The Last Lions of India

This is the story of an Indian big cat that's thriving, unlike the tiger. Yet few people know it exists. Asiatic lions are completely different from African lions in both appearance and behaviour. These lions once roamed Europe - they are the lions of Ancient Greece and Rome, the lions in The Bible. Their refuge is the beautiful Gir forest in Gujarat, and in the last hundred years their numbers have grown from just twenty to over three hundred. They are now spreading out beyond the protection of the National Park - reclaiming lost territory and even colonising surprising new habitats. It's a rare conservation success story but one that brings new challenges to lions, naturalists, forestry staff and the surrounding human populations.

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0 trackers | Status: Ended | Airs on BBC Two | Sunday 6:10 PM