India needs a second home for Asiatic lions
Despite the successful recovery of the Asiatic lion population in Gujarat, experts and the Supreme Court warn that keeping the entire species in one location poses a severe extinction risk from disease or natural disasters. The article highlights a decade-long policy impasse where state-level resistance has prevented the translocation of lions to a second, geographically distinct habitat.
Why it matters
The failure to establish a second population leaves a globally endangered species vulnerable to total extinction from a single catastrophic event, illustrating a critical conflict between scientific conservation mandates and regional political interests.
India’s conservation of the Asiatic lion is widely celebrated as a remarkable success story. From a population which was reduced to just a few dozen in the early 20th century, the number of Asiatic lions has increased to approx. 891 today . Yet, behind this achievement lies a persistent policy failure: the inability to establish a second, geographically separate population. Scientific institutions, government bodies, and even the Supreme Court have long warned that without such a step, the species remains vulnerable to extinction from a single catastrophic event.
The article relies on established scientific consensus and judicial rulings to critique a policy failure, maintaining an objective, evidence-based tone regarding environmental governance.
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