The Asian lion
Photo sourceThe Asian lion
The Asian lion (Panthera leo persica) is a subspecies of lion, the only one that can currently be found outside of Africa. It is one of the most threatened felines in the world, as its population in the wild is reduced to about 650 specimens (in 2017) located in the Forest of Gir, a protected area of 1412 km² located south of the Indian state of Gujarat.
Photo source The Asian lion
Due to its scarcity in freedom, the Asian lion is a piece highly valued by zoos, where its reproduction in captivity is enhanced. It is estimated that there are about a thousand Asian lions in zoos around the world. In 2017 a team of researchers belonging to the IUCN published a new taxonomic classification of the family felidae in which only two subspecies of lion were recognized: Panthera leo leo that groups the Asiatic lion, of western Africa, central and the already disappeared populations of the lion of the Atlas and Panthera leo melanochaita that groups the lions of eastern and southern Africa.
Photo sourceThe Asian lion
THE ASIAN LION remembers its African relatives in everything, although some subtle differences can be cited. To begin with, it is a bit smaller and less burly than African lions, around 160 - 190 kg in the case of males and 110 - 120 kg in that of females. The males reach a length of 1.70 - 1.80 m in length plus 70 - 105 cm of tail and up to 1.07 m the height of the cross, the largest male recorded in the Gir forest measured 2.92 m long including the tail, and had a weight of 190 kg. The females, devoid of mane, are considerably smaller, since their length is only 1.40 - 1.60 m without counting the tail.5
The Asian lions also have a slightly lighter coat, and reddish and shorter mane in the wild specimens, especially in the upper part of the head (which is why the ears of the males are always visible), the mane it extends along the chest similar to that of its closest relative, the lion of the Atlas (Panthera leo leo). The lock of hair on the elbows is more noticeable. There are also some unique features in the skull that only the North African and Asian lions share. And finally, Asian lions always have a longitudinal fold in the skin of the belly, very rare feature in African lions.
The reproductive and feeding habits are similar to those of the African lions. In the forest of Gir, the lions leave the densest areas to the tigers, while they occupy the margins, with trees separated by areas covered with grass and shrubs. They hunt as much in herd as in alone, being their prey more frequent the deers (the axis and the sambar in particular), antelopes, wild boars and Indian buffaloes. In general, the packs of Asian lions are smaller, with only a pair of females, while African lions usually have harems of 4 to 6 lionesses. Only one exceptional case of an Asian lion that had 5 companions has been documented. This small size of the groups is probably due to the smaller dimensions of the prey available in Asia.
Photo sourceThe Asian lion
STORY
Genetic studies indicate that the separation between the Asian lion and its African relatives (and, therefore, its probable departure from Africa) is very recent, no more than 100 000 years old. The lion then spread rapidly, becoming the subspecies of lion with the largest area of distribution after the cave lion. At the beginning of historical times, the Asian lion - certainly with appreciable regional varieties - was a common animal in the southeastern Balkans, Anatolia, the Caucasus, the Near East (including Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula), Persia and India until the mouth of the Ganges. The Poem of Gilgamesh, first known extensive story, speaks of the lions as particularly abundant animals in Mesopotamia, hunted by dozens by the character of Enkidu. The truth is that the lion appears profusely in the artistic representations of the civilizations of the Near East and was one of the most coveted pieces by nobles and kings when they went hunting. Even in primitive India, the drawings of lions abound more than those of tigers, to the point that they were chosen as the emblem of the Maurya kings. The three lions of this one still appear today in the Indian national shield.
In Greece, the lion appears as a constant character in the Iliad of Homer, and still figures in the stories of Aristotle and Herodotus (although in his time, he had already disappeared from southern Greece) about the European fauna. The march of Xerxes to conquer Macedonia was delayed by the large number of cargo camels that were devoured by the Greek lions. The extinction of these dates between 80 and 100 d. By the tenth century the lions disappeared from the Caucasus and in the twelfth century, in the middle of the Crusades, they did so from Palestine, where they had been common for centuries. Few animals are so often mentioned in the Bible as the lion.
In the rest of their distribution they remained more or less constant until the end of the XVIII century and the beginning of the XIX, when the constant increase of the population and with it of the hunting and the clearing of the land to dedicate it to the culture they were cornecting little by little , in areas that are increasingly distant from each other. Around 1800 they disappeared from Anatolia, and by 1810 they had become extinct in present-day Pakistan and probably also in Afghanistan. The latest data on lions in Turkish Kurdistan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran date respectively from 1870, 1891, 1918, 1923 and 1942.
CENTRAL OF INDIA - western India, the lions disappeared from the Narmada river valley in 1848 and from the Delhi area about a decade later. At the end of the 19th century, the British colonial authorities began to consider that the Indian lion was walking directly towards extinction. In 1900, his pressures got the nawab (governor) of Junagadh to declare a reserve of 5,600 km² around Gir Forest, where the last Indian lions were grouped. Despite this, a few years later there was a period of drought that decimated the lions' prey and forced them to attack the man, which is why they were persecuted forcefully. As a result, in 1913 there were only 20 lions left in India.
Actual state
Lion hunting has been totally banned in India since 1948. 1,412 of the 5,000 square kilometers of the forest were declared a nature reserve in 1969 and in 1975 it became the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, where, thanks to government protection, the population of lions increased little by little until the 650 specimens registered in 2017.3 6
However, the conservation of the lion poses several problems. In the park live hundreds of people in villages and farms that existed before the reserve was created and do not look with favor the constant attacks of the lions on their cattle (much easier to capture than wild animals, obviously). To make matters worse, the increase in the population of lions has made the protected land is insufficient and are increasingly the animals that venture into the surrounding farmland. Some attacks on humans in the 70s and early 90s have ended up exacerbating the population, which has shot the lions or poisoned carrion to eliminate them. The most recent case of the latter occurred on October 9, 2005 and resulted in the death of 7 copies.
In order to reduce these problems, the Indian government is studying the transfer of several specimens to other protected areas of the country, thus contributing to repopulate the areas where these felines became extinct. The areas where reintroduction is being experimented are Palpur Kuno, Sitamata and Chandraprabha (where there was already an attempt to reintroduce in 1964, which failed), located in the states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
CURRENT STATE
Lion hunting has been totally banned in India since 1948. 1,412 of the 5,000 square kilometers of the forest were declared a nature reserve in 1969 and in 1975 it became the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, where, thanks to government protection, the population of lions increased little by little until the 650 specimens registered in 2017.3 6
However, the conservation of the lion poses several problems. In the park live hundreds of people in villages and farms that existed before the reserve was created and do not look with favor the constant attacks of the lions on their cattle (much easier to capture than wild animals, obviously). To make matters worse, the increase in the population of lions has made the protected land is insufficient and are increasingly the animals that venture into the surrounding farmland. Some attacks on humans in the 70s and early 90s have ended up exacerbating the population, which has shot the lions or poisoned carrion to eliminate them. The most recent case of the latter occurred on October 9, 2005 and resulted in the death of 7 copies.
In order to reduce these problems, the Indian government is studying the transfer of several specimens to other protected areas of the country, thus contributing to repopulate the areas where these felines became extinct. The areas where reintroduction is being experimented are Palpur Kuno, Sitamata and Chandraprabha (where there was already an attempt to reintroduce in 1964, which failed), located in the states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
reference; https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panthera_leo_persica