Historically lions ranged from Africa, east across southern Asia into India, and north into southeast Europe. Thousands of years of human persecution and habitat loss have drastically reduced the distribution of lions. Lions in Europe went extinct nearly 2,000 years ago, and a small population of 411 animals is all that remains of the once widespread Asiatic lion in and around Gir Forest NP in western India. The African lion once ranged across the entire African continent - with the exception of the Sahara Desert and rainforests. Lions are an iconic species, both loved and feared. While they do not have the striking color patterns of a jaguar or the cultural significance of a tiger, the striking mane and complex social structure makes them unique among all the wild cats. Lions are the second largest felid. There is some physical variation between subspecies and geographic regions, including coat color, size...
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