View source for Lion (Asiatic): India

=Habitat=
==2023: Porbandar is its 10th district==
[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/asiatic-lions-empire-now-spreads-to-10th-gujarat-district/articleshow/105340333.cms  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.