page_title: Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Location of Lion Reintroduction sites in India. LEGEND&#160;: Gir Forest NP - existing site (black). Chandraprabha WLS - former site (pink). Barda, Kuno &amp; Bhavnagar-Amreli WLS proposed sites (light blue). Based on http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India-locator-map-blank.svg
context_page_description: The Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project is an initiative of the Indian Government to provide safeguards to the Asiatic lion from extinction in the wild by means of reintroduction. The last wild population of the Asiatic lion is found in the region of Gir Forest National Park, in the state of Gujarat. The single population faces the threats of epidemics, natural disasters and other anthropogenic factors. The project aims to establish a second independent population of Asiatic lions at the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. However, the proposed translocation has been bitterly contested by the state government.
context_section_description: The distribution of Asiatic lion, once found widely in West and South Asia, dwindled to a single population in the Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in India. The population at Gir declined to 18 animals in 1893 but increased due to protection and conservation efforts to 284 in 1994. The Gir Wildlife Sanctuary is now highly overpopulated with lions, the 2015 census showed the strength to be 523 lions.  There are numerous deaths in the population annually because of ever increasing competition between the human and animal overcrowding. Asiatic lion prides require large territories but there is limited space at Gir wildlife sanctuary, which is boxed in on all sides by heavy human habitation. Gir lions have started moving outwards from the sanctuary and establishing homes outside the protected areas. The lions are now spread over 16,000 square kilometres (6,200 sq mi) in the vicinity of 1050 villages in three contiguous districts - Amreli, Bhavnagar and Junagadh.
caption: Historical and proposed lion reintroduction sites in India
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