United States puts Asiatic lion on endangered species list

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has said it will list Panthera leo leo (a subspecies of lion) located in India and western and central Africa as endangered, and Panthera leo melanochaita, located in eastern and southern Africa, will be listed as threatened. “The lion is one of the planet’s most beloved species and an irreplaceable part of our shared global heritage,” said Dan Ashe, Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Only 1400 alive 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the new scientific research had concluded that the western and central populations of African lion were more genetically related to the Asiatic lion. These lions are now considered the same subspecies, Panthera leo leo. 

 “There are only about 1,400 of these lions remaining, 900 in 14 African populations and 523 in India. Considering the size and distribution of the populations, population trends and the severity of the threats, the Service has found that this subspecies meets the definition of endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),” a statement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.

In the last 20 years, lion populations have declined by 43 per cent due to habitat loss, loss of prey base and retaliatory killing of lions by a growing human population.