<P> The lion's range used to span much of southern Eurasia, ranging from Greece to India . Herodotus reported that lions had been common in Greece in 480 BC; they attacked the baggage camels of the Persian king Xerxes on his march through the country . Aristotle considered them rare by 300 BC . By 100 CE, they were extirpated . A population of Asiatic lions survived until the tenth century in the Caucasus, their last European outpost . The species was eradicated from Palestine by the Middle Ages and from most of the rest of Asia after the arrival of readily available firearms in the eighteenth century . Between the late nineteenth and late twentieth centuries, they became extinct in Southwest Asia . By the late nineteenth century, the lion had disappeared from Turkey and most of northern India, while the last sighting of a live Iranian lion was in 1942, about 65 km (40 mi) northwest of Dezful, although the corpse of a lioness was found on the banks of the Karun river, Khūzestān Province in 1944 . There are no subsequent reliable reports from Iran . </P> <P> The Asiatic lion now survives only in and around the Gir Forest of northwestern India . Approximately 500 lions live in the area of the 1,412 km (545 sq mi) sanctuary in the state of Gujarat, which covers most of the forest . Their numbers have increased from 180 to 523 animals mainly because the natural prey species have recovered . The Indian lion's habitat is a mixture of dry savanna forest and very dry deciduous scrub forest . </P> <P> Most lions now live in eastern and southern Africa, and their numbers there are rapidly decreasing, with an estimated 30--50% decline per 20 years in the late half of the twentieth century . Estimates of the African lion population range between 16,500 and 47,000 living in the wild in 2002--2004, down from early 1990s estimates that ranged as high as 100,000 and perhaps 400,000 in 1950 . Primary causes of the decline include disease and human interference . Habitat loss and conflicts with humans are considered the most significant threats to the species . The remaining populations are often geographically isolated from one another, which can lead to inbreeding, and consequently, reduced genetic diversity . The lion population in the region of West Africa is isolated from those of Central Africa, with little or no exchange of breeding individuals . The number of mature individuals in West Africa is estimated by two separate recent surveys at 850--1,160 (2002 / 2004). There is disagreement over the size of the largest individual population in West Africa: the estimates range from 100 to 400 lions in Burkina Faso's Arly - Singou ecosystem . Another population in northwestern Africa is found in Waza National Park, where approximately 14--21 animals persist . Therefore, the lion is considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while the Asiatic subspecies is endangered . However, in contrast to the African lion, the Asiatic lion's number has risen over the years . </P> <P> Conservation of both African and Asian lions has required the setup and maintenance of national parks and game reserves; among the best known are Etosha National Park in Namibia, Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, and Kruger National Park in eastern South Africa . The Ewaso Lions Project protects lions in the Samburu National Reserve, Buffalo Springs National Reserve and Shaba National Reserve of the Ewaso Ng'iro ecosystem in Northern Kenya . Outside these areas, the issues arising from lions' interaction with livestock and people usually results in the elimination of the lions . In India, the last refuge of the Asiatic lion is the 1,412 km (545 sq mi) Gir Forest National Park, and surrounding areas, in western India, which had approximately 180 lions in 1974 and about 400 in 2010 . As in Africa, numerous human habitations are close by with the resultant problems between lions, livestock, locals and wildlife officials . The establishment of a second independent population of Asiatic lions is planned at the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh . </P>

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