# Lion — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Panthera leo*

> The lion (Panthera leo) is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with an estimated 23,000 mature and subadult lions remaining in Africa plus around 670 in India, and the overall population is decreasing.

**IUCN status:** Vulnerable  ·  **WARN range:** Kenya, Tanzania

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Lifespan | Around 10-14 years in the wild; longer in captivity |
| Weight | Males ~150-250 kg; females ~110-180 kg |
| Size | Body length ~1.4-2.0 m, plus tail; shoulder height ~1.0-1.2 m |
| Diet | Carnivore — mainly large herbivores such as zebra, wildebeest, and buffalo |
| Gestation | Around 110 days (roughly 3.5 months) |
| Young per litter | Typically 1-4 cubs |
| Baby name | Cub |
| Group name | Pride (a group of lions); a coalition refers to allied males |
| Top speed | Up to about 80 km/h (50 mph) in short bursts |
| CITES | Appendix II (African populations); Appendix I (Indian population) |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Carnivora
- **Family:** Felidae
- **Genus:** Panthera
- **Species:** Panthera leo

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Vulnerable
- **Population:** ~23,000 mature and subadult lions in Africa, plus ~670 in India
- **Trend:** Decreasing
- **Assessed:** 2023
- **CITES:** Appendix II for African populations; Appendix I for the Indian (Asiatic) population
- Listed as Vulnerable under criterion A2c, reflecting an estimated 34% decline in range over roughly three lion generations. A 2024 amended version of the 2023 assessment is the current published reference.

## Key facts: Lion
- Lions are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, with about 23,000 left in Africa and roughly 670 in India.
- They are the only big cat that lives in social groups, called prides, which can include several related females, their cubs, and a coalition of males.
- Lionesses do most of the cooperative hunting, while males primarily defend the pride's territory and cubs.
- The species has lost a large share of its historic range, with an estimated 34% decline over roughly the past two decades.
- Main threats are habitat loss, conflict with herders protecting livestock, and the depletion of the wild prey lions depend on.
- Lions are protected under CITES, with African populations on Appendix II and the Indian population on Appendix I.

## Where lions live and how their range has shrunk
Lions today are overwhelmingly an African species, found mainly in the savanna grasslands, open woodlands, and scrub of eastern and southern Africa. Strongholds include the grasslands and conservation areas of Kenya and Tanzania, such as the wider Serengeti and Maasai Mara ecosystems, where lions remain a centerpiece of the landscape. A single isolated population of Asiatic lions survives in and around the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India. This is a dramatic contraction: lions once ranged across most of Africa, much of the Middle East, and into southern Asia. The IUCN estimates the species has disappeared from a large majority of its historic range, with most remaining lions now confined to protected areas and the lands immediately around them.

## Why prides make lions unique
No other cat lives the way lions do. A pride is a cooperative family unit, typically built around a group of related lionesses and their cubs, defended by one or more adult males that have formed a coalition. Females usually remain in the pride they were born into, while young males leave to seek territories of their own. This social structure shapes almost everything about lion life: females hunt together to bring down large prey such as zebra, wildebeest, and buffalo, cubs are often raised communally, and males invest heavily in defending territory and offspring. A male's mane signals maturity and condition, and darker, fuller manes are generally associated with stronger, healthier individuals.

## The threats driving the decline
Lion numbers are falling for interlocking reasons. As farms, settlements, and livestock expand into former wildlife areas, lion habitat is fragmented and lost. When lions prey on cattle and other livestock, they are often killed in retaliation by communities protecting their livelihoods. At the same time, the wild herbivores lions depend on are being depleted by unsustainable bushmeat hunting and poaching, leaving prides with less to eat. Poorly regulated hunting and illegal trade in lion parts add further pressure. Because lions need large territories and abundant prey, even small declines in habitat quality can have outsized effects on whether a pride survives.

## What is being done to protect lions
Conservation for lions centers on keeping large landscapes intact and connected, reducing conflict between people and predators, and protecting the prey base. Practical measures include reinforced livestock enclosures, community-led programs that compensate or support herders who lose animals, and anti-poaching work that protects both lions and the herbivores they hunt. Cross-border cooperation matters too, because lion populations often span national boundaries and rely on corridors between protected areas. Long-term recovery depends on local communities seeing living lions as more valuable than dead ones, and on safeguarding the wild spaces that prides need to roam.

## Lion vs. Tiger: how the two largest big cats compare
| Trait | Lion (Panthera leo) | Tiger (Panthera tigris) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Social structure | Social — lives in prides | Solitary except for mating and cubs |
| Main habitat | African savanna and grassland (small Asian population) | Asian forests, mangroves, and grasslands |
| IUCN status | Vulnerable | Endangered |
| Coat / markings | Tawny coat; males grow a mane | Orange coat with black stripes; no mane |
| Typical male weight | ~150-250 kg | ~90-310 kg depending on subspecies |
| Hunting style | Cooperative group hunting by lionesses | Solitary ambush hunting |

## What WARN does
The lion lives across eastern and southern Africa, which is outside the five countries where the World Animal Rescue Network currently funds frontline projects — Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, and Colombia. We are honest about that: WARN does not fund lion-specific fieldwork, and this guide is educational and search-focused content created to support our broader mission of building global awareness for threatened wildlife. The conservation challenges lions face — habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and the illegal wildlife trade — are the same forces WARN works against in the regions we do fund. As our network grows, sharing accurate, well-sourced information about flagship species like the lion helps connect a global audience to the wider fight for wildlife.

Lions live outside the five countries WARN currently funds, but the threats they face — vanishing habitat and the illegal wildlife trade — are exactly what your support helps us fight where we work today. Donating to WARN backs frontline habitat and anti-trafficking efforts in Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, and Colombia, and helps build the global network that wildlife everywhere needs.

## Frequently asked questions: Lion
### Are lions endangered?
Lions are not classified as Endangered overall; the IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable, one category below Endangered. However, the trend is downward, and some populations — including lions in West and Central Africa and the small Asiatic population — face much higher local risk.

### How many lions are left in the world?
The 2023 IUCN assessment estimates roughly 23,000 mature and subadult lions across Africa, plus about 670 in India. The total is decreasing, and lions have vanished from most of their historic range.

### Where do lions live?
Wild lions live mainly in the savannas, grasslands, and open woodlands of eastern and southern Africa, including strongholds in Kenya and Tanzania. A separate, small population of Asiatic lions survives in the Gir Forest region of India.

### Why are lions the only social big cat?
Lions live in family groups called prides, unlike tigers, leopards, and other big cats, which are largely solitary. Living socially lets lionesses hunt cooperatively for large prey and raise cubs together, while males defend shared territory.

### Do male or female lions do the hunting?
Lionesses do most of the hunting, often working together to bring down large prey such as zebra and wildebeest. Males rely on their size and manes mainly to defend the pride's territory and cubs, though they will hunt when needed.

### Why are lion populations declining?
The main drivers are habitat loss as land is converted for farming and settlement, retaliatory killing when lions attack livestock, and the depletion of wild prey through bushmeat hunting and poaching. Unregulated hunting and trade in lion parts add further pressure.

## Sources
- [IUCN Red List — Panthera leo (Lion), 2023 assessment](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15951/259030422)
- [IUCN Red List assessment PDF — Panthera leo](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/pdf/115130419)
- [CITES — Lion (Panthera leo) species listing](https://cites.org/eng/gallery/species/mammal/lion.html)
- [Wikipedia — Lion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion)
- [Animal Diversity Web — Panthera leo](https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Panthera_leo/)
- [IUCN Cat Specialist Group — Lion](https://www.catsg.org/living-species-lions)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/lion