World Lion Day

Every year on August 10, we celebrate World Lion Day. On this day, we try to raise awareness about the protection of lions and the challenges faced by them. According to the official website of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), lions fall under the vulnerable category. Although lions are not endangered species, their population could continue to decrease without proper actions towards their conservation. 

Over a century ago, the global lion population was around 200,000. Currently, their population is between 23,000 to 39,000. Most of the dangers faced by lions are due to human-wildlife conflict. Others include climate change, loss of habitat and reduction in food supply.

World Lion Day was first celebrated in 2013, owing to the efforts of the husband and wife duo Dereck and Beverly Joubert. They caught the attention of the National Geographic Society and their project called the Big Cat Initiative, which came together to save the lion population. 

Lions are currently found in parts of Africa and Asia, although historically they lived in Europe as well. Asiatic lion, which is found only in India is restricted to Gujarat and the Gir National Park. The population of Asiatic lions in the country has steadily increased in the last decade. 

To celebrate World Lion Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter on August 10, to express his joy about the increasing lion population in Gujarat and shared photographs of Asiatic lions.