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The Falling Population of the Endangered Asiatic Lion Essay examples

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Is enough being done in order to keep a steady trend of the once falling population of the endangered Asiatic Lion (Panthera Leo Persica) or should they be left to die as they are only a subspecies?
The Asiatic Lion or sometimes referred to as the Indian Lion is a sub species of Lions derived from breeding between the lion in North Africa and South-West Asia, “which formerly stretched across the coastal forests of northern Africa and from northern Greece across south-west Asia to eastern India1”. The Asiatic Lion is currently situated in India’s Gujuat State, “numbering approximately 175 mature individuals, all occurring within one subpopulation1” – According to Red List. The Asiatic Lions exist mainly in the sanctuary of Gir Forest, in …show more content…

This may suggest their trail to extinction is more applicable and that a solution to letting them die out is necessary. Furthermore, the Asiatic Lions lack of skill to hunt puts a threat on local farmers as the easiest way for the Lions to retrieve food is to hunt down captivated livestock which is a threat on the production and distribution of the commodity itself2.
It is a very problematic and controversial issue whether to keep the species alive or to let them die out. It may be that the lions are doing more harm than good, such as the killing of livestock and the lack of ability to hunt. Although the current population of the lions are steady with only 300 left in the wild and 200 captivated in zoos around the world, is it worth the high costs and the chain of problems that the lions are causing to locals to keep a species that is on its way to extinction to keep alive? Or is it better to let them die out and focus on a more critically endangered species causing fewer issues?

Main Solution – Ex-situ selective breeding programmes with use of studbooks.
One way to protect the Asiatic Lion is by using an ex-situ selective breeding programme. There are currently 200 Asiatic lions in zoos worldwide and even if the wild Lions were to become extinct, there would still be enough breeding programmes in zoos, in order to avoid a fully extinct

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