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Has numbers of lions crossed 1,000-mark in Gujarat?
Himanshu Kaushik | TOI | Dec 3, 2019

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AHMEDABAD: Even as Lion Census 2020 is just five months away, murmurs in the jungle suggest that the population of Asiatic lions may have crossed the 1,000 mark!

Top officials in the state forest department concede, on the condition of anonymity, that lion numbers are believed to have at least doubled that of 523 lions, the population last counted in 2015. Next census is slated in May next year. “Lions numbers would easily be 1,100-1,200 in the state,” said a top forest official.
Sources say that internal assessment of lions by the state forest department has been suggesting a robust lion population for quite some time now. This is reflected in the ever expanding footprint of the lions which now have official presence in at least seven districts — Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Rajkot & recently, Surendranagar.

Tracking royals: Atleast 450 lions got micro-chipped since 2010

Lending further credence to rising numbers of big cats is the revelation that number of lions with micro-chips embedded over past years is more than 450. These lions are in the age-group of 3-13 years. “Micro-chips are inserted in lions that have been caught at least once by forest officials and caged. These lions are mainly caught from revenue areas for having strayed into villages, falling in wells or even attacking villagers & moved to suitable forested areas where they can survive,” said a senior official. “As no duplication is possible in this advance identification process, lions being inserted with micro-chips itself is a major indicator of a solid population.”

Experts say that there is a strong possibility that apart from these 450 odd lions, there should be over 20% or 150 lions in 3-13 years that were not caught. "Add this with 400-odd lions less than 3 years old and above 13 years, numbers cross 1,000,” explained a senior official.

Wildlife expert AJT Jonsingh said that as he has not visited Gir for many years he cannot comment on the specific lion numbers. “I surely feel that if almost 500 lions were micro-chipped, then lion's numbers could be much higher than 600", said Jonsingh. Last year, CM vijay Rupani had stated that lion numbers have reached 600 in Gujarat due to conservation efforts.
Another senior lion expert Dr. Jhala said that Gujarat government has always been loathe to admitting the real numbers of lions for fear of triggering public panic & increasing pressure from wildlife fraternity to translocate lions to MP.
"It is time institutes like Wildlife Institute of India (WII) that has expertise in tiger census is roped in for lion census too with camera trap methods to count the exact lion population. This is crucial for better lion conservation and management plan," said the Jhala.

Unlike tiger census however, where only grown animals above 20 months get counted due to 50-70% mortality rate in cubs, lion census of Gujarat includes all animals of any age in the final population figure. Reply