History of World Lion Day

History of World Lion Day

World Lion Day comes on August 10 of every year. World Lion Day aims to raise awareness of the majestic hunter, simply known as the king of the jungle. The Lions are one of the big cats in the Panthera genus and a member of the Felidae family. Lions in the wild exhibit very similar behavior, especially when smaller females or younger animals join up with the more dominant lions in the pride. Lions are the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild Lions currently exist in India and Sub-Saharan Africa.

History of World Lion Day

The World Lion Day was created by Big Cat Rescue, the world’s largest accredited sanctuary dedicated to big cats. They choose August 10, because it is a perfect day for people to come together from across the world to give tribute to the mighty lion in as several ways as possible. Even though a fun and exciting occasion for all of us, its foundations are based on a grave matter: the number of lions have dramatically declined to the point where the species wants to be placed on the list of endangered, just like its larger cousin the tiger. Hence World Lion Day is a perfect day to raise awareness about the endangering of Lion animals.

Facts about Lions

Lions live in large groups called pride, similar to wolves
The male lion weighs above 500 pounds and grows up to eight feet in length.
Even though the Lions are called “King of the Jungle,” they live only in grasslands and plains – not the jungle.
Female lions and their sisters live together for entire life. Their female cubs also stay with pride, even after they are grown, but male cubs must stake out on their own once they reach maturity.
Male lions have majestic manes which make them appear as larger and more intimidating. Female lions also attracted to fuller, thicker hairs.
The roar of male lions can be heard from up to five miles away, and their roar is the loudest roar of any big cat species. Their roar will help them to find other lions as well as to proclaim their territory.

India’s lion count goes up by 29 per cent

In India, lions are currently found in the protected areas and agro-pastoral landscape of Gujarat’s Saurashtra region. According to the latest figures, India recorded the highest ever increase, 29 per cent, in its lion population from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020. Of the 674, 206 are males, 309 females, 137 cubs and rest are unidentified. The conservation success can be attributed to people’s participation, use of technology, increase in prey base, human-lion conflict mitigation etc.

Challenges

The increase in the lion population in Gujarat has given rise to new challenges. The animals have come closer to humans as they have started venturing far out of the protected areas in search of territory and prey. Several incidents of lion deaths due to electrocution, railway and road accidents have come to light. Occasional cases of poisoning have also been reported.