EPOW Ecology Picture of the Week -- Critically Endangered Asiatic Lions

Explanation: No, this is not Africa. This is an Asiatic lion, a critically endangered subspecies of lion found in the wild only in the dry deciduous teak forests and savanna jungles of Gir National Park in Gujarat, western India.

Asiatic lions split from African lions about 100,000 years ago and once ranged through southern Asia. Today, pure-bred Asiatics occur only as a population of about 250-300 animals in a single protected area. As such, plans have been suggested to establish at least a second population in another protected area in India, but there is resistance to donating lions for this purpose.

A few Asiatic lions are found in captivity but often their genetic identity has been compromised by cross-breeding with African lions. These lions are of the pure Asiatic subspecies and are kept at a "Lion Safari" tourist center in south Kerala, India.

A century ago, numbers of Asiatic lions dropped to about 20 animals and only through diligent recovery efforts of India has the subspecies been saved from extinction.

EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week