For most of the last two centuries, the Asiatic lion has been a story of catastrophic decline.
Once ranging from Greece through the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent, the species was decimated by hunting, habitat loss, and the slow squeeze of agricultural expansion. By the turn of the 20th century, fewer than 20 animals survived — all of them in a single patch of forest in Gujarat, India: the Gir Protected Area.
That remnant population was protected. Stubbornly, painstakingly, over more than a century of sustained effort, it grew. And the numbers from India's 16th Asiatic Lion Census — conducted in May 2025, covering 35,000 square kilometres across 11 districts — show just how much things have changed.
**891 Lions. Up from 674.**
The 2020 census recorded 674 Asiatic lions in Gujarat. The 2025 census found 891 — an increase of 217 animals, or 32%, in just five years. That's the largest single-census population jump ever recorded for the species.
Breaking down by composition: - **255 adult males** - **405 adult females** (lionesses) - **231 cubs**
The female-to-male ratio and the healthy number of cubs suggest a population in genuinely robust reproductive health — not just surviving, but actively growing.
**The Most Important Number: 507**
Of the 891 lions recorded, more than 507 — over half — are now living *outside* the traditional Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary.
This territorial expansion is the most significant development in the species' recovery. For decades, conservation concern centred on the vulnerability of a single-site population: a disease outbreak, a wildfire, or a catastrophic event at Gir could, in theory, end the species in one blow.
Lions spreading across 11 districts of the Saurashtra region means the population is no longer in a single basket. They have found new territories, established new prides, and are adapting to a wider range of landscapes — scrubland, coastal areas, agricultural margins — in ways that speak to the species' resilience when given room to expand.
**A Century of Conservation Work**
The Asiatic lion's recovery is one of the longer conservation success stories on record. The Nawab of Junagadh declared a protected area in the early 1900s. The Indian government extended formal protection after independence. Over the subsequent decades, wildlife management, anti-poaching measures, community engagement with surrounding villages, and careful monitoring have slowly rebuilt what was once a dozen surviving animals into nearly 900.
The work has not been without tension. Lions living outside Gir sometimes come into conflict with farming communities — livestock losses create genuine hardship. Managing coexistence between a growing predator population and rural communities remains one of the central challenges of the recovery programme.
But the direction of travel is unmistakable.
**What Next?**
Conservationists have long advocated for establishing a second Asiatic lion population at a different site — the Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh has been identified as a potential location. A second population would provide the ultimate insurance against catastrophe. Legal and political discussions around the translocation continue.
In the meantime, Gujarat has 891 reasons to be proud. 🦁
*Sources: Mongabay India · Down to Earth · Times of India · Drishti IAS · IUCN Red List — 2025/2026*
