Lion (Asiatic): India
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The lion population in India
2015: An increase in number
Himanshu Kaushik
May 6, 2015
Asiatic lion's total goes up, may touch 50
The first round of Asiatic lion census(2015) shows that the population of big cats in the state may now be around 500, an increase of 15-22% in the last five years. Those involved in the census said that the number of sightings of the lions was very encouraging, with indications that their population outside the Gir sanctuary had risen substantially.
Forest department officials said that what was particularly encouraging was the number of cubs in the age group of 0-3. They were sighted in good numbers and this was a sign of healthy conservation. The officials said that in the sanctuary area, including the core area of Gir National Park, the count has been constant.
"This was because the sanctuary was saturated and had more lions than its carrying capacity. According to a study, the carrying capacity of sanctuary and the national park was around 250 lions and cubs but around 290 lions were estimated to be there in Junagadh and Sasan Gir Sanctuary," said an official.
Sources involved in the census said that the big cats were sighted more in the area of Amreli, Bhavnagar and even coastal areas. For this reason, their population in these areas is expected to be higher, the sources said.
The officials said that the 2010 census had shown that the number of lions outside the sanctuary in the coastal areas, Amreli and Bhavnagar was only 114 but this time their number is expected to rise considerably and may even cross 150. Sources in the government said that some new areas too may be added to those where the lions are currently known to exist.
Sources said the count had revealed that there are nearly six satellite pockets which the big cats had made their home. These include Sasan Gir; Mitiyala; Kankraj and Liliya; coastal belt of Savarkundla and Rajula; Gir; and the sixth was Bhavnagar and the area on the banks of Shetrunji River.
However, sources said that the last census had shown that the adult male-female ratio was 97 males against 162 females. This year too there would be improvement in the ratio and the count of adult males and females was likely to be around 280 lions to 290 lionesses.
2015-18: lions lost to accidents; total numbers
TRAINS, CARS & WELLS KILLING KING OF JUNGLE
Trains knocked down six lions, two died in road accidents and 13 died after falling into open wells between 2015 and 2018. In all, 50 lions have died in various accidents that were totally avoidable, Gujarat government data shows. The 23 lion deaths from severe infections in the last few weeks just adds to the list.
The maximum number of lion deaths were reported in 2016-17 when 99 lions had died. Census 2015 had put the lion population at 523. The data revealed that 20% of the 253 deaths between 2015 and 2018 were in accidents that were avoidable. The Gujarat government also admitted that one incident of poaching had been reported in 2016-17.
In 2008, a masterplan for conservation mandated all open wells in the territory be covered to prevent deaths due to accidental falls. Despite Gujarat HC’s intervention, there are still over 17,000 open wells in Gir.
Nine lions died due to electrocution. “We have requested government in vain not to permit barbed fencing around the Gir sanctuary. Instead of putting curbs, government took away the power of sanctioning the barbed wire fencing from forest department and vested the same with the agriculture department,” said a forest official.
“These barbed fencing results in electrocution as farmers pass live electric current in these fencing to protect their crops,” he added.
2015-2020: 29% increase
June 11, 2020: The Times of India
From: June 11, 2020: The Times of India
From: June 11, 2020: The Times of India
Wildlife conservationists have something to cheer about as India has recorded a 29% increase in the population of Asiatic lions, living in Gujarat’s Gir forests, in the past five years, with their population going up from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020.
The period also saw a 36% increase in the distribution area of the lions from 22,000 sq km in 2015 to 30,000 sq km in 2020. Currently, Asiatic lions are found in the protected areas and agro-pastoral landscape of Saurashtra, covering nine districts in Gujarat.
“Over the last several years, the lion population in Gujarat has been steadily rising. This is powered by community participation, emphasis on technology, wildlife healthcare, proper habitat management and steps to minimise human-lion conflict. Hope this positive trend continues,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi while sharing details of the lion count.
The increase in the lion count this year shows one of the highest growth rates so far. Last year, India had reported similar encouraging figures on tiger population. The country had recorded the highest ever increase, 33%, in its tiger population — from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,967 in 2018.
The data on the population of Asiatic lions has been compiled under “Poonam Avlokan of Asiatic Lions” — an exercise conducted by the Gujarat forest department on June 5-6 using block count method in the cluster of villages.
177 in 1968 to 674 now: How lion conservation worked
The forest department deployed 1,400 personnel for the exercise. They used GPS location, number of individual identification marks, radio-collar numbers and statistical software to arrive at the figures.
The population estimation of Asiatic lions is conducted at an interval of five years. The last population estimation was done in May 2015, which pegged the lion numbers at 523 — an increase of 27% over the estimation of 2010. The latest figures on lion population structure show 309 females, 206 males, 137 cubs and 22 unidentified lions in the population of 674.
India had in 1968 recorded only 177 lions. The numbers have, however, been increasing consistently with the help of multiple conservation measures since then.
“Multiple strategies and interventions have been implemented in the Asiatic lion landscape that have contributed to the current conservation success viz people’s participation, use of modern technology, wildlife health care including import of canine distemper virus vaccine, habitat management, increase in prey base, human-lion conflict mitigation etc,” said Gujarat’s chief wildlife warden in a note which was shared by the PM on Twitter. The state saw a CDV outbreak that resulted in death of 36 lions in 2018.
2017: a record 650 in Gujarat
Number Of Big Cats Pegged At 523 In 2015
In the forest near Liliya-Krakach, noisy little cubs are seen sauntering around a small pond.Some are playfully pouncing on their mother who sits relaxed but watchful. These scenes in Asiatic lion's abode are not limited to Amreli district. Several forest areas outside the Gir National Park are brimming with lions, mostly in the age group of one to two years. According to a recent internal lion count by the forest department in July this year, there are nearly 650-odd lions in the reserved forests and even outside the national park in Amreli, Bhavnagar and Gir-Somnath districts.
“Gir and its periphery have recorded a count of nearly 650 lions. This is record high number of big cats in the state since 1936 as per the available records. There are around 180-odd cubs between one and two years of age,“ said a top forest official.
The roaring rise of 125odd lions in two years -the lion population was pegged at 523 in 2015 lion census --was revealed in the lion population counting exercise now undertaken every full moon day. The counting is done using 100-odd CCTVs and direct sighting method for effective monitoring of Big Cats. The monthly full moon counting is matched with the records of kills and daily reporting by beat guards, the official said.
Forest minister Ganpat Vasava said, “The steady rise in lion population is a good sign and indicative of robust conservative measures undertaken by the state.“
Saurashtra (Gujarat) lions
Lions and the people of Gir/ Saurashtra
The Times of India, Aug 10 2015
Himanshu Kaushik
In the past decade, there has been a four-fold increase in lion territory in Gujarat. Villagers living on the periphery of Gir sanctuary take pride in the growth of the lion population in their area.Barring one incident of poaching in 2007 and five deaths by electrocution, the big cats have been, by and large, safe in areas adjoining Gir. Forest department officials concede that it is only because of the people living around Gir that the lions are safe outside the sanctuary .On August 10, the world celebrates World Lion Day with this year's campaign theme being, `Saving the King of Beasts to Save Ourselves'.
The people of Saurashtra have looked after the big cats as their own and even sacrificed their cattle for them. In an unusual show of affection, people of Amreli organized a prayer meeting for the 13 lions washed away in the flash floods that hit the district recently.
Earlier, in 2013, the people of Kakrach (also in Amreli district) had launched an agitation after their `Rajmata', a radio-collared lioness, wandered away from the area. It was later spotted in Gondal. “The forest department captured the lion ess, gave it a new radio-collar, and kept it in the zoo,“ said Manoj Joshi, trustee of Paryavaran Samiti in the area. “But the local residents went to the forest office and urged the officials to free the lioness.“
Even the panchayat passed a resolution and forced the forest department to free the lioness. The lioness is now 14 years old and still lives in the area. Deputy conservator of forests Anshuman Sharma said there have been instances of farmers telling forest officials not to capture the lioness as it acted like a security guard, protecting them from other wild animals, including the neelgai.
2001-15, number of lions in Gujarat
Diseases they battle;
Lion habitats in Gujarat
From: Jacob Koshy, February 8, 2019: The Hindu
See graphic:
Total number of lions in Gujarat, 2001- 2015;
Diseases they battle;
Lion habitats in Gujarat
Gir lions, 2014-16/ Demand in zoos
Vijaysinh Parmar, Gir lions have maximum exchange value, Feb 8, 2017: The Times of India
HIGHLIGHTS
Asiatic lions are in high demand in zoos across the globe.
Gujarat is the only abode of the endangered species.
In 2014-16, the Sakkarbaug Zoological Park in Junagadh has got 104 animals in exchange of 24 lions.
Asiatic lions are in high demand in zoos across the globe, and Gujarat being the only abode of the endangered species is at a greater advantage. The exclusivity of the Asiatic lions has helped Sakkarbaug Zoological Park in Junagadh get more species and animals in exchange of a few lions.
In 2014-16, the zoo has got 104 animals in exchange of 24 lions. Being one of the oldest and largest zoos in the country, Sakkarbaug zoo houses 1,300 animals of 114 species. Spread over 81.81 hectares, the zoo is located near mountainous hills of Girnar.
Sakkarbaug zoo gave three lions (one male and two females) to Prague zoo in Czech Republic and will get 15 animals in exchange. These will include five wallabies, three caracals and three green peafowls among others.Sakkarbaug zoo will soon get seven animals including a pair of African cheetahs from London zoo in exchange of one pair of Asiatic lion.
In 2009, the zoo got four African cheetahs from Sing apore zoo under animal exchange programme. However, three of them died due to various reasons and only one female survived.
"Asiatic lions are in great demand from zoos across the world. Of late, zoos are emphasising on pure breed species and Sakkarbaug zoo is one place where one can find pure breed of Asi atic lions. This gives us an upp er hand while bargaining for more species and animals in exchange for a pair of Asiatic lion," said A P Singh, chief conservator of forests, (wildlife), Junagadh circle.
According to International Studbook of Asiatic lions (2013), there are 263 Asiatic lions in various zoos across the globe, especially those in European countries. According to International Studbook of Asia tic lions (2013), there are 263 Asiatic lions in various zoos across the globe, especially those in European countries.
The lions can be found in UK (22), France (18), Germany (11), Poland (5), and countries like Russia, Israel, Singapore, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy , Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Estonia, Denmark, Belgium and Finland among other countries.
Sakkarbaug Zoo, established in 1863 by the then Nawab of Junagadh state, is mandated by Central Zoo Authority to coordinate breeding of Asiatic lions. The zoo plays an important role in conservation of various species including Asiatic lions. "Sakkarbaug Zoo is nodal agency for Asiatic lions gene pool project," said S J Pandit, director, Sakkarbaug Zoo.
"We are providing founder animals (lions) to zoos across European countries to avoid inbreeding and maintain gene diversity ," he said.
2015 census
May 10, 2015
Number of Asiatic lions in Gir goes up, reaches 523: Census
The number of Asiatic lions in Gir sanctuary and its surrounding areas has gone up to 523, an increase of 27 per cent since 2010, according to the latest census report.
"The census of lions has revealed that their figure has gone up from 411 to 523 this year," Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel said at a press conference here. The 2010 census had revealed the figure of Asiatic lions to be 411, she said, adding that their population has increased by 27 per cent. As per this year's census, there are 109 male lions, 201 female lions and 213 sub-adults as well as cubs whereas in the 2010 census, the figure of male lions stood at 97, female lions were 162 and cubs were 152. Notably, the lions' habitat area has increased to 22,000 square kilometres, which has almost doubled in five years, Gir Sanctuary superintendent Sandeep Kumar said. As per the census, 268 lions were sighted in Junagadh, 44 lions were counted in the Gir-Somnath district, while in Amreli, 174 lions were sighted and in Bhavnagar, 37 lions were found.
"Conservation of lions is a glorious success story. More than 2 lakh lions were found in Africa, whose population has now decreased to less than 30,000. However, in Gir, the number of lions has shown an increase after every census," Kumar said. The latest census exercise was carried out between May 1 and May 5, 2015
2015 census, some details
The Times of India, January 24, 2016
Himanshu Kaushik
Census: One in three lions lives outside Gujarat sanctuaries
Of 523 big cats, 167 are out of protected areas
One of every three lions in Gujarat's Saurashtra lives outside sanctuaries, the final count of the May 2015 lion census has revealed. Of the total 523 lions in the region, 167 are currently living outside protected areas.Of them, 80 live in the Savarkundla, Lathi and Liliya areas of Amreli, making the district the best possible spot for chance encounters with the big cat.Forest department officials have reported the presence of 37 lions in Bhavnagar too. Prides of lion, once common in Bhavnagar, have again begun to be spotted here.
According to experts, the shift suggests that lions are moving beyond sanctuaries in search of new areas. H S Singh, a member of the National Board for Wildlife and lion expert, said that with an increase in the overall po pulation of lions, their numbers will definitely grow outside protected areas. “Lions move out of protected areas in search of new territories.They are settling in areas like Amreli and Bhavnagar as they find abundance of wild ungulates. The diet of Asiatic lions outside sanctuaries comprise an even amount of wild ungulates and domestic cattle,“ said Singh.
In 2010, only 74 of 411 lions -or roughly 18% -were found living outside protected areas, as opposed to 31.9% in 2015. In absolute numbers, the strength of lions living outside sanctuaries went up by 126% between the two census exercises, forest officials said.At the same time, according to the latest census data, there has only been an increase of 6% in the number of lions inside the Gir, Girnar, Mitiyala and Paniya sanctuaries.
Forest officials said a comparison of data from the two censuses shows that the highest rise in the number of lions for a given area was witnessed in Amreli (61%), followed by Junagadh and Gir Somnath districts.
2015/ 50 years of Gir National Park
The Times of India, Sep 17 2015
Himanshu Kaushik
Gir celebrates 50 years as lions' sole sanctuary
Gir National Park completes 50 years as a sanctuary, an occasion to be marked by the authorities with the release of a special postal stamp and launch of year-long festivities to celebrate the famous man-lion relationship of Saurashtra -the only abode of the Asiatic lion in the world.
Gir had 174 lions when i was notified as a sanctuary on September 18, 1965.
The lion kingdom used to cover almost the whole of east Asia many centuries ago. People of peninsular Saurashtra are credited with saving them from complete annihilation. In 1904, Nawab of Junagadh Mohabat Para III banned hunting.However, hunting, with prior permission, continued even after Independence and was completely banned only after Gir was notified as a sanctuary .
Among the best-managed sanctuaries in the country , Gir has seen the lion population grow to 523, while tigers have continued to dwindle in other states of India. The protected area, which was 1265 sqkm in 1965, has now expanded to 22,000 sqkm with the lion reclaiming lost territory .
2016: Lions unleash terror 10 encaged
The Times of India, May 22 2016
Ten out of a pride of 13 lions have been encaged in accordance with Gujarat government's orders after three people were killed by big cats in eastern Gir forests in the last two months.
“We have caught 10 lions.We are screening the area to trace the other big cats that are said to be members of the pride of 13,“ deputy conservator of forest, Dhari-East range of Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, T Karuppasamy said.
“Out of the 10 lions, four are male and six are female.Next, we would conduct pug mark identification exam and tests to find traces of human hair, bone and remains of clothes from their bodies to ascertain the man-eaters among those,“ he said.
“The man-eaters, once identified, would be sent to Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagadh where such lions are kept, while the others would be relocated to a safer zone,“ the Karuppasamy said.
“An 11-year-old boy, identified as Jayesh Solanki, was attacked by Asiatic lioness in Dhari taluka. He was found dead in a mango orchard at Ambardi village of Amreli district on May 19,“ Karuppasamy said, adding, “There were pug marks of a lioness near the place from where the body was recovered. His father was also injured in his futile attempt of saving him.“
“Before that incident, a 50 year-old woman, identified as Labhuben D Solanki and 60year-old man, Jinabhai Makwana, were killed by Asiatic lions at Bharad and Ambardi villages respectively in the same district,“ he said.
The process of awarding compensation of Rs 2.25 lakh to the kin of the victims has been initiated. A case of accidental death has been registered by police in each of the incidents and further probe is on, the officer said. “People residing in the East Division of Gir forests have been issued warnings of possible big cat attacks from time to time. But they don't follow instructions, causing such tragedies to recur,“ Karuppasamy said.
Locals of Amreli have been demanding action against man-eater lions for quite some time. In the wake of rising incidence of the attacks, BJP member from Amreli, Dileep Sanghani, has written to the state forest and environment minister Mangubhai Patel, seeking killing of lions that attack humans outside the reserved forest area.
2017/ Tired of tourists, Gir lions go into hiding
Himanshu Kaushik, Oct 30, 2017: The Times of India
HIGHLIGHTS
A total of 31,584 tourists visited Sasan Gir but around 60% of the tourists had to return without seeing the lions.
There are several reasons for this but experts say that lions get little privacy for rest.
A total of 31,584 tourists visited Sasan Gir but around 60% of the tourists had to return without seeing the lions or their pride in the sanctuary. There are several reasons for this but experts say that lions get little privacy for rest.
According to the forest department, there were 31,584 visitors to Sasan between October 20 and October 27, while 43,829 visited Devaliya and another 9,693 visited the newly inaugurated Ambardi reserve.
Amit Patel, a resident of Bapunagar who went to Gir on October 21, said that he had booked a place in two safaris - one in the evening and second in early morning. "But in both the safaris, I could not see a single lion. I was able to see a lot of ungulates along the route but I could not see the big cats," Patel said. He further said that he was not alone in making this complaint as several other tourists also did not see any lion.
HS Singh, member of the National Board of Wildlife, said sightings of the bigs cats depend on several reasons. "The lions are obviously disturbed by the increasing number of vehicles in the forest during the vacation. Hence they move away from the tourism zone. Secondly the forest, at present, is lush green and hence the lions easily hide in the grasses making it difficult to be spotted," Singh said.
AP Singh, CCF Junagadh, admitted that sightings had fallen in number.
"The forest department has ensured that no jeep moves away from its route allotted to it," he said. "We have begun monitoring the movement of jeeps. Moreover, in the past, the lions were moved near the tourism route and all vehicles were moved to that route. But now this practice has been stopped," Singh said.
He further said that apart from this, the forest department, during the festive season, gives 150 permits and another 20 for VIP movements. All these permits are used up during the vacation; hence the big cats get disturbed and move away from the tourism zone.
2018, Sept: 12 lions found dead in 10 days
12 Gir lions found dead in 10 days, Guj orders probe, September 21, 2018: The Times of India
The carcasses of 12 lions were found in 10 days in Gujarat’s Gir forest, prompting the state government to order an inquiry, officials said on Thursday. All the dead lions were found in the forest’s Dalkhaniya range, an official said.
Eight of the deaths were due to illnesses that could not be treated, officials said, while three deaths were due to infighting. The twelfth carcass was found on Wednesday in the same area.
P Purushothama, deputy conservator of forest, Gir (east) division, said, “We have collected viscera samples and sent them to the Junagadh Veterinary Hospital and are waiting for the postmortem report,” he added.
Additional chief secretary of the forest and environment wing, Dr Rajiv Kumar Gupta, said the principal chief conservator of forest (wildllife) would conduct an inquiry.
The cause: A clash of prides
Clash of prides left 11 lions dead in Gir, says Guj govt, September 22, 2018: The Times of India
From: Clash of prides left 11 lions dead in Gir, says Guj govt, September 22, 2018: The Times of India
The deaths of 11 lions and lionesses in just eight days was the grim but natural outcome of a bloody battle between two groups of lions for pride of place in Gir, top Gujarat forest department officials claimed on Friday.
The officials were careful to emphasise that the deaths of the endangered big cats were all of natural causes brought on by injuries sustained in a fight over territory between the two prides or by starvation because they were hiding. Six cubs, three lionesses and two lions were found dead in Dalkhaniya forest range of Gir (east) division between September 12 and September 19.
As murmurs of deliberate poisoning or an unidentified disease grew louder, the head of Gujarat’s forest force, G K Sinha, told the media at a hurriedly called press conference on Friday that post-mortem reports showed infighting and subsequent starvation in three cases — one lion and two lionesses — had resulted in lung and liver failure, and death.
The lion and two lionesses were hiding to save themselves from attacks during infighting, he said. “The death of 11 lions in infighting is something unusual, but preliminary reports clearly suggest that this was the sole cause of the casualties,” Sinha, principal chief conservator of forests, claimed.
However, Sinha’s version is being taken with some scepticism within the forest department, especially regarding the lioness deaths. “Lionesses don’t have any role in infighting and maintain a safe distance,” said another top official in the department.
The virus is the same as at Serengeti
21 Gir lions dead, 4 of virus that killed 1,000 in Serengeti, October 2, 2018: The Times of India
All 10 Asiatic lions, rescued from Gir’s Dalkhaniya Range in Gujarat’s Amreli district following the death of 11 big cats, have died at the Jasadhar animal care centre, the Gujarat forest department confirmed on Monday. The lions succumbed one after another between September 20 and September 30, sending shockwaves through Asia’s only abode for lions.
The death toll since September 12 has increased to 21. Earlier, 11 lions, including cubs, were found dead in Dalkhaniya between September 12 and September 19.
However, a scarier revelation is that four of the 11 lions that died between September 12 and September 16 were infected with canine distemper virus (CDV). This lethal virus spreads from dogs in the wild. This is the same virus which had wiped out nearly 1,000 lions from Tanzania’s Serengeti Reserve in 1994.
Forests and environment minister Ganpat Vasava told TOI: “Preliminary reports from National Institute of Virology, Pune, have confirmed CDV in four lions. We are awaiting the final report of possible CDV in other lions.”
The forest department said on Monday that of the total 21 lions, six had died of protozoan infection and four due to “some virus”. Protozoan infection is caused by ticks, mostly found among dogs in the wild, as well as cattle and even grass. As a precautionary step, the forest department has evacuated 31 lions from Semardi area near Sarasiya Vidi and shifted them to Jamwala rescue centre.
Steps taken by the Gujarat government
Mahesh Langa, October 4, 2018: The Hindu
From: Mahesh Langa, October 4, 2018: The Hindu
Seeks help from Centre, foreign experts after 23 lions die in less than a month
Stunned by the deaths of 23 lions since September 12, the Gujarat government, which initially insisted that the lions had died due to infighting for territorial domination, has now sprung into action and launched not only rescue efforts but also called experts from outside, including London, and imported a vaccine from the United States.
“We have sought the help of the Central government and called international experts to help us control the situation,” said Dr. Rajiv Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment and Forest, Gujarat.
Under treatment
“At present, 33 lions are under treatment at the rescue centre in Jamvala, while three others are being treated in the Jasadhar rescue centre,” Ganpat Vasava, Gujarat’s Environment and Forest Minister, told mediapersons on Wednesday.
Gujarat acts to save its pride
Elaborating on the measures underway, Mr. Vasava said that more than 500 lions had already been screened to detect viral infections in the big cats in the Gir forests and revenue areas, as Asiatic lions are spread in as many as eight districts in the Saurashtra region.
In possibly the worst-ever tragedy in the Gir forest, the only abode of Asiatic lions in the world, apart from the 23 lions that have died since September 12, as many as 36 are battling for their lives as a deadly outbreak of Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) and tick-borne Babesiosis is killing the great cats famously known as Gujarat’s pride.
According to the State Forest Department, of the 23 deaths, four lions died of CDV, and 17 were killed by a tick-borne infection. The cause of death of two lions is yet to be ascertained.
Meanwhile, experts and forest officials blame the State authorities for “adopting a casual approach” in conservation, and not taking precautionary measures to deal with the epidemic.
According to experts, the Gujarat government was warned in 2011, when the Centre for Animal Disease Research and Diagnosis (CADRAD), Bengaluru, and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Uttarakhand, analysed tissues from a 2007 Gir lion carcass and found the presence of highly contagious Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus (PPRV), which carries an 80%-100% chance of mortality. Subsequently, four lions sent from Gujarat to the Lion Safari Park in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, died of CDV in 2016.
2020
Cross-Species Adoption/ The Only Documented Instance
Experts Say This Is The Only Documented Instance Of Cross-Species Adoption In The Wild Among Animals Who Are Strong Competitors
The lions and leopards of Gir National Park, in Gujarat, India, normally do not get along.
“They compete with each other” for space and food, said Stotra Chakrabarti, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Minnesota who studies animal behaviour. “They are at perpetual odds.”
But about a year ago, a young lioness in the park put this enmity aside. She adopted a baby leopard.
The two-month-old cub — all fuzzy ears and blue eyes — was adorable, and the lioness spent weeks nursing, feeding and caring for him until he died. She treated him as if one of her own two sons, who were about the same age. This was a rare case of cross-species adoption in the wild, and the only documented example involving animals that are normally strong competitors, Chakrabarti said. He and others detailed the case last week in the ecology journal Ecosphere.
[TOI had reported about the lioness and the leopard cub in February 2019 with Dheeraj Mittal, deputy conservator of forest, Gir (west), saying at the time that forest officials had decided not to separate the cub from the lioness. “It was a natural instinct of the lioness. Nobody had forced the lioness to adopt a leopard cub. That was the reason we had decided not to intervene,” Mittal said.] The paper’s authors, who also included a conservation officer and a park ranger, first spotted the motley crew in late December 2018, hanging out near a freshly killed nilgai antelope.
Initially, they thought the association would be brief; a lioness in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area had once been observed nursing a leopard cub, but only for a day before the two separated.
“But this went on,” Chakrabarti said. For a month and a half, the team watched the mother lion, her two cubs and the leopard roam Gir National Park. “The lioness took care of him like one of her own,” nursing him and sharing meat that she hunted, Chakrabarti said.
His new siblings, too, were welcoming, playing with their spotty new pal and occasionally following him up trees. In one photo, the leopard pounces on the head of one of his adoptive brothers, who is almost twice his size and clearly a good sport. “It looked like two big cubs and one tiny runt of the litter,” Chakrabarti said.
He has been studying the park’s lions for nearly seven years. This unlikely association “was surely the most ‘wow’ moment I’ve come across,” Chakrabarti said. His fellow researchers with an Asiatic lion conservation project in India, some of whom have been watching the big cats for decades, had “also not seen anything like this,” he said.
Unlike their counterparts in Africa, Asiatic lions live in small, sex-segregated groups. After they give birth, lionesses often separate from the rest of the pride for a few months to raise their offspring on their own. If the makeshift family had interacted more with other adult lions, the leopard may have been identified as an impostor, Chakrabarti said.
But they were never tested in this way. After about 45 days, the research team found the leopard cub’s body near a watering hole. A field necropsy revealed that he had most likely died because of a femoral hernia he had since birth. “It would have been fantastic to see, when the leopard cub grew up, how things would be,” Chakrabarti said. “But it didn’t happen.”
The tale of the leopard cub joined two other documented instances of interspecies adoption in the wild — each one sweet enough for a children’s book, yet strange enough to captivate scientists. In 2004, a group of capuchin monkeys took in an infant marmoset. And in 2014, a family of bottlenose dolphins fostered a baby melon-headed whale, who learned to surf and jump like his new peers.
In all three cases, a lactating mother brought the new baby into the fold, said Patricia Izar, an associate professor at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and a member of the team that studied the capuchin-marmoset adoption. It’s possible that the hormonal changes associated with motherhood “might facilitate bonding with an extraneous infant,” said Izar, who was not involved in the new research.
As puzzling as this adoption was, it also underscores the similarities between cubs of different feline species, Chakrabarti said. Until they reach young adulthood, when social differences emerge, lions and leopards play, meow and beg for milk in similar ways.
For this mother lioness, these commonalities may have overridden the cub’s more leopardlike features — his smell, size and speckled appearance.
“He just blended in,” Chakrabarti said. NYT NEWS SERVICE
Caring for lions
Shutting 14km of road to let lions mate
14km of road shut for lions’ privacy, November 4, 2018: The Times of India
Infringing upon a person’s privacy could have consequences. But invading the privacy of the lions in the wild, and that too when they are mating, could have far reaching consequences.
The forest department in Junagadh had to close down a 14km stretch of road from Sasan to Visavadar, to protect mating lions from human interference. The road remained closed for public for some specific time. However, it reopened only after the lions went deep into the forest.
The road is closed for vehicles during the night . All vehicles passing on the stretch during the day time are tracked from their entry into the protected forest till their exit.
On Friday evening, the forest department received a call that lions were mating on the roadside and the male lion had become violent. The caller said that the male lion chased a villager who was passing through the road on his motorcycle. The man fell down and got hurt.
2019/ Asiatic Lion Conservation Project
Centre and Gujarat govts. announce project that includes a wildlife crime cell
Three months after at least 20 lions in Gujarat succumbed to a virus, the Centre and the Gujarat government have announced a ₹97.85 crore Asiatic Lion Conservation Project at a press conference here on Friday.
A key outcome of the project is to have a dedicated veterinary institute, “lion ambulances”, and back-up stocks of vaccines that may be required. There are close to 600 lions in Gujarat, according to State forest officials at the meeting. However, there has been no move yet to translocate lions to a location outside Gujarat.
“There is a committee of experts from both States examining the suitability of Madhya Pradesh as a potential lion reserve. Secondly, we also have to comply with certain guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (on selecting suitable habitat, translocation),” said Rajiv Kumar Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Gujarat.
No progress
The Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh was identified to be the most suitable for reintroducing the species, according to a Supreme Court-appointed technical expert committee, but there has been no progress on the proposal.
Vet institute, ambulances mooted in ₹97.85-cr. lion conservation plan The SC in April 2013 had ordered the translocation of some lions from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh within six months, but this hasn’t happened. This was ordered after several recommendations by expert groups, including the Wildlife Institute of India. It emphasised that the long-term survival of the lion as a species was best served if they could be present outside Gujarat, too, so that they are protected against, say, a forest fire, a disease, or calamities.
While the lion deaths of last year brought these questions to the fore, they also pointed to the stark reality of lion numbers rising to an extent that several of them were now found outside protected areas and involved in human-animal conflict as well as in increasing contact with domestic animals as well as feral dogs, from where they could have contracted the virus.
“We are not closed to the idea and will do anything required for the protection of this species,” said Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan.
The Gujarat government, on its part, has envisaged a ‘Greater Gir’ that includes, other than the existing Gir National Park, sanctuaries in Girnar, Pania and Mitiyala.
Key aspects of the conservation project include undertaking “habitat improvement” measures, making more sources of water available, creating a wildlife crime cell, and a task force for the Greater Gir region.
It would also involve having in place a GPS-based tracking system, which would look at surveillance tracking, animal and vehicle tracking. There would also be an automated sensor grid that would have magnetic sensors, movement sensors and infra-red heat sensors.
Habitat
2023: Porbandar is its 10th district
Himanshu Kaushik, Nov 20, 2023: The Times of India
AHMEDABAD : The king of the jungle is scent-marking new territories in what comes as a roar of approval for the state government’s conservation efforts. With a lioness and her cub sighted in Kutiyana earlier this month, Porbandar becomes the tenth district in Gujarat where the Asiatic lions have marked their presence.
About 55 years ago, the state was home to 177 lions, confined to Junagadh district.
Till even about 13 years ago, these predators – 411 of them according to 2010 census – moved around only in three districts.Today, the state is home to 674 lions according to the last census, and they have their footprints in almost all districts of Saurashtra barring Morbi and Devbhumi Dwarka. With their population growth pegged at 5% annually, the lion kingdom is only set to expand, say experts. In all, Asiatic lions have covered 10 districts while scouting for potential home ranges. These are: Junagadh, Amreli, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Gir-Somnath, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Botad, Ahmedabad and Surendranagar. This scenario was beyond the scope of imagination for conservationists till a couple of decades ago.
The big cats have been moving along the roads and bridges slicing and dicing their natural habitat and drawing closer to humans like never before. Porbandar is the tenth district to register the presence of lions,” confirmed a senior forest official.
In 1968, when the first census was conducted by the forest department, there were 177 lions in the state, all within Gir sanctuary. Until the 1990s, they remained within Gir and adjoining areas. In 2013, a sub-adult lion strayed into Kalawad in Jamnagar. Since it was a new territory for the animal, it was rescued and brought back to Gir. However, in the first week of this month, a radio-collared lioness and a one-year-old cub were sighted in Porbandar’s Kutiyana for the first time. This lioness had earlier been rescued from Pipavav and released into the wild near Tulsishyam area.
In January this year, the presence of an isolated male lion was registered in Barda Dungar. Towards the eastern side of Gir sanctuary, the lions have just made Botad their home; on one occasion, the lions even came close to Dhandhuka in Ahmedabad district but returned to Velavadar and have since ensconced themselves there.
The unofficial 2022 lion count is pegged at 750, though foresters believe the number could be much higher. Between 2010 and 2020, the lion population has grown by 263. With the majestic animals sighted in new territories, conservationists have proposed satellite habitats for them.
Nityanand Srivastava, principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), said: “The lions are spreading. We have been closely monitoring them. They have crossed bridges, highways and checkdams. We were surprised when a lion entered Porbandar’s Madhavpur Ghed and sauntered onto the road dotted by shops and establishments.” According to the fo rest department, the lion population in Gujarat is expected to cross the 2,600-mark by 2047, with the annual growth rate pegged at 5%. Sources in the ministry of environment, forest and climate change estimate that even if the lion population in Gujarat continues to grow at 3% annually, it is expected to cross the 2,500-mark in the next 25 years.
A senior officer said, “Compared to the previous 1883.04 sq km network of Gir Protected Area, at present, the Asiatic Lion Landscape (ALL) covers around 30,000 sq km in Saurashtra (according to the 2020 census). The concept of ALL has been adhered to in developing additional habitats for lions. The lions are likely to make Ahmedabad their home by 2047.”
Under Project Lion, satellite habitats for lions have been proposed in Umath Virdi in Bhavnagar, Gir, Girnar, Mitiyala, Jesor-Hipawadi and Hingolgadh, the coastal belt from Rajula to Jafrabad and extending up to Mahuva, among others. Besides, it has also been decided to create conservation zones for lions in Babra Virdi in JamnagarPorbandar, and Alech in Devbhumi Dwarka.
Habits
Feeding habits: 2019 study by WII
Himanshu Kaushik, August 18, 2019: The Times of India
From: Himanshu Kaushik, August 18, 2019: The Times of India
AHMEDABAD: As it moves away from the wild, closer to humans, the king of the jungle is hunting less and scavenging more.
A path-breaking study on feeding habits of lions in Gujarat reveals that 75% of lion food inside the Gir sanctuary is hunted wildlife. However, outside the sanctuary 70% of their food consists of livestock.
A bigger cause of concern is that only 20% of this livestock is hunted while about 50% is scavenged feed, which includes either dying or dead animals abandoned by locals, especially gaushalas, home to old, unproductive and ill cattle.
The study, ‘Ecology of Lion in agro-pastoral Gir landscape, Gujarat’, has been conducted by a team of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) researchers Y V Jhala, Kausik Banerjee and Parabita Basu It needs mention that Sarasiya Virdi in Amreli district — the epicenter of the deadly Canine Distemper Virus outbreak that killed 29 lions last year — was one such dumping ground of ill and dead cattle.
The forest department doesn’t allow disposal of carcasses in the area.
According to the study, a high percentage of killing of livestock by lions in villages outside the protected area augurs intense man-animal conflict in the future.
Last counted in 2015, Gujarat housed 523 lions. The number is estimated to have swelled to over 700.
Of these, about 50% live outside the protected area mainly in four neighbouring districts namely Bhavnagar, Amreli, Porbandar and Gir Somnath. Lion experts, however, flag a more serious concern.
Easy prey blunting hunting skills of Asiatic lions, say foresters
As lions move out of the wild and get closer to humans, easy availability of livestock, especially baits and dead animals, is blunting hunting skills of lions, especially cubs,” said Wildlife Institute of India (WII) researchers Y V Jhala.He recounts how they witnessed a cub feeding on a live bait in revenue area without first killing it.
Forest officials suggested disposal of cattle carcasses in lion habitats should not be allowed.
“This will ensure lions are mandated to kill livestock or wild ungulates in the area and keep their hunting skills honed,” he said.“This would also prevent outbreak of CDV like diseases as sick and dead cattle are eaten by dogs which are carriers of deadly CDV virus,” the official added.
Scavenging
2020
From: Himanshu Kaushik, From royal feasts to tourism titbits: Gir lions turning into scavengers?, March 1, 2020: The Times of India
AHMEDABAD: A Wildlife Institute of India (WII) study has red-flagged a major concern over diminishing hunting skills in younger lions due to cubs being increasingly fed with dumped carcasses in tourism zones.
The issue was raised in the study titled ‘Spatially Explicit Density and Its Determinants For Asiatic Lion In Gir Forest’ which has a density of 8.5 lions per 100 sq km area in the western part of Gir protected sanctuary. The study, published recently, was conducted by researchers Y V Jhala, Keshav Gogoi, Kausik Banerjee and Ujjwal Kumar who spotted 67 lions in 368 sightings.
The researchers expressed surprise that contrary to earlier studies based on lion diet, which found the big cat mainly survived on natural prey base, the distribution of lions was found to be skewed. Instead of being close to the natural prey base of the wild including chital and sambar, a significant number of lions were found in the tourism zone.
“This was likely as lions in the tourism zone got assured food through provisioning and natural prey probably did not regulate lion movement or density,” stated the study. It mentioned how Maldharis dump their cattle outside their homes to prevent lion attack and enhance tourism. The carcasses are also used by forest officials to attract lions in tourism zones.
“Easy prey is turning lions into scavengers rather than predators. The 250 sq km area of Gir national park is the only area where lions survive on ungulates. In the rest they survive on human subsidy,” said Jhala. More alarmingly, the study found that many younger lions had compromised hunting skills. “In many prides that were provisioned, younger lions were observed to lack the predatory skills required to hunt, as cubs were fed with dumped carcasses with regularity and grew up as scavengers,” the study said.
“Animals that lack skills to hunt often come in conflict with humans, as after they disperse from the tourism zone and are no longer provisioned they try to kill livestock (easier prey) and can also become a danger to human lives,” the study warned.
Threats
Hunting in Gujarat
Ankur Tewari
May 27, 2015
In 1964, you could hunt lions in Gujarat for Rs 300
National Wildlife Board member and lion expert H S Singh said that the last permission for hunting the cats was given in 1964.
The success of conservation efforts in increasing the population of lions in Gujarat — the only abode of the endangered big cats — makes it difficult to believe that as recently as 1964, you could legally hunt these lions just for a fee of Rs 300, And this was possible when Gujarat had come into existence as a state.
Records indicate that actual conservation of lions started only in 1972. National Wildlife Board member and lion expert H S Singh said that the last permission for hunting the cats was given in 1964. After that, all requests were rejected by collectors of the districts, except when a lion turned a man-eater.
The records of a debate that took place on June 29, 1960, during the first Gujarat assembly session reveal that hunting was allowed in special cases on payment of Rs 300. City-based historian Rizwan Kadri recently came across these records while researching for a project.
According to the records, when MLA Udaisinh Vadodiya asked the state government if hunting was permitted in Gir, deputy minister Bahadur Patel said that it was allowed only in rare cases.
Palanpur MLA Dungarbhai Parmar had asked whether the hunting of wild animals was allowed. In reply, home minister Hitendra Desai had said that 111 wild animals were hunted in 1957-58, followed by 50 in 1958-59 and 90 in 1959-60. Between 1957 and 1960, 89 people had sought permission for hunting wild animals.
In reply to MLA Madhavsinh Solanki's question whether any lion was hunted in the state, Patel said: "Lion hunting is banned but permission is allowed in special cases on payment of Rs 300."
Interestingly, in 1903, the Nawab of Junagadh had refused to allow Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, to hunt lions in his principality.
