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The geographic distribution of Panthera leo
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Lions (Panthera leo) were once far more widespread that they are today. In historic times they were found throughout much of southern Eurasia, from Greece to India (see map of the lion's former range >>). Prehistorically, they were distributed even more widely. Their fossils are known from Germany, Italy, northern Asia, and even North America.
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Distribution of the lion, Panthera leo
(Click to see a larger, more detailed map)
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But today their range is almost entirely limited to sub-Saharan Africa. They occur throughout that region, except in the equatorial rain forest and in the heavily populated regions along the southern coast of the western portion of the continent. But due to poisoning and hunting by livestock owners, they are now rare outside protected areas, and their distribution is highly fragmented. Many lions in East Africa are also being lost to canine distemper. North of the Sahara in Africa, the last wild lion was shot in Morocco in 1920.
Outside Africa, lions were common from Turkey to India, even as late as 1850. But now, with human populations expanding throughout the Middle East, the Asian lion has almost disappeared. Only a small, population of about 250 individuals survives, all either in western India's Gir Wildlife Sanctuary or in nearby areas on the Kutch Peninsula (indicated by arrow in upper right corner of map).
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