In Asia, Panthera leo primarily prefers moist mixed forests, followed by mixed forests, savanna habitats, and woodlands dominated by Tectona grandis, Acacia and Zizyphus.
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Approved version OWNER-REVIEW-20260930T094958379 · last approved 30 September 2026
A recent study of archaeological and historical reports, rock art and place names showed that earlier maps of the lion's historical range in Arabia were incomplete.
Today the lion lives in sub-Saharan Africa; its countries on the Mammal Diversity Database list include Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and in Asia India alone. It has recently become extinct in countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
A 2011 IUCN regional review of the carnivorous mammals of the Arabian Peninsula, in its appendix on Panthera leo persica, found no confirmed recent record of this species in the peninsula. It cited Neolithic rock engravings in Saudi Arabia and Oman and a tenth-century report of Panthera leo on the Tihama coastal plain of Yemen, while noting a view that the mammals of Yemen do not include this species. The IUCN Cat Specialist Group places the Arabian Peninsula within the former range of the subspecies Panthera leo leo.
The IUCN Cat Specialist Group lion page gives a 2025 estimate of approximately 566,675 km² for the current range of the species, equivalent to 6.13% of its historical range, with an overall range decline of approximately 34% between 2004 and 2025 and a population reduction of similar magnitude suspected.
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In 2025, the population of Panthera leo in Africa was estimated at approximately 22,000–25,000 adults and subadults.
The IUCN Red List classifies Panthera leo as Vulnerable because its numbers declined by more than 30% in the past, a decline linked to shrinking habitats and prey.
Among the main threats facing Panthera leo are habitat loss, killing by humans (in retaliation or indiscriminately), declining prey populations, and poaching for bushmeat.
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