India’s Asiatic lion inhabitants has risen to 891 in 2025 from 523 in 2015, marking a rise of greater than 70 per cent in a decade, the federal government mentioned on Monday. The most recent inhabitants estimate represents a 32 per cent rise from 674 lions in 2020.
The figures had been highlighted by Union Setting Minister Bhupender Yadav on World Lion Day. The sixteenth Asiatic Lion Inhabitants Estimation, performed in Could 2025, discovered 891 lions throughout the Better Gir panorama in Gujarat.
The most recent determine represents a 32 per cent improve over 2020. The minister’s assertion credited forest officers, conservationists and native communities for the restoration.
The achievement follows a long time of conservation efforts after the Asiatic lion was pushed near extinction. Solely round 40-60 lions remained in and round Gir within the early 1900s due to overhunting and habitat loss. India established the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in 1965 and subsequently expanded protected areas because the inhabitants recovered.
Writing on World Lion Day for the Hindustan Occasions, Yadav attributed the rise to strict authorized safety, revival of the lions’ prey base and a landscape-level conservation strategy. Wild prey akin to noticed deer, sambar, nilgai and wild pig now account for about 74 per cent of the lions’ eating regimen, in contrast with 26 per cent in 1974, he mentioned.
The lions’ vary has additionally expanded from about 30,000 sq km in 2020 to almost 35,000 sq km throughout 11 districts. In 1990, their vary was round 6,600 sq km.
The return of lions to Barda Wildlife Sanctuary has been a notable a part of the growth. After disappearing from the world within the nineteenth century, lions naturally returned in 2023. By 2025, Barda had 17 lions, Yadav mentioned.
Neighborhood participation has additionally been central to the conservation effort. Greater than 55,000 open wells have been secured to stop lion deaths, whereas compensation for livestock losses and initiatives such because the Gir Samvad Setu have helped scale back battle between communities and wildlife.
Venture Lion, launched in 2020, now covers about 60,000 sq km of Saurashtra and focuses on habitat enchancment, illness monitoring, scientific monitoring and neighborhood participation.
