 39-42] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918063632/https://books.google.com/books?id=CK5CDwAAQBAJ&dq=are+zoo+animals+starved+one+day+a+week&pg=PA42 |date=2023-09-18 }};</ref>

The Asiatic lion International [[Breed registry|Studbook]] was initiated in 1977, followed in 1983 by the [[North America]]n [[Species Survival Plan]] (SSP).<ref name=Zingg07>{{cite journal |author=Zingg, R. |year=2007 |title=Asiatic Lion Studbooks: a short history |journal=Zoos' Print Journal |volume=XXII |issue=6 |pages=4 |url=http://www.zoosprint.org/ZooPrintMagazine/2007/June/4.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628214546/http://www.zoosprint.org/ZooPrintMagazine/2007/June/4.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-06-28 }}</ref> 
The North American population of captive Asiatic lions was composed of descendants of five founder lions, three of which were pure Asian and two were African or African-Asian [[hybrid (biology)|hybrids]]. The lions kept in the framework of the SSP consisted of animals with high [[inbreeding]] coefficients.<ref name=OBrien1987/>

In the early 1990s, three European zoos imported pure Asiatic lions from India: [[London Zoo]] obtained two pairs; the [[Zürich Zoologischer Garten]] one pair; and the [[Korkeasaari Zoo]] in [[Helsinki]] one male and two females. In 1994, the [[European Endangered Species Programme]] (EEP) for Asiatic lions was initiated. The [[European Association of Zoos and Aquaria]] (EAZA) published the first European Studbook in 1999. By 2005, there were 80 Asiatic lions kept in the EEP — the only captive population outside of India.<ref name=Zingg07/>
As of 2009, more than 100 Asiatic lions were kept within the EEP. The SSP had not resumed; pure-bred Asiatic lions are needed to form a new founder population for breeding in American zoos.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Asiatic lion captive breeding programme |url=http://www.asiatic-lion.org/captive.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206173850/http://www.asiatic-lion.org/captive.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-02-06 |website=www.asiatic-lion.org}}</ref>

== In culture ==
{{multiple image |perrow=1 |image1=Sarnath capital.jpg |caption1=The original sandstone sculpted [[Lion Capital of Ashoka]] preserved at [[Sarnath Museum]], which was originally erected around 250 BC atop an [[Ashoka Pillar]] at [[Sarnath]] |image2=Kelileh va Demneh.jpg |caption2=Lion depicted in a 15th century Persian manuscript kept at the [[Topkapi Palace Museum]] |image4=Rajastan, donne che sparano da un padiglione, corte di rajput a kota, 1810 ca.jpg |caption4=A painting showing a lion hunt in India, ca. 1810}}
{{details|Lion (heraldry)|Cultural depictions of lions |image3=Babylon (1).JPG |caption3=The [[Lion of Babylon (statue)|lion of Babylon]] statue}}

=== South and East Asia ===
{{See also|Bharat Mata|Kangla Sha}}
[[Neolithic]] cave paintings of lions were found in [[Bhimbetka rock shelters]] in central India, which are at least 30,000 years old.<ref>{{cite conference |author=Badam, G. L. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Sathe, V. G. |year=1991 |chapter=Animal depictions in rock art and palaeoecology—a case study at Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh, India |title=Rock Art—The Way Ahead: South African Rock Art Research Association First International Conference Proceedings |location=Natal |publisher=Southern African Rock Art Research Association |pages=196–208 |editor1=Pager, S. A. |editor2=Swatrz Jr., B. K. |editor3=Willcox, A. R.}}</ref>

The [[Sanskrit]] word for 'lion' is {{lang|sa|'सिंह'}} {{IAST|siṃhaḥ}}, which is also a name of [[Shiva]] and signifies the ''[[Leo (astrology)|Leo]]'' of the [[Zodiac]].<ref name=Apte>{{cite book |author=Apte, V. S. |date=1957–1959 |title=Revised and enlarged edition of Prin. V. S. Apte's The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary |publisher=Prasad Prakashan |place=Poona |chapter=सिंहः siṃhaḥ |page=1679 |chapter-url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/apte_query.py?qs=%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%83&searchhws=yes |access-date=2021-09-12 |archive-date=2021-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912083821/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/apte_query.py?qs=%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%83&searchhws=yes |url-status=live }}</ref>
The Sanskrit name of [[Sri Lanka]] is Sinhala meaning 'Abode of Lions'.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australasia |volume=20 |issue=May |date=1836 |title=Chinese account of Ceylon |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oKVFAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA30}}</ref> [[Singapore]] derives its name from the [[Malay language|Malay]] words {{lang|ms|singa}} 'lion' and {{lang|ms|pura}} 'city', which in turn is from the Sanskrit {{lang|sa|'सिंह'}} {{IAST|siṃhaḥ}} and {{lang|sa|पुर}} {{IAST|pur}}, latter also meaning 'fortified town'.<ref name=Apte/><ref>{{cite book |author=Apte, V. S. |date=1957–1959 |title=Revised and enlarged edition of Prin. V. S. Apte's The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary |publisher=Prasad Prakashan |place=Poona |chapter=पुर् pur |page=1031 |chapter-url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/apte_query.py?qs=%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0&searchhws=yes |access-date=2021-09-13 |archive-date=2021-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913081030/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/apte_query.py?qs=%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0&searchhws=yes |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[Hindu mythology]], the half man half lion [[avatar]] [[Narasimha]] is the fourth [[incarnation]] of [[Vishnu]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Williams, G. M. |title=Handbook of Hindu Mythology |year=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |place=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-533261-2 |page=223 |chapter=Narasimha |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7LOZfwCDpEC&pg=PA223}}</ref>
[[Simhamukha]] is a lion-faced protector and [[dakini]] in [[Tibetan Buddhism]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Loseries, A. |year=2013 |title=Tantrik Literature and Culture : Hermeneutics and Expositions |location=Delhi |publisher=Buddhist World Press |pages=155–164 |chapter=Simhamukha: The Lion-faced Durgā of the Tibetan Tantrik Pantheon |isbn=978-93-80852-20-1 |editor1=Loseries, A.}}</ref>

In the 18th book of the [[Mahabharata]], [[Bharata (Mahabharata)|Bharata]] deprives lions of their prowess.<ref>{{cite book |date=1883–1896 |chapter-url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m07/m07065.htm |title=The Mahabharata |author=Ganguli, K. M. |chapter=Book 7: Drona Parva. Section LXVIII |publisher=John Bruno Hare |access-date=2017-05-07 |archive-date=2016-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827030747/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m07/m07065.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
The lion plays a prominent role in ''[[The Fables of Pilpay]]'' that were translated into [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Hebrew language]]s between the 8th and 12th centuries.<ref name="Eastwick1854">{{cite book |year=1854 |title=The Anvari Suhaili; or the Lights of Canopus Being the Persian version of the Fables of Pilpay; or the Book Kalílah and Damnah rendered into Persian by Husain Vá'iz U'L-Káshifí |last=Eastwick |first=E. B (transl.) |author-link=Edward Backhouse Eastwick |publisher=Stephen Austin, Bookseller to the East-India College |location=Hertford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W0oOAAAAQAAJ}}</ref>
The lion is the symbol of [[Mahavira]], the 24th and last [[Tirthankara]] in [[Jainism]].<ref name="Disha2017">{{cite book |last=Ansari |first=U. |title=The Mega Yearbook 2018 – Current Affairs & General Knowledge for Competitive Exams with 52 Monthly ebook Updates & eTests |publisher=Disha Publications |edition=3 |chapter=Mahavira |page=102 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uPhBDwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA102 |date=2017 |isbn=978-9387421226 |access-date=2020-09-28 |archive-date=2024-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240122070514/https://books.google.com/books?id=uPhBDwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA102#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Reddy2006">{{cite book |author=Reddy |title=Indian Hist (Opt) |publisher=Tata [[McGraw-Hill Education]] |page=155 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CeEmpfmbxKEC&q=mahavira+lion&pg=SL1-PA155 |date=2006 |isbn=978-0070635777 |access-date=2020-10-15 |archive-date=2024-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240122080519/https://books.google.com/books?id=CeEmpfmbxKEC&q=mahavira+lion&pg=SL1-PA155 |url-status=live }}</ref>
*The lion is the third animal of the [[Burmese zodiac#Weekdays|Burmese zodiac]] and the sixth animal of the Sinhalese zodiac.<ref>Upham, E. (1829). [https://archive.org/details/historydoctrineo00upha The History and Doctrine of Budhism: Popularly Illustrated: with Notices of the Kappooism, Or Demon Worship, and of the Bali, Or Planetary Incantations, of Ceylon]. London: R. Ackermann.</ref>
*The earliest known Chinese stone sculptures of lions date to the [[Han dynasty]] at the turn of the first millennium.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Till, B. |year=1980 |title=Some Observations on Stone Winged Chimeras at Ancient Chinese Tomb Sites |journal=Artibus Asiae |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=261–281 |jstor=3250032 |doi=10.2307/3250032}}</ref>
*The [[lion dance]] is a traditional dance in [[Chinese culture]] that is strongly associated with Buddhism and known since at least the Han dynasty.<ref>{{cite book |author=Yap, J. |year=2017 |title=The Art of Lion Dance |location=Kuala Lumpur |publisher=Joey Yap Research Group |pages=16–33 |chapter=History and Origins |isbn=9789671303870 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKdJDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16 |access-date=2021-11-27 |archive-date=2024-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240122070646/https://books.google.com/books?id=IKdJDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Cambodia]] has a native [[martial art]] called ''[[Bokator]]'' ({{lang-km|ល្បុក្កតោ}}, pounding a lion).<ref name="Nicketal. 2010">{{cite book |last=Ray |first=N. |author2=Robinson, D. |author3=Bloom, G. |title=Cambodia |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2010 |page=99 |isbn=978-1-74179-457-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/lonelyplanetcamb00nick/page/99}}</ref>

=== West Asia and Europe ===
Lions are depicted on vases dating to about 2600 [[before present]] that were excavated near [[Lake Urmia]] in Iran.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Gesché-Koning, N. |author2=Van Deuren, G. |name-list-style=amp |year=1993 |title=Iran |location=Bruxelles, Belgium |publisher=Musées Royaux D'Art et D'Histoire}}</ref>
The lion was an important symbol in [[Ancient Iraq]] and is depicted in a stone relief at [[Nineveh]] in the Mesopotamian Plain.<ref>{{cite book |last=Scarre |first=C. |author-link=Chris Scarre |year=1999 |title=The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World |location=London |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=9780500050965 |url=https://archive.org/details/seventywondersof00scar |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ashrafian |first=H. |year=2011 |title=An extinct Mesopotamian lion subspecies |journal=Veterinary Heritage |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=47–49}}</ref><!-- a depiction is NOT a valid type specimen in taxonomy -->
* The lion makes repeated appearances in the [[Bible]], most notably as having fought [[Samson]] in the [[Book of Judges]].
* Having occurred in the [[Arab world]], particularly the Arabian Peninsula,<ref name=Geptner/> the Asiatic lion has significance in [[Arab culture|Arab]] and [[Animals in Islam#Views regarding particular animals|Islamic culture]]. For example, [[Al-Muddathir#The ḥumur and qaswarah|Surat al-Muddaththir]] of the [[Quran]] criticizes people who were averse to the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic Prophet]] [[Muhammad]]'s teachings, such as that the rich have an obligation to donate wealth to the poor, comparing their attitude to itself, with the response of prey to a ''qaswarah'' ({{lang-ar|قَسْوَرَة}}, meaning "lion", "beast of prey", or "hunter").<ref name="Cite quran|74|41|e=51|s=ns">{{cite quran|74|41|e=51|s=ns}}</ref> Other Arabic words for 'lion' include ''asad'' ({{lang-ar|أَسَد}}) and ''sabaʿ'' ({{lang-ar|سَبَع}}),<ref name="Pease1913">{{cite book |last=Pease |first=A. E. |author-link=Sir Alfred Pease, 2nd Baronet |year=1913 |url=https://archive.org/stream/bookoflion1913alfr#page/n5/mode/2up |title=The Book of the Lion |publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]] |location=London}}</ref> and they can be used as names of places, or titles of people. An Arabic toponym for the [[Levant]]ine City of [[Beersheba]] ({{lang-ar|بِئر ٱلسَّبَع}}) can mean "Spring of the Lion."<ref>{{cite book |last=Qumsiyeh |first=Mazin B. |author-link=Mazin Qumsiyeh |year=1996 |title=Mammals of the Holy Land |publisher=[[Texas Tech University Press]] |pages=146–148 |isbn=0-8967-2364-X |url=https://archive.org/details/mammalsofholylan00qums/page/146}}</ref> [[Hamzah ibn Abdul-Muttalib]] who were [[Sahabah|loyal]] [[Banu Hashim|kinsmen]] of Muhammad, were given titles like ''Asad [[Allah]]'' ({{lang-ar|أَسَد ٱلله|lit=Lion of [[God]]}}).<ref>{{cite book |author=Muhammad ibn Saad |series=Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabair |volume=3 |translator-last=Bewley |translator-first=A. |year=2013 |title=The Companions of Badr |location=London |publisher=Ta-Ha Publishers}}</ref>
* The [[Lion of Babylon (statue)|lion of Babylon]] is a statue at the [[Ishtar Gate]] in [[Babylon]]<ref name=Humphreys1999/> The lion has an important association with the figure [[Gilgamesh]], as demonstrated in [[Epic of Gilgamesh|his epic]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Dalley |editor-first=S. |editor-link=Stephanie Dalley |title=Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-953836-2}}</ref> The [[Iraqi national football team]] is nicknamed "Lions of Mesopotamia."<ref>{{cite news |date=2017 |title=Iraq secure much-needed win over rivals Iran in friendly |website=Iraqi-Football.com |url=http://www.iraqi-football.com/Iran%200-1%20Iraq%20-%20Lions%20secure%20much-needed%20win%20over%20rivals%20in%20friendly.pdf |access-date=2017-11-28 |archive-date=2017-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042314/http://www.iraqi-football.com/Iran%200-1%20Iraq%20-%20Lions%20secure%20much-needed%20win%20over%20rivals%20in%20friendly.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The symbol of the lion is closely tied to the [[Persian people]]. [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] kings were known to carry the symbol of the lion on their thrones and garments. The name 'Shir' (also pronounced 'Sher') ({{lang-fa|{{Nastaliq|شیر}}}}) is a part of the names of many places in Iran and Central Asia, like those of city of [[Shiraz]] and the [[Sherabad River]], and had been adopted into other languages, like [[Hindi]].<ref name= Pocock1939/><ref name=Geptner/><ref name=Humphreys1999/> The ''Shir-va-Khorshid'' ({{lang-fa|{{Nastaliq|شیر و خورشید}}}}, "[[Lion and Sun]]") is one of the most prominent symbols of Iran, dating back to the [[Safavid dynasty]], and was used on the flag of Iran until 1979.<ref>{{cite encyclopaedia |title=Flags (of Persia) |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/flags-i |last=Shahbazi |first=S. A. |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] |volume=10 |year=2001 |access-date=2016-03-10 |archive-date=2020-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527205810/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/flags-i |url-status=live }}</ref> 
* The lion was an objective of [[Lion hunting|hunting]] in the Caucasus, by both locals and foreigners. The locals were called '[[Shirvanshakh]]s'.<ref name=Geptner/>
* The [[Nemean lion]] of pre-literate Greek myth is associated with the [[Labours of Hercules]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Wagner |editor-first=R. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2BALAwAAQBAJ |title=Mythographi Graeci |volume=I |chapter=Index nominum et rerum memorabilium |publisher=Рипол Классик |isbn=9785874554637 |access-date=2017-11-23 |archive-date=2024-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240122070514/https://books.google.com/books?id=2BALAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* A [[Bronze Age]] statue of a lion from either [[Southern Italy]] or southern [[Spain]] from around 1000–1200 years BCE, the "Mari-Cha Lion", was exhibited at the [[Louvre Abu Dhabi]].<ref>{{cite report |author=[[Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism]] |location=Abu Dhabi |year=2017 |title=Annual Report 2017 |volume=1: Culture |page=52 |url=https://tcaabudhabi.ae/DataFolder/reports/2017%20Annual%20report%20-%20EN.pdf#page=51 |access-date=2019-06-29 |archive-date=2019-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807235514/https://tcaabudhabi.ae/DataFolder/reports/2017%20Annual%20report%20-%20EN.pdf#page=51 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
* Lion populations: [[Cape lion]] {{·}} [[Lions in Europe]] {{·}}
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Wildlife of Iran]]
* [[Wildlife of India]]
* [[in-situ conservation|''In situ'' conservation]]
* [[Ex-situ conservation|''Ex situ'' conservation]]
* ''[[Panthera leo fossilis]]''
* ''[[Panthera spelaea]]''
* ''[[Damnatio ad bestias]]''
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Anchor|Cited references}}
{{Anchor|Other references}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Abbott |first=J. |author-link=Sir James Abbott |title=A Narrative of a journey from Heraut to Khiva, Moscow and St. Petersburgh |publisher=James Madden |volume=1 |page=26 |year=1856 |location=[[Khiva]] |url=https://www.wdl.org/en/item/17720/view/2/342/#q=lion%2C%20tiger |access-date=2018-05-18 |archive-date=2020-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726101504/https://www.wdl.org/en/item/17720/view/2/342/#q=lion%2C%20tiger |url-status=live }}
* {{cite news |last=Kaushik |first=H. |title=Wire fences death traps for big cats |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-10-26/india/27860954_1_gir-forest-lions-death-traps |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922084220/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-10-26/india/27860954_1_gir-forest-lions-death-traps |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-09-22 |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |year=2005 }}
* {{cite book |author=Nair, S. M. |edition=English |translator=O. Henry Francis |title=Endangered Animals of India and their conservation |publisher=National Book Trust |year=1999}}
* {{cite journal |last=Walker |first=S. |date=1994 |url=http://www.asiatic-lion.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825014706/http://www.asiatic-lion.org/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-08-25 |title=Executive summary of the Asiatic lion PHVA |journal=Zoo's Print |pages=2–22 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Schnitzler |first1=A. |last2=Hermann |first2=L. |title=Chronological distribution of the tiger ''Panthera tigris'' and the Asiatic lion ''Panthera leo persica'' in their common range in Asia |journal=[[Mammal Review]] |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=340–353 |doi=10.1111/mam.12166 |date=2019|s2cid=202040786 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Lions of Asia}}
{{Wikispecies|Panthera leo persica}}
* [http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=113 IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group: Asiatic lion]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180917181820/https://www.telegraphindia.com/travel/pride-of-india-254571 The Telegraph, August 2018: Pride of India]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825014706/http://www.asiatic-lion.org/ |date=August 25, 2010 |title=Asiatic Lion Information Centre}}
* [http://www.asiaticlion.org/ Asiatic Lion Protection Society (ALPS), Gujarat, India]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061216225338/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Panthera_leo/more_info.html ARKive.org: Lion (''Panthera leo'') ]
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Panthera_leo.html Animal Diversity Web: ''Panthera leo'']
* [http://deshgujarat.com/2006/12/21/where-is-the-will-power-to-protect-gujarati-lions/ Asiatic lions in online video] (3 videos)
* [http://www.feelthewild.com/ Asiatic Lions Images]
* {{YouTube|NZzASSxA6P0|AAj Tak Video News Report in Hindi: Gir lions in palpur kuno century report rajesh badal.mp4}} by Rajesh Badal (2011)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160819024938/http://dbvideos.bhaskar.com/interesting_weird/27512/ DB Video Special Report on Asiatic lion in Gujarati: What Is the connection Between Gir lions and Africans lions]
* [http://www.museum.ie/The-Collections/Documentation-Discoveries/July-2013/A-Persian-Lioness Skin of a Persian lioness, belonging to an endangered subspecies of lions], brought to [[Dublin]] by King [[Edward VII]] in 1902 (during the reign of [[Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar|Shah Mozaffar ad-Din]] in [[Persia]], and kept in the [[Natural History Museum (Ireland)]]).
* [http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/#/?p=c+0,t+,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+c42adb26-e3e1-4def-8885-51640c4f7057 Lion of Basrah]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvu70z2uQxg A lion in Iraq]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erjBVq9yVi8 Stuffed animals] including Pakistan's last wild lion at Bahawalpur Zoo
* [http://www.al-islam.org/masoom/bios/7thimam.html Ancient Arabian account] of Muhammad's descendant [[Musa al-Kadhim]] encountering a lion outside [[Medina]] in the [[Hijaz Mountains|mountainous]] region of the [[Hejaz]]
* [http://saudi-archaeology.com/subjects/lion/ Description of the Arabian lion and art]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7D_25yXARk 4 انواع الأسود في العالم الأسد العربي الجزء] (in [[Arabic]])
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae6Xk_r-7fA الاسد العربي المنقرض عند العرب lion Arabian Extinct] (in Arabic)
* [https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/striking-pic-of-gir-lion-shared-by-pm-narendra-modi-creates-stir-online-2005959 Asiatic lioness on a tree]

{{Panthers in India}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q182347}}

[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Felids of Asia]]
[[Category:Felids of India]]
[[Category:Fauna of Gujarat]]
[[Category:Panthera leo leo]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1826]]
[[Category:Symbols of Gujarat]]
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