India needs a second home for Asiatic lions
India's Asiatic lion conservation is a success in population growth, but faces a critical challenge due to the species being confined to a single location, Gir Forest in Gujarat. Despite scientific consensus, a 2013 Supreme Court directive for translocation to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, and risks like the 2018 Canine Distemper Virus outbreak, the establishment of a second, geographically separate population has been stalled for over a decade due to State-level resistance. This single-site concentration makes the lions highly vulnerable to extinction from a single catastrophic event, highlighting a tension between national conservation priorities and State interests.
India's Asiatic lion conservation is a success in population growth, but faces a critical challenge due to the species being confined to a single location, Gir Forest in Gujarat. Despite scientific consensus, a 2013 Supreme Court directive for translocation to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, and risks like the 2018 Canine Distemper Virus outbreak, the establishment of a second, geographically separate population has been stalled for over a decade due to State-level resistance. This single-site concentration makes the lions highly vulnerable to extinction from a single catastrophic event, highlighting a tension between national conservation priorities and State interests.
Exam linkage
GS Paper III: Environment & Ecology – Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.
Syllabus mapping
This topic appears in Mains
Questions on Environment & Ecology come up regularly in GS papers. Practice writing an answer — and see exactly what earns marks.
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