Asiatic Lion Pictures

Thank you all for admiring the male lion pictures. They are indeed works of art and Bill Dow's photography speaks for itself. These majestic creatures were all African Lions who stayed at Shambala Preserve at some point in time over the years. As you know there is another subspecies of lions as well, the critically endangered Asiatic Lions. They are seldom featured in media and few documentaries exist about these relatively obscure but equally magnificent group of lions. They only reside in a sanctuary in western India, where they are facing numerous threats like open wells, human infringement and conflict and poaching. There is an NGO that is working tirelessly towards their conservation in that part of the world, the Wildlife Conservation Trust. Fortunately I'm in contact with its chairman Kishore Kotecha, and he was generous enough to provide the following photos of these extremely rare big cats for reproduction here. You can follow his and his team's efforts for saving these beautiful felines on their regularly updated blog and informative website. 

Asiatic Lions are somewhat distinct from their African cousins in genetic and physical makeup. Notice the prominent belly fold and longer hair tufts on tip of tail and elbow, that make these lions unique.