The Asiatic lion is a lion population of the subspecies Panthera leo leo. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujarat.
The first scientific description of the Asiatic lion was published in 1826 by the Austrian zoologist Johann N. Meyer, who named it Felis leo persicus. Until the 19th century, it occurred in Saudi Arabia, eastern Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia, and from east of the Indus River in Pakistan to the Bengal region and the Narmada River in Central India.
Image: Gir lion
Image: Asiatic Lioness with around 30 days old cub
Asiatic lion cub
An Asiatic lioness
Panthera leo leo is a lion subspecies present in West Africa, northern Central Africa and India. In West and Central Africa it is restricted to fragmented and isolated populations with a declining trajectory. It has been referred to as the northern lion.
Panthera leo leo
A skull of P. leo leo in the Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa
Maneless lion in Pendjari National Park
Pendjari National Park