Short answers, pulled from the story.
The lion has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 because African populations declined by about 43% since the early 1990s. Habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes of the decline. Lion populations are considered untenable outside designated protected areas.
Lions currently range only in sub-Saharan Africa and in one population in western India, confined to Gir National Park and surrounding areas in Gujarat. African lions inhabit grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands across scattered sub-Saharan populations. The Asiatic population in India inhabits a mixture of dry savannah forest and dry deciduous scrub forest.
A lion pride averages around 15 individuals, including several adult females, up to four males, and cubs of both sexes. Large prides of up to 30 individuals have been observed. Females form the stable social unit and most remain in their birth pride for life, while adult males are often nomadic before gaining residency.
The mane likely evolved to signal fitness to females, and males with darker manes show greater reproductive success and tend to remain in prides longer. It begins growing when testosterone levels increase during adolescence and reaches full size at around four years old. The mane may have first evolved between 320,000 and 190,000 years ago.
A 2018 study recorded a lion running at a top speed of 74.1 km/h, but lions cannot sustain high speeds and typically attack from within 20 m of prey. Lions stalk their prey to close distance before launching a fast rush and final leap, then pull prey down by the rump and deliver a clamping bite to the throat or muzzle. A lioness generates a bite force of 1593.8 Newtons at the canine teeth.
The Asiatic lion population is confined to Gir National Park and surrounding areas in Gujarat, covering 1412 km2. The population grew from approximately 180 individuals in 1974 to about 523 by 2015, and roughly 650 were recorded during the 2017 Asiatic Lion Census. The Asiatic lion has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2008.