The
lion (
Panthera leo) is one of the five
big cats in the
genus Panthera and a member of the family
Felidae. The commonly used term
African lion collectively denotes the several subspecies found in Africa. With some males exceeding in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the
tiger. Wild lions currently exist in
sub-Saharan Africa and in
Asia (where an
endangered remnant population resides in
Gir Forest National Park in India) while other types of lions have disappeared from
North Africa and
Southwest Asia in historic times. Until the late
Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after
humans. They were found in most of Africa, across Eurasia from western Europe to India, and in the Americas from the
Yukon to
Peru. The lion is a
vulnerable species, having seen a major population decline in its African range of 30–50% per two decades during the second half of the twentieth century. Lion populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Within Africa, the
West African lion population is particularly endangered.