Asiatic Lion
Posted on August 24, 2008
Asiatic Lion is a rare subspecies of lions. It is seen only in India in the wild.
Panthera Leo Persica, the Asiatic Lion or Asian Lion once roamed
over a range extending from Greece to South Asia, but relentless human
persecution has meant it is now restricted to a single reserve in the
west Indian state of Gujarat, by name of Gir Forest.
Apart from
size, the other features that distinguish the Asian Lion from African
Lion include a bushier coat, smaller mane that exposes their ears, a
central skin fold that runs across the belly and longer tufts of hair
at elbows and tip of tail. Weight is in the range of four to five
hundred pounds for males and two hundred and fifty to three hundred and
fifty pounds for females. Body length is between six to seven feet
excluding a three foot tail, with females being smaller, though larger
individuals of around nine feet have been recorded.
Asiatic Lions
live in dry deciduous forests and scrub lands of the isolated Gir
Forest of slightly over one thousand square kilometers. Between three
hundred to three hundred and fifty individual cats exist in this
sanctuary in an overcrowded environment, often straying outside park
boundaries and coming into conflict with locals. Prey includes Spotted
Deer, Sambhar, Goat, Nilgai, Buffaloes and even some smaller animals.
Cattle are often attacked and killed and so are camels, bringing them
under ire of locals. Attacks on humans are more frequent these days
owing to the shrinking habitat and growing numbers of lions, pushing
them more often into bordering human territories. Social animals, Asian
Lions live in smaller pride units than their African counterparts. A
couple of females live with one to two males who are somewhat solitary
and come together when the family dines. The lesser numbers in prides
in these lions are often attributed to the smaller prey animals that
are available to these hunters, making it difficult for the social cats
to share in large numbers. Hunting is cooperative and chiefly done by
females, with males joining at times to bring down bigger prey like
buffalo.
Also known as Persian Lions (during their period of
existence in Persia) and Indian Lions, these majestic big cats have
only one sanctuary on the planet, the Gir Protected Area of Indian
Gujarat. Millions of dollars have been spent in creating a separate
reserve in Kuno-Palpur National Park in the central Indian state of
Madhya Pradesh but the State Government of Gujarat refuses to lend a
few of its lions to populate the new sanctuary which is now believed to
be ready to receive its first batch of the great cats. It is widely
believed that the Gujarat Government wants to keep its monopoly on the
tourist trade by keeping its troubled lions jammed in the only place in
the world where they can be sighted in the wild, thus bringing the
entire subspecies into risk through inbreeding. Furthermore , a single
epidemic or environmental catastrophe can wipe out the entire wild
population of the last lions of Asia.
Asiatic lions begin to mate
with the coming of winter in October and November. Pregnancy lasts near
three and a half months (one hundred and three days) following which a
litter of three to four cubs is born. The young are introduced to a
solid diet at three months and begin hunting at nine months of age.
They gain independence when they are an year old. Maturity is reached
between three to four years of age. A female can successfully reproduce
once every two years. Lifespan is up to seventeen years in the wild and
twenty four years in captivity.
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Tags: african lion, asian lion, asian lions, asiatic lion, asiatic lions, buffaloes, camels, central skin, dry deciduous forests, foot tail, human persecution, mane, panthera leo persica, park boundaries, prey animals, social animals, south asia, square kilometers, state of gujarat, subspecies
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