Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos

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Big information reveals based on recent studies.

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Big cats in Gujarat's Gir forest now prefer small ventures

Himanshu Kaushik | TNN | Updated: Aug 11, 2019 

*This image is copyright of its original author

AHMEDABAD: Big cats have restricted their movements in the Gir region. According to a report prepared by the forest department officials in Gujarat, lions that moved in an area of 250-300 sq km outside the sanctuary, have confined themselves within 30-40 sq km.
Their movements were mapped with the help of radio collars on 75 lions, 60 of them outside the Gir sanctuary area. This, according to experts, is a departure from an earlier research by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) where lions were documented to move in an area of 100-150 sq km within the sanctuary and 250-300 sq km outside the Gir. The home range for lioness was around 50 sq km.

A senior officer said it has been noted that the lions have made several villages their permanent homes. Primary data reveals movement of lion prides in three-four villages. Some movement along the border is also noted between the sanctuary area and villages.

According to the May 2015 census, there were 523 lions in Gir, of which 168 were outside the sanctuary area. But the internal assessment of the state government hinted at the presence of 800 lions in the region — 340-odd within the protected sanctuary and the rest in rural areas of Amreli, Gir-Somnath, Bhavnagar, Porbandar and Junagadh. The lion population is spread in an area of 25,000 sq km.

The experts say easy access to food could be the reason why the lions have made these villages their permanent abode. According to a lion expert H S Singh, “If the lions have been moving in a small territory, it indicates that there is ample food for them there.”

Y V Jhala, the WII expert who has carried out several researches on lions, says, “In case of WII study, which has been documented, only the lioness had been moving in a territory of 40-odd sq km while the lion had been travelling in an area of 100-150 sq km within the sanctuary and 250-300 sq km outside.
Jhala, however, refused to comment on the Gujarat government findings, stating that data was not available for analysis.Chief conservator of forest, Junagadh, D T Vasavada, said “We are awaiting data for all three seasons — summer, monsoon and winter — and once the data is made available, a detailed analysis will be done. We are aware that easy availability of food restricts movement of lions in certain pockets. A watch will definitely be kept in these areas.”

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...624767.cms

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Love lost for lions in home turf Gir sanctuary?

Himanshu Kaushik | TNN | Updated: Aug 13, 2019 

*This image is copyright of its original author

AHMEDABAD: Familiarity breeds contempt, goes the saying for humans. According to a path-breaking study on lions in Gujarat, the same may hold true for the celebrated man-animal relationship in the Gir jungles and its periphery in the state.

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) study titled ‘Ecology of lion in agro-pastoral Gir landscape, Gujarat’ carried out between 2009-2014 reveals that people in neighbouring Bhavnagar and Amreli districts, where the Big Cats have started over the past decade, are more ‘lion friendly’ than their counterparts in Junagadh which houses the Gir sanctuary. The sanctuary, which is the last abode of the Asiatic lion, traces the animals present to early 19th century.

“Studying local people’s attitudes, Bhavnagar district was found to be more lion friendly while Junagadh the least. People in Junagadh district have an uninterrupted history of staying with lions and have only recently dispersed in the agro-pastoral landscape of Bhavnagar and Amreli districts,” states the study authored by noted lion expert and WII scientist Y V Jhala with researchers Kaushik Banerjee and Parabita Basu.

Over 680 people in 254 villages in Gir and outside the protected area were interviewed where researchers found that longer history of tolerating conflicts with lions may have have made respondents of Junagadh comparatively more hostile than people from Amreli or Bhavnagar districts.
At the heart of hostility lies economics, as majority of people in Junagadh suffer crop and cattle losses due to lions attacks which hit them financially. In fact, 74% of people said compensation scheme was not financially appropriate.

Lion density outside Gir under limit of social tolerance

Outside Gir, lion density is only 2 per 100sq km which is under the threshold of social tolerance due to which people want lions in their vicinity,” states The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) study titled ‘Ecology of lion in agro-pastoral Gir landscape’.

Last counted in 2015, Gujarat was recorded to have 523 lions which are estimated to have swelled to over 700 lions. Of these, 50% are estimated to live outside the protected area spread over 22,000 sq km in four neighbouring districts namely Bhavnagar, Amreli, Porbandar and Gir Somnath. Till recently, the special man animal bonding in Gir was credited for growing numbers of lions. In fact, research paper by noted lion expert H S Singh underscored how deep rooted pride for lions in the culture and tradition of locals was central to conservation of the big cats in the state.

Source:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...651398.cms Reply