World Lion Day 2025 marked at Barda Wildlife Sanctuary
Why in the news
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change observed World Lion Day 2025 at the Barda Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat on 10 August. The event highlighted a rising Asiatic lion population.
Key facts
- Venue: Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, described as the species’ second home after Gir.
- 16th Lion Census: 891 lions in 2025.
- Project Lion: launched 15 August 2020, runs for ten years, aims at habitat improvement, monitoring and reducing human-wildlife conflict.
- IBCA: established April 2023.
| Year | Asiatic lions |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 523 |
| 2025 | 891 |
About conservation status
Asiatic lions are in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, are Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and are covered by CITES Appendix I. Monitoring uses GPS, GIS-based real-time analysis and sensor grids.
Exam angle
- Remember the 523 to 891 increase.
- Project Lion started 15 August 2020 for a decade.
- IBCA links to 97 big cat range countries.