Lions on a Shrinking Map: teacher key

Lions, grade 12 edition, written for 12th grade and up. Lions once lived across much more of the world. Read how scientists follow them, what the counts say, what puts them under pressure and how people work to protect them.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. Since 1966, which lions have scientists in Tanzania studied without a break?
   • The lions of the Serengeti (answer)
   • The lions of India
   • The lions in zoos
2. As of November 2026, about how many wild lions remain in Africa?
   • 22,000 to 25,000 (answer)
   • 2,200 to 2,500
   • 220,000 to 250,000
3. Lion numbers in Africa have dropped by about half in roughly 25 to 30 years. If about 22,000 to 25,000 remain, about how many lived there before?
   • About 11,000 to 12,500
   • About 44,000 to 50,000 (answer)
   • About 220,000
4. What can happen in a small, isolated lion population?
   • It can lose genetic diversity (answer)
   • It always grows bigger
   • It moves to the rainforest
5. As of November 2026, where do about 44 percent of Gujarat's Asiatic lions live?
   • In the mountains
   • Outside protected forests (answer)
   • In zoos

Words

• census: a count
• inbreeding: mating between relatives
• isolated: cut off
• carcasses: dead animals