Which lion subspecies is found only in the Gir Forest of India?

The Asiatic lion is the lion subspecies found only in and around India's Gir Forest region. Its scientific classification is Panthera leo leo, although older sources commonly call it Panthera leo persica.

By the late nineteenth century, hunting, habitat loss and declining prey had eliminated Asiatic lions from most of their former range, which once stretched across parts of the Middle East and South Asia. The surviving population was protected in the Gir forest by the Nawab of Junagadh, helping prevent its extinction.

Today, the lions occupy Gir National Park, the surrounding Gir Conservation Area and several nearby sanctuaries and human-dominated landscapes in Gujarat. “Only in Gir” is a useful quiz answer, but the population is not confined to the national park itself. Some lions range beyond its boundaries, and conservation planners have long discussed establishing a second population elsewhere in India.

Asiatic lions are generally smaller than the largest African lions and often have a distinctive fold of skin along the belly. Their smaller, more isolated population remains vulnerable to disease, fire and other local catastrophes.