Gandhinagar: Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel today here declared the final count of Lion Census 2025, which was 891. The number of lions has continued to rise as per the census figures. In the previous census conducted in 2020, the total count of lions was 674. It has now risen to 891, which is a growth of over 32%. Among them, 196 are male, 330 are female, 140 are young, and 225 are cubs — in total, 891 lions.

The 16th Asiatic lion census took place over four days, from May 10 to 13, covering an area of 35,000 square kilometres across 11 districts in Gujarat.

According to the census, the lion population has increased by 70.36% over the past decade — from 523 in 2015 to 891 in 2025. The area of distribution has also expanded by 59.09%.

Looking at the district-wise numbers, Amreli holds the highest lion population with 339 lions, followed by Gir Somnath with 222, and Junagadh with 191 lions.

Conducted in two phases, the initial survey was carried out on May 10 and 11, followed by the final count on May 12 and 13. Over 3,200 participants — including officers, enumerators, assistant enumerators, and inspectors — took part in the massive effort.

The census spanned 58 talukas across Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Morbi, Surendranagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Amreli, Porbandar, and Botad districts.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the efforts being made under ‘Project Lion’ which are ensuring the protection of lions in Gujarat along with providing them a favourable environment.

Responding to a post by Gujarat Chief Minister, on X Modi said, “Very exciting news! It is heartening to see that the efforts under ‘Project Lion’ are not only providing a favorable environment for lions in Gujarat but also ensuring their conservation.”

बहुत उत्साहित करने वाली जानकारी! यह देखकर बेहद खुशी हो रही है कि ‘प्रोजेक्ट लॉयन’ के तहत किए जा रहे प्रयासों से गुजरात में शेरों को अनुकूल माहौल मिलने के साथ ही उनका संरक्षण भी सुनिश्चित हो रहा है। https://t.co/YFUVBKVtF3

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 21, 2025

To ensure systematic sampling and data collection, the Asiatic Lion Landscape was divided into 8 regions, 32 zones, 112 sub-zones, and 735 sampling units. Each sampling unit was assigned an enumerator and two assistant enumerators to ensure thorough survey and data accuracy.

It is also noteworthy that during this estimation, 891 lions were recorded at a total of 358 locations. Of these, 55.78% were found in forested areas, while the remaining 44.22% were spotted in non-forested regions.

Asiatic lions, a unique sub-species, are found exclusively in Gujarat’s Gir National Park and surrounding landscapes. This edition of the once-in-five-years census — which began in 1936 — introduced CCTV monitoring for the first time, alongside traditional direct sighting methods. The Direct Beat Verification (DBV), or block count method, in use since 2000, was also part of the exercise. DeshGujarat