Can Genetics Decide the Translocation of Asiatic Lions?

Asiatic lion

The Asiatic lion has been one of India's roaring conservation success stories after the tiger and the elephant. Over the years, its numbers increased from around 300 animals to 674 at present. However, with numbers of lions dispersing to parts of Gujarat state outside Gir Forest, its last stronghold, calls for translocating the animals out of state had been made but to no avail. There were several reasons for the delay on both scientific and unscientific grounds. One recent case was reported with respect to new findings on the basis of genetics. That is, Asiatic lions are not considered to be greatly different from their counterparts in Central and West Africa due to their genetic similarity. The discovery was presented in the 2017 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in which Asiatic lions, and Central and West African lions share the same nomenclature Panthera leo leo. That finding was supported by members of Gujarat's State Board for Wildlife (SBWL). One of the members, Bhushan Pandya, noted the IUCN report and called for a postponement in the planned translocation of some lions to Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. Pandya stated that a panel of lion experts has been called to study the change in nomenclature. In effect, the IUCN edited the taxonomy of the cat family and classified lions into two subspecies: Panthera leo leo and Panthera leo melanochaita of eastern and southern Africa. The report further added that Asia's lions had conquered southwest Asia over 20,000 years ago. This was way earlier than the indication that lions were introduced to India from East Africa by the Mughals in the 17th century.
 

A West African lion in Benin's Pendjari National Park. Notice the resemblance from the image above? 

I really don't understand why the reintroduction of Asiatic lions should be postponed on the basis of genetics. Just because the lions are genetically and morphologically similar to their Central and West African counterparts doesn't mean they should not be translocated outside Gujarat. These lions are differentiated from one another in a variety of ways. For example, Asiatic lions thrive in a savannah-type habitat which is different from the ones in Africa. They also inhabit dry deciduous forests which are absent in Africa. I would also like to point out that Asiatic lions are identified by a fold of skin hanging down from their stomachs, which is easily noticeable when the animals are viewed sideways. African lions, on the other hand, lack such a distinguishable characteristic. Furthermore, lion populations in western Africa are much lower than in India - around fewer than 250 mature individuals which makes them critically endangered. Asiatic lions, on the other hand, number about 674 individuals.

Morphological comparison between the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo leo) (top) and the African lion (Panthera leo melanochaita) (bottom)

In my opinion, reintroducing lions from western and central Africa into India would be absolutely pointless in case Asiatic lions become extinct due to any catastrophic events. Such movement would be met with immediate refusal from regional governments; the same when Iran once declined India's request to lend some of its cheetahs as part of the country's cheetah reintroduction project. I also don't understand who came up with this suggestion that India's lions were introduced into the country by the Mughals. It doesn't make sense since lions of East Africa are identified by their larger and more prominent manes and Asiatic lions have smaller less developed manes. What is clear is that the lions which colonized southwest Asia 20,000 years ago were the same lions that are now currently recolonizing parts of Gujarat from where they disappeared decades ago. They are also the same lions that once reigned supreme in central, northern, and northwest India centuries ago before becoming extinct. I don't think it is necessary to study the nomenclature change to help in the decision-making process of whether to translocate lions outside Gujarat or not. The bottom line is that Gujarat's lion population has increased significantly and efforts need to be made to translocate some of these lions in protected areas out of state without delay. These lions need to be closely monitored to see how well they are doing in their new environment. This would help in determining whether to continue with translocation efforts or halt them.

View article here