Now Reading: Asiatic lion population rises to 891, minister hails efforts
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Asiatic lion population rises to 891, minister hails efforts
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday said India's Asiatic lion population rose from 523 in 2015 to 891 in 2025, a gain of over 70 per cent in a decade. Yadav…
The Story in Brief
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday said India's Asiatic lion population rose from 523 in 2015 to 891 in 2025, a gain of over 70 per cent in a decade. Yadav made the remark on World Lion Day 2026, crediting forest officials, conservationists and local communities for the turnaround. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released the figures, noting the lion's range has expanded from about 30,000 sq km in 2020 to nearly 35,000 sq km. Prime Minister Modi launched 'Project Lion' in August 2020 with a landscape-level approach covering habitat enhancement and disease monitoring.
The Indian Opinion
The minister's social media post on World Lion Day is not wrong, but the celebratory tone skips a hard question. The Asiatic lion's only home is Gir. A single-disease outbreak or a forest fire in that one sanctuary could undo decades of work. The government's own Project Lion promised a second home at Kuno, but the translocation of lions there remains stalled. Until at least one pride is safely settled in Kuno,
Sources (2): timesnownews.com, timesnownews.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
