Question

Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is now
A. Endangered
B. Extinct in wild
C. Vulnerable
D. Critically endangered

Answer 1

Asiatic lion is currently restricted to the Gir National Park and its population size is small and the area of occupancy is also small. This lion was also known as Indian lion or Persian lion.

Complete answer:
If we look at options, option A is Endangered. Endangered species are those species having the high risk of extinction in the near future and this high risk of extinction is due to a decrease in its habitat, excessive predation or poaching. Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) are now endangered because they have a high risk of becoming extinct due to loss of habitat. Therefore, this option is the correct one.
Moving to option B i.e., Extinct in wild. Asiatic lions are endangered species, they do not have a high
risk of extinction in the wild due to which this option is incorrect and it gets eliminated. Moving to option C i.e., Vulnerable. The vulnerable species are those species which are currently sufficient but they can become endangered in near future and that is also due to the loss of habitat and Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is now endangered because they have high risk of becoming extinct due to loss of habitat. They are currently not sufficient that is why they are not considered as vulnerable species due to which this option is incorrect and it gets eliminated.
Last option D is Critically endangered. Critically endangered species are those species which have
most risk of extinction in the wild and they can become extinct anytime at any moment immediately
in the future. Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) are now endangered because they have high risk of
becoming extinct due to loss of habitat. They are not critically endangered due to which this option
is incorrect and it gets eliminated.
Thus, the correct answer is option A i.e., Endangered.

Note:
Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is an endangered species as they are having high risk of extinction in the near future due to decrease in its habitat, small population size and area of occupancy. Due to this, they are now considered as endangered and therefore option A is the correct answer.