Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos

[Sanju]

Updated Modern Lion Range Distribution map included the Iberian and Italian peninsulas for European Lion - Panthera leo europea (or leo), a radiation of Asiatic lion - Panthera leo persica (or leo).

Asiatic Lion range distribution in India included South India based on recent research.

Both Asiatic and European are known geographically as Eurasian Lion colloquially. Together with North African Lion it is called Northern Lion (Panthera leo leo).

Modern lions are thought to have originated around 124,000 years ago in eastern and southern Africa.
They then spread throughout most of Africa and from there into southeastern Europe, the Middle East, the South Caucasus, southern Russia, southern Afghanistan and the Indian sub-continent.

There is some inconclusive historical evidence to suggest that they may also have inhabited other parts of Europe, including modern-day Portugal, Spain, southern France, southern Germany, Italy, and the Balkans.

Although lions have long since disappeared from Europe, according to reports by Ancient Greek writers such as Herodotus and Aristotle, they were common in Greece around 480 BCE.

They became endangered around 300 BCE, and finally became extinct in Greece around 100 BCE. Lions feature heavily in Ancient Greek mythology and writings.

In the Middle East increased use of firearms in the nineteenth century led to the extinction of lions over most of the region. Lions survived in parts of Mesopotamia and Syria until the middle of the 19th century.

By the late 19th century, they had been eradicated in Turkey. They survived much longer in Persia, where the last pride of five was hunted as recently as 1963.

By the late 19th century lions had disappeared from most of India, largely due to hunting.

https://brilliantmaps.com/distribution-of-lions/

*This image is copyright of its original author

http://www.wildheartwildlifefoundation.o...-a-country
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lion_range.jpg
https://pictures-of-cats.org/cat-history...-historic6
http://www.glogster.com/hannatwo/glog-li...315jgj3va0

*This image is copyright of its original author

1. Historical lion ranges included most African countries and from Greece through eastern Europe, the Middle East and India.

2. The lion has since been extirpated from all of Europe, the Middle East and north Africa and now occurs only in the Gir Forests of India and in some countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

https://magazine.africageographic.com/we...ican-lion/
https://magazine.africageographic.com/we...ution-map/
https://www.topsimages.com/images/lion-range-db.html

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.picsbud.com/images/lion-map-fc.html
https://www.engrosfabrikken.com/product_...20map&p=16
https://www.picsbud.com/images/lion-maps-09.html

Quote:Millions of lions roamed across the old world. Europe, Africa, and Asia all had their fair share of lions. Nowadays there is a much smaller amount of lions, ...

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

http://www.forgeted.site/african-lion-range/

In Eastern Europe, the lion inhabited part of the Balkan peninsula up to Hungary and Ukraine during the Neolithic period. It survived in Bulgaria until the 4th or 3rd century BC, and in mainland Greece until about 100 AD.

Birds and Beasts of Greek Anthology
Alden, M. (2005). "Lions in paradise: Lion Similes in the Iliad and the Lion Cubs of IL"
Masseti, M.; Mazza, P.P.A. (2013). "Western European Quaternary lions: new working hypotheses
Guggisberg, C. A. W. (1975). "Lion Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758)". Wild Cats of the World.

It became extinct in the Peloponnese around 1,000 BC.

Schnitzler, A.E. (2011). "Past and present distribution of the North African-Asian lion subgroup: a review"
Bartosiewicz, L. (2009). "A Lion's share of attention: Archaeozoology and the historical record"

It disappeared from Macedonia around the first century AD, and in Thessaly in the 4th century AD. Possibly it survived longer farther south. In the 4th century AD, Themistius regrets that in his time the lion disappeared in Thessaly and no more lions could be furnished for beast-shows.

Bartosiewicz, L. (2008). "A Lion's Share of Attention: Archaeozoology and the historical record"
Cohen, A. (2010). Art in the era of Alexander the Great: Paradigms of manhood and their cultural traditions
Uhm, D.P. van (2016). The Illegal Wildlife Trade: Inside the World of Poachers, Smugglers and Traders

In Transcaucasia, the lion was present until the 10th century. The peak of its historic range covered all of the plains and foothills of eastern Transcaucasia westward almost to Tbilisi. Northwards, its range extended through the eastern Caucasus, from the Apsheron Peninsula to the mouth of the Samur River near the current Azerbaijan-Russia border, extending to the Araks river. From there, the boundary of its range narrowly turned east to Yerevan, with its northern boundary then extending westward to Turkey.

"Lion"

Old range map with ? marks in Europe which led to research resulted in releasing  updated map (see above).

*This image is copyright of its original author

Lions are the most adaptable big cats in the whole world even more than leopard (Cave lions and American lions are also lions). The only habitat that they couldn't touch is jungles. Dense, hot, damp and thick bad jungles. See central Africa, western ghats, indo-chinese, Himalayas, sunda and Malaya and of course Sahara and Arabia too which are unique unlike other deserts of the world  due to almost nil vegetation, scorching temperatures and low rainfall like anything...

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