Apart from this, the Asiatic lions have been reportedly been hunted down, poisoned and killed in order to protect livestock. Threats: As the population of the Asiatic Lions is very small, they are prone to getting wiped out completely in natural disasters like forest fire. Wild Boar, Chital, Spotted Deer, Sambar, Blue Bull, Chinkara, One horned Antelope are some of the most sought preys of the Asiatic lions. Gir lions can bring down prey weighing about 190 kgs to about 520 kg. The main reason of this behavior is that they do not hunt in large numbers and hence, do not have the need to hunt in large pride. They have a maximum of about five females in their pride, normal being two.

The vegetation of these forests comprise of mainly dry deciduous forest, teak forest and thorny grasslands.Įcological Behavior: Unlike their African counterpart, Asiatic lions do not live in large pride.

Bardia forest is being established as an alternative for rehabilitation of the Asiatic lions. Mityala and Girnar sanctuaries protect satellite areas around the core Gir conservation area. Gir National Park, Gir wildlife sanctuary and Pania sanctuary, with a total area of about 1452 square kms constitute the natural and protected habitat of the Asiatic lions. In India also, they are concentrated only in the Gir forest of the Junagadh district of the state of Gujarat. Habitat: India is the sole habitat for Asiatic Lions in the world. The color of the fur can range from tawny to sandy brown. Unlike the African lion, the Asiatic lion doesn’t have fuller mane and their ears can always be seen. The height of the male till its shoulder is about 3.5 ft and the recorded length of the adult male is about 2.92m. The adult male weighs about 160 to 190 kgs while the female adult weighs about 110 to 120 kgs. Physical Characteristics: Similar to the African lion, the unique feature of the Asiatic lion is the longitudinal fold of skin spread across its belly. Tourists from all over the world flock in to have a glimpse of this magnificent lion exclusive only to India. Geologists suggest that the small population of these lions in India indicate that they migrated to India from Persia and Baluchistan. The Gir Forest of India is the only home to the Asiatic lions. Also known as the Persian Lion, IUCN has declared it as an endangered species because of its small size of population. It is one of the seven sub species of lion scattered all across the world. The Asiatic Lion is found in the Gir forest located in the state of Gujarat in India.

Asiatic lion in hindi