Gir

Declared a sanctuary in 1965 and a national park in 1975, Gir is the last stronghold of the Asiatic lion anywhere on the planet outside zoos, after the species was hunted to extinction across the rest of Asia and the Middle East during the 19th and 20th centuries. The population fell to barely a couple of dozen animals in the early 20th century, saved at the last moment by the personal protection of the then Nawab of Junagadh, who banned hunting them on his lands. Today the population is around 700, a conservation success that has led to proposals for a second population in another Indian state, to reduce the risk of relying on a single location in the face of disease or disaster.