Revision as of 19:56, 25 January 2016

Asiatic lion

2015: An increase in number

The Times of India

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.

Gir Sanctuary, Gujarat: 2015 census

The Times of India

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

Hunting in Gujarat

The Times of India

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.

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 .

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.

2015 census

The Times of India, January 24, 2016

Highlights of the 2015 census of Saurashtra’s lions; Graphic courtesy: 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.