# Asiatic Lions in the Gir Sanctuary: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 6, Test 4, Listening Part 4

Source: Recording, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 6, Test 4, Listening Part 4. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 31 | B | It's almost 100,000 years since the Asiatic lion split off |
| 32 | A | you can now see Greek coins that have clear images of the Asiatic lion on them. |
| 33 | B | Europe saw its last Asiatic lion roaming free 2000 years ago. |
| 34 | C | Asiatic lions also have a long fold of skin on their undersides, whereas not many African lions have this. |
| 35 | 1450 | It's 1,450 square kilometers in area |
| 36 | disease | One of these is the ever present danger of disease. |
| 37 | prince | It's because all of them are descended from a few dozen lions that were saved by a prince who took a particular interest in them. |
| 38 | diet | A significant proportion of the lions' diet is made up of the livestock of these farmers. |
| 39 | attack humans | And they've even been known to attack humans |
| 40 | leadership | one of the greatest tests of leadership for a man was to fight a lion. |

## Why these answers are right

**31. B.** You need the date when the Asiatic lion became a separate subspecies. The lecturer says it is almost 100,000 years since it split off and developed as a subspecies, which matches option B.

**32. A.** The question is where coins showing Asiatic lions come from. The lecturer says museums display Greek coins with clear images of the lion, dated around 500 B.C., so A is right. The Middle East and India are only places the lions once lived.

**33. B.** This asks when the last Asiatic lion vanished from Europe. The speaker says Europe saw its last free-roaming Asiatic lion 2000 years ago, so B fits. The figure of 2,500 years only reflects the date of the Greek coins.

The why and the trap for questions 34 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/asiatic-lions-in-the-gir-sanctuary/answers).

## Transcript

**Announcer:** Section 4, you will hear part of a lecture given by a conservationist on the subject of lions.

**Announcer:** First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.

**Announcer:** Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.

**Speaker:** Well, most people think that lions only come from Africa, and you would be forgiven for thinking this, because in fact most lions do come from Africa.

**Speaker:** But this hasn't always been the case.

**Speaker:** If we go back 10,000 years, we would find that there were lions roaming vast sections of the globe. But now, unfortunately, only very small sections of the lions' former habitat remain.

**Speaker:** My particular interest is Asiatic lions, which are a subspecies of African lions.

**Speaker:** It's almost 100,000 years since the Asiatic lion split off and developed as a subspecies.

**Speaker:** At one time, the Asiatic lion was living as far west as Greece, and they were found from there, in a band that spread east through various countries of the Middle East, all the way to India.

**Speaker:** In museums, you can now see Greek coins that have clear images of the Asiatic lion on them.

**Speaker:** Most of them are dated at around 500 B.C.

**Speaker:** However, Europe saw its last Asiatic lion roaming free 2000 years ago.

**Speaker:** Over the next nineteen hundred years, the numbers of Asiatic lions in the other areas declined steadily.

**Speaker:** But it was only in the 19th century that they disappeared from everywhere but India.

**Speaker:** So, how can you tell an Asiatic lion from an African lion, with which you're probably more familiar?

**Speaker:** Well, in general, Asiatic lions are not as big as African lions.

**Speaker:** The color is more or less the same, but the appearance of the mane is different,

**Speaker:** that's the hair around the lion's face and neck.

**Speaker:** The Asiatic lion's mane is noticeably shorter than the African lion's.

**Speaker:** Asiatic lions also have a long fold of skin on their undersides, whereas not many African lions have this.

**Speaker:** Well, I'd like to talk to you now about the Gir Sanctuary in India.

**Speaker:** That's where I've just come back from.

**Speaker:** The sanctuary was established specifically to protect the Asiatic lion.

**Speaker:** It's 1,450 square kilometers in area, and most of it is forest.

**Speaker:** There are now around 300 Asiatic lions in India, and almost all of them are in the sanctuary.

**Speaker:** But despite living in a sanctuary, which makes them safe from hunters, they still face a number of problems that threaten their survival.

**Speaker:** One of these is the ever present danger of disease.

**Speaker:** This is what killed more than a third of Africa's Serengeti lions in 1994, and people are fearful that something similar could happen in the Gir Sanctuary, and kill off many of the Asiatic lions there.

**Speaker:** India's lions are particularly vulnerable because they have a limited gene pool.

**Speaker:** The reason for this is interesting.

**Speaker:** It's because all of them are descended from a few dozen lions that were saved by a prince who took a particular interest in them.

**Speaker:** He was very wealthy, and he managed to protect them.

**Speaker:** Otherwise they'd probably have died out completely.

**Speaker:** When you see the Asiatic lion in India, what you sense is enormous vitality.

**Speaker:** They're very impressive beasts, and you would never guess that they have this vulnerability when you look at them.

**Speaker:** The Asiatic lions don't have the Gir Sanctuary to themselves, I should add.

**Speaker:** They actually share it with about 2,000 farmers.

**Speaker:** A significant proportion of the lions' diet is made up of the livestock of these farmers.

**Speaker:** Goats, chickens and so on, as much as a third in fact.

**Speaker:** And they've even been known to attack humans, especially in times of drought.

**Speaker:** One final piece of interesting information, in ancient India, one of the greatest tests of leadership for a man was to fight a lion.

**Speaker:** Now it seems in modern India, it will be a great test to see if the lion can be saved.

**Speaker:** I'm sure this is something that all of you will share concern for too.

**Announcer:** That is the end of Section 4.

**Announcer:** You now have half a minute to check your answers.

[Practice Asiatic Lions in the Gir Sanctuary](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/asiatic-lions-in-the-gir-sanctuary)