A second home for the Asiatic lion

Question (10 marks, ~150 words):

'Numbers alone do not ensure a species' survival; resilience does.' Examine this in the context of the Asiatic lion, and explain why a second home outside Gujarat has become imperative. (10 marks, 150 words)

The Asiatic lion's recovery from a dozen to about 891 is a landmark success, yet the entire population lives in one Gir landscape, making it acutely vulnerable. A single epidemic, fire or flood could erase decades of gains — the 2018 Canine Distemper Virus outbreak, striking a dense, low-diversity population, was a warning. Conservation science therefore favours a metapopulation approach: spreading animals across separated habitats so that resilience, not mere numbers, secures survival. The Supreme Court's 2013 order for translocation to Kuno National Park recognised the lion as national heritage above regional considerations, but the project has stalled for a decade as Gujarat resists and Kuno hosts cheetahs instead. A second home outside Gujarat is thus imperative — backed by Project Lion's disease surveillance and genetic monitoring, and by cooperative federalism. Only geographic insurance can convert a single-site triumph into a durable, future-proof conservation achievement.