The number of wild Asiatic lions has risen 40% in five years, as decades-long conservation efforts finally bear fruit. T
he lions — slightly smaller than their African cousins — were once found across Asia, but were driven almost extinct by hunting and habitat loss. By the 20th century, only a couple dozen remained.
They now survive solely in India’s Gir National Park, but numbers have increased: Local communities are fiercely proud of them, and poaching is almost unheard of. There are now 891, up from 627 in 2020. Things have changed so fast that they are in danger of becoming victims of their own success, AFP reported. Attacks on livestock and humans have increased, and in August, a lion killed a five-year-old child.