World Lion Day 2021: How Asiatic Lion Population In India Made A Comeback In The Past Few Years

August 10 is marked as World Lion Day every year by 'Big Cat Rescue' - the world¡¯s largest accredited sanctuary for big cats with an aim to raise awareness about their declining population, and need for conservation.

The lion population has been decimated across their traditional homes due to hunting and habitat loss.

In India too, the lion population has gone through a drastic decline and they are classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as it is still vulnerable to many threats.

BCCL

This is despite some success in the past few years, which has seen steady growth in the lion population in India.

674 lions in India

According to the data from 2020, there are 674 lions in India, which was 523 in 2015.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi who also hails from Gujarat, which is home to India's lion population lauded the country's success in conserving the big cats.

The lion is majestic and courageous, and India is proud to be home to the Asiatic Lion, Modi tweeted.

BCCL

"On World Lion Day, I convey my greetings to all those passionate about lion conservation. It would make you happy that the last few years have seen a steady increase in India's lion population," he said.

The lion is majestic and courageous. India is proud to be home to the Asiatic Lion. On World Lion Day, I convey my greetings to all those passionate about lion conservation. It would make you happy that the last few years have seen a steady increase in India¡¯s lion population. pic.twitter.com/GaCEXnp7hG

¡ª Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 10, 2021

The number of Asiatic lions, who live primarily in the Gir forests, was estimated to be 674 in 2020, an increase of 29 per cent in five years.

"The last population estimation exercise was conducted in May 2015 which pegged the lion numbers at 523, a 27 per cent increase from the estimation of 2010. The population of Asiatic Lions has thus shown a steady increase with a population of 674 individuals with an increase rate of 28.87 per cent (one of the highest growth rate so far) from the previous growth of 27 per cent during 2015 (523 lions)," Gujarat Chief Wildlife Warden in a press note stated.

PM Modi noted that when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, he had the opportunity to work towards ensuring safe and secure habitats for the Gir Lions.

"A number of initiatives were taken which involved local communities and global best practices to ensure habitats are safe and tourism also gets a boost," Modi said.

While an increase in population is good news for the conservation efforts, there are still some concerns.

The conservation success of the mighty lions has come a long way.
Earlier, categorized as a critically endangered species in IUCN listing they are now categorized as endangered species. #WorldLionDay#WorldLionDay2021 pic.twitter.com/6P79R8qDBh

¡ª MoEF&CC (@moefcc) August 10, 2021

Man-animal conflict

In the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of lions seen in human areas and the number of big cat attacks has also risen in Gujarat.

Though the reason behind the pride leaving Gir Forest is still unknown, conservationists have long argued that the protected area is becoming too small for the growing population of Asiatic lions there.

bccl/ file

Asiatic lions are present in Protected Areas and agro-pastoral landscapes of Saurashtra covering nine districts, over 30,000 sq. km.

As their population increase, it is feared that the lack of space is bringing them to more conflicts with humans.

A proposal to diversify the lion habitat by relocating some of them to Kuno-Palpur in Madhya Pradesh has not happened, even after the Supreme Court's intervention, due to the lack of cooperation by Gujarat.