Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos

[Rishi]

This might be a bit long.

(08-14-2017, 10:16 AM)Wolverine Wrote: Rishi, what do you think, taking into account current prey base and quantity of homeless cattle in Gujarat what is the maximal number of lions Gujarat could feed nowadays - 600, 700, 1000 ? Do you think lions can colonise all territory of that Indian state eating just domestic cattle or that's not enough?

It's not cattle that'll be the deciding factor.
For starters, as per H.S.Singh's study- "..Gir had never supported more than 300 lion in its entire history of atleast 120yrs.."

I believe you know that today, lions are spread over an area of 20000+ km².

BUT...The protected areas of 1500km² Gir & 500km² Girnar and another ±500km² of patchy, fragmented, unprotected woods & scrublands of high human disturbance houses almost 450 of those lions. (Source)
That means 70% of the total population is squeezed in only 10% of their habitat range!!! The other 90% of area house the rest 30%.

Yes, scenes like these are increasingly common in southern Kathiawar.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

But that's NOT how/where they live....

They try and seek out landscapes remotely similar to their natural home.
Like this lemon grove...

*This image is copyright of its original author

..or this rocky outcrops that has no reason to be frequented by man.

*This image is copyright of its original author

They are shy-ish & live a much more nocturnal lifestyle, when they venture out of their strongholds to nearby farms and fields to hunt stray animals (or if lucky, crop raiding deers & pigs) or lift cattle...or maybe cross a town.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Combination of census & remotesensing data, show that the lions' range is not continuous. They form local isolated metapopulations at less inhabited areas like scrubs & coastal forests. The areas in between serves as mere corridors. 
The following map shows the old (2010) & expanded lion ranges (2015)...

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Now hopefully they'll someday reach the Mangroves to the east (200 km²) & Barda Wildlife Sanctuary (300 km²) to the west..marked in map.
That might give them a BIG boost, but the numbers would come to a halt at a certain number.

Because beyond that, there is no place to expand further east. The natural patches are too far & too few, with the industrial complex one side and major ports on other. Even the farmlands are more fertile, more mechanically managed & almost never left fallow. 
Also, there are lot more people to the northeast, you can see two big cities to the northwest (red blots in map). All may not be well between lions & people... once urban/suburban populace come into picture.



But more on that later. Reply