Lion

About this species

Habitat

Dry deciduous forest, scrub, grassland and farmland in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat

Range

Wild only in Gujarat: Gir and 11 districts of Saurashtra (Gujarat census 2025)

The lion is a muscular, broad-chested cat with a short, rounded head, round ears and a plain coat that ranges from pale buff to tawny or greyish, lighter below. Every lion's tail ends in a dark, hairy tuft. Cubs are born with dark spots that fade as they grow, though faint marks can remain on the legs and belly. Adult males grow a mane over the head, neck and shoulders that starts in adolescence, while females are maneless. Among the cats, only the tiger is larger (Wikipedia, general species account).

Lions live in groups. Across the species' range they rest for around twenty hours a day, becoming active after dusk and doing most of their hunting towards dawn. They prefer open woodland, scrub and grassy country and rarely enter closed forest. A male's mane signals his condition to females and rivals: in studies of African lions, darker-maned males stayed longer in a pride and bred more (Wikipedia, general species account).

India's only wild lions live in Gujarat. The 16th lion census, held over four days in May 2025 across about 35,000 km² in 11 districts of Saurashtra, counted 891 lions, up from 674 in 2020: 196 adult males, 330 adult females, 140 sub-adults and 225 cubs (Gujarat Forest Department 2025, as reported by Down To Earth). Only 384 of them were inside Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary. The rest now live outside protected areas, with satellite groups in and around the Mitiyala, Pania, Girnar and Barda sanctuaries.

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)