India's Asiatic lion population in Gir, Gujarat rose from 523 in 2015 to 891 in 2025, marking a 70% increase over a decade. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav announced this on World Lion Day 2026. Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) are found exclusively in Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat. Listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, their recovery reflects Project Lion, community participation, and sustained forest department efforts across the Greater Gir landscape.

The Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is a flagship conservation success story and the only wild population outside Africa. Its sole habitat is the Greater Gir landscape in Gujarat, covering Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Mitiyala Wildlife Sanctuary, and surrounding areas. India conducts lion population estimation every five years using pug mark census and direct sighting methods.

The IUCN Red List classifies Asiatic lions as 'Endangered' — a critical static fact examiners test. India launched Project Lion in 2020, modelled on the success of Project Tiger, with a focus on habitat development, prey base enhancement, and coexistence with local communities like the Maldhari tribe who traditionally live within the sanctuary.

A long-standing conservation debate concerns the proposed translocation of some lions to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh to establish a second wild population and reduce extinction risk from a single-site concentration. The Supreme Court had directed this translocation, but Gujarat opposed it. Kuno eventually received cheetahs (reintroduced in 2022) instead.

For UPSC, the examiner tests: IUCN status, correct count, single-habitat fact, Project Lion's nodal ministry (MoEFCC), and the Kuno translocation controversy. For NABARD, the angle is community-based conservation and how wildlife corridors affect rural livelihoods in forest-fringe communities.