There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
last year in gGr this young leopard was nearly caught unaware as the lioness approached it. The leopard noticed the lioness in the nick of the moment and scrambled up the nearest tree to save itself
05-07-2020, 08:40 AM( This post was last modified: 05-10-2020, 06:34 AM by Rishi )
(05-06-2020, 09:02 PM)OncaAtrox Wrote: It's also worth pointing out the lack of genetic diversity coupled with the lack of access to large prey is one of the main factors as to why Gir lions are significantly smaller on average than their counterparts in certain parts of Africa. Their dwarfism cause is similar to what happened to Siberian tigers.
Actually no, these are just assumptions we are making to fill the gaps... We don't know for sure.
There are other inbred populations like Ranthambore tigers or Crater lions that are famous for their size.
Amur tigers in the wild right now not visibly is any smaller. In all likelihood in the past their weight was exaggerated by hunters (also much of recent weighings are young adult tigers).
Gir lions actually rely most on large prey like Sambar, Nilgai from wild and Cows, buffalos, camels from livestock. Chital deer and boars are not preferred prey. If you consider the non-wild prey then it is almost similar in both. (Good study on this).
Much more than enough for small prides.
Their size isn't very different from African lions, especially among females. But the weight difference between the two is considerable.
The main reasons for that would be the lesser prominence of sexual dimorphism in asiatic lions, bringing down the average weight for male lions.
A cub curiously looking at her mom during the feeding time. It was captured in winter evening of 2019. The lioness had 2 cubs, one was mischievous and was playing with nearby stuffs and other one (seen in the image) was a bit shy and always on the side of her mom. It was really a great experience to see different personalities of lion siblings like generally see in our case. "
Sandeep Parmar: " I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul... "
Quote:Around 20 lions have been killed in the Tulsishyam, Jasadhar and Hadala ranges of the Gir (East) Wildlife Division in the last two months.
Forest officers said that babesia protozoa attacks red blood cell of lions, leading to anaemia.
Around 20 lions in Gir (east) wildlife division were killed in the last two months following an outbreak of babesiosis.
“We have lost some animals because of the disease caused by blood protozoa called babesia, which, in turn, spreads through tick infestation and mite bite,” a top officer of Gujarat forest department told The Indian Express on Wednesday adding that they are trying to contain the outbreak.
A section of the local media has been reporting for almost a fortnight that lions are dying under mysterious circumstances in Gir (east) wildlife division spread across Amreli and Gir Somnath districts and that more than 20 big cats have died in such a manner over the past two months. The officer told The Indian Express that most of the recent deaths of the endangered species from Tulsishyam, Jasadhar and Hadala ranges of Gir (east) forest division have been caused by babesiosis .
Incidentally, a babesiosis outbreak had coincided with the outbreak of canine distemper virus (CDV) in Sarasiya range of Gir (east) in September, 2018. The combination of the viral and protozoal infections had killed around two dozen lions before Gujarat forest department imported CDV vaccine from the US and vaccinated almost all lions in the Gir forest and other protected areas. Forest officers said that babesia protozoa attacks red blood cell of lions, leading to anaemia. An anaemic animal becomes susceptible to other diseases like CDV.
“It was established in 2018 that CDV and babesiosis were a combination. It is like COVID-19, which alone doesn’t kill many. But if one already has comorbidity, then it proves deadly,” the officer added.
The officer further said that once an animal survives CDV infection, it develops life-long immunity against the virus and the outbreak already seems under control. “We have adopted a multi-pronged approach. We are de-worming livestock of cattle-herders (which forms a significant portion of the diet of Asiatic lions). We are disinfecting their enclosures where ticks and mites could be there. We are also burning grass and hay around water holes,” said the officer.
The officer further added that antibiotics are administered to the lions stricken by babesiosis and normally the treatment goes on for around five days. “We have already managed to successfully treat six animals. Also, there hasn’t been any deaths due to the disease for almost a week now. Now, our approach is to treat the animals in the wild itself,” added the officer.
Asiatic lions have been categorised as an endangered species by International Union on Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The only wild population of this species of big cats in the world is found in Gir forest and other protected areas spread across Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts.
Incidentally, Ram Ratan Nala, the director of Jungle Safari Park at Statue of Unity in Kevadiya in Narmada district was sent on deputation to Jasadhar animal care centre in Gir (east) to treat infected lions and to control the outbreak.
(05-06-2020, 09:02 PM)OncaAtrox Wrote: It's also worth pointing out the lack of genetic diversity coupled with the lack of access to large prey is one of the main factors as to why Gir lions are significantly smaller on average than their counterparts in certain parts of Africa. Their dwarfism cause is similar to what happened to Siberian tigers.
Actually no, these are just assumptions we are making to fill the gaps... We don't know for sure.
There are other inbred populations like Ranthambore tigers or Crater lions that are famous for their size.
Amur tigers in the wild right now not visibly is any smaller. In all likelihood in the past their weight was exaggerated by hunters (also much of recent weighings are young adult tigers).
Gir lions actually rely most on large prey like Sambar, Nilgai from wild and Cows, buffalos, camels from livestock. Chital deer and boars are not preferred prey. If you consider the non-wild prey then it is almost similar in both. (Good study on this).
Much more than enough for small prides.
Their size isn't very different from African lions, especially females. But the weight difference between the two is considerable.
The main reasons for that would be the lesser prominence of sexual dimorphism in asiatic lions, bringing down the average weight for male lions.
According to the study, due to previous inbreeding Gir lions have 10 times lower testosterone than African lions. Their level of inbreeding clearly plays a role there and makes their appearance and genetics become more deteriorated than the ones in Africa, which is why imo they simply don't grow as big as they once did, and also why their morphology appears "rougher" than lions in Africa, especially if you look at their faces.
05-07-2020, 05:48 PM( This post was last modified: 05-07-2020, 07:57 PM by Rishi )
(05-07-2020, 04:53 PM)OncaAtrox Wrote: According to the study, due to previous inbreeding Gir lions have 10 times lower testosterone than African lions. Their level of inbreeding clearly plays a role there and makes their appearance and genetics become more deteriorated than the ones in Africa, which is why imo they simply don't grow as big as they once did, and also why their morphology appears "rougher" than lions in Africa, especially if you look at their faces.
(Disclaimer: We're both speculating here, so you might be right too.)
Actually the testosterone thing may also be attributed to the same reason they appear rougher... probably the highest level of intraspecies competition among lions in the world (old post, check it out) inducing EXTREME STRESS. It is quite well known that stress is the greatest external factor that affect testosterone levels.
You may notice that Gir's lions are much more "worn out" than lions from farther outward of Greater Gir, areas recently being colonised by small number of explorer lions. This is something that needs a study on.
Regarding size there is no indication that their size has reduced or if inbreeding has any effect, which is fair, given that will be hard to determine in a study. Inbreeding simply brings out recessive faulty genes, which would make the progeny of the animal most susceptible to diseases and inherited health issues. But if you take about a dozen animals and start inbreeding them their progeny will not suddenly become smaller, rather they will retain a very static average size.
There's some British hunting records suggesting lions of Gir and west towards Afghanistan and Iran were of this size, again not particularly smaller, maybe 5-10% average (another old post on it). Lions living eastwards may have been bigger.
@BorneanTiger @Lycaon are you guys aware of the asiatic lion body type classifications between Velar & Gadhio?.. This is nothing official, but something that goes on among the local trackers & Maldhari community of Kathiawar.
Velar is the tall, long & athletic ones, like this male who lives outside Devaliya safari.
Gadhio traits are short & stocky physique, dimensions close to a large lioness, like the Ambardi male.
(05-07-2020, 04:53 PM)OncaAtrox Wrote: According to the study, due to previous inbreeding Gir lions have 10 times lower testosterone than African lions. Their level of inbreeding clearly plays a role there and makes their appearance and genetics become more deteriorated than the ones in Africa, which is why imo they simply don't grow as big as they once did, and also why their morphology appears "rougher" than lions in Africa, especially if you look at their faces.
(Disclaimer: We're both speculating here, so you might be right too.)
Actually the testosterone thing may also be attributed to the same reason they appear rougher... probably the highest level of intraspecies competition among lions in the world (old post, check it out) inducing EXTREME STRESS. It is quite well known that stress is the greatest external factor that affect testosterone levels.
You may notice that Gir's lions are much more "worn out" than lions from farther outward of Greater Gir, areas recently being colonised by small number of explorer lions. This is something that needs a study on.
Regarding size there is no indication that their size has reduced or if inbreeding has any effect, which is fair, given that will be hard to determine in a study. Inbreeding simply brings out recessive faulty genes, which would make the progeny of the animal most susceptible to diseases and inherited health issues. But if you take about a dozen animals and start in breeding them their progeny will not suddenly become smaller, rather they will retain a very static average size.
There's some British hunting records suggesting lions of Gir and west towards Afghanistan and Iran were of this size, again not particularly smaller, maybe 5-10% average (another old post on it). Lions living eastwards may have been bigger.
@BorneanTiger @Lycaon are you guys aware of the asiatic lion body type classifications between Velar & Gadhio?.. This is nothing official, but something that goes on among the local trackers & Maldhari community of Kathiawar.
Velar is the tall, long & athletic ones, like this male who lives outside Devaliya safari.
Gadhio traits are short & stocky physique, dimensions close to a large lioness, like the Ambardi male.
Indeed, right now all we can do is speculate, and the stress theory is interesting as I've never looked it from that perspective. But keep in mind that ten times lower testosterone in male lions is a huge drop in DNA quality in contrast to other population. One of the main drivers for species extinction is the lack of genetic diversity because it atrophies with time the morphology and overall health of the offspring.
It appears as though these Gir lions are simply under a lot of pressure and don't have enough solid genetic diversity to reach the conditions of their ancestors. In my opinion, in order to truly save the Asiatic lion lineage there should be a program put in place to swap genes between captive and wild population and increase their genetic diversity.
There are definitely some big and beautiful lions there tho don't get me wrong, but I fear that if they don't diversify their genetics the population might be more susceptible to diseases and a lack of proper morphological growth.
(05-07-2020, 06:17 PM)OncaAtrox Wrote: In my opinion, in order to truly save the Asiatic lion lineage there should be a program put in place to swap genes between captive and wild population and increase their genetic diversity.
Absolutely yes, that right now is only viable thing we can do... Although unlike Amur tigers, who have a lot of genetic diversity stored within captive stock worldwide, all captive asiatic lions had been sourced from Gir post 1950.
While their population at Gir itself is too dense for introducing any (& competition is high enough to weed out any genetic weakness), we could/should introduce lions from captivity and different parts of Greater Gir to as many new potential sites with their state independent of the interstate.
The Kuno reintroduction plan is absolutely nauseatingly bad... to transfer 2-3 whole prides of related coalition males & lionesses, instead of pairing up random individuals from as many different areas of their range possible.
(11-26-2019, 10:43 PM)Rage2277 Wrote: Kuno, India’s second home for the Asiatic lion, is ready by Anup Dutta on 26 November 2019
Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno Palpur Wildlife sanctuary in Sheopur district is all set to be the new home for relocated Asiatic lions from Gir in Gujarat.
The action plan aims to guide the reintroduction program of the Asiatic lions in Kuno in a manner based on science and pro-active management.
The current carrying capacity of Kuno WLS is a maximum of 40 lions. Population Habitat Viability Analysis (PHVA) models for Kuno lions show that the lion population will be viable for a long-term only at a minimum figure of around 80 individuals.
“Still waiting for new beginning”. The words in bold, white, are painted alongside a mural of a lion and lioness, on a sign near the forest guest house in Palpur village inside the Kuno Palpur wildlife sanctuary in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The guest house overlooks Kuno river and offers a clear glimpse into the heart of the forest and the wildlife of the sanctuary. The sun shines bright on the landscape, welcoming a new day and perhaps the start of a new chapter for the sanctuary. After more than two decades of roadblocks, the Kuno Palpur wildlife sanctuary is ready as the new home for Asiatic lions, starting with those that are to be relocated from Gujarat’s Gir sanctuary, currently the only home of the Asiatic lions in India. In a recent visit over two days, Mongabay-India witnessed the revamped sanctuary. The areas of grassland habitat are ready to provide food for the animals that lions prey upon like nilgai (blue bull), chital (spotted deer), sambhar, chinkara. “The grass on the sites of the 24 villages that existed here and have already been relocated outside, as a part of the lion reintroduction program, have grown. There is no sign of human habitat. The villages have been developed into large grasslands, making the sanctuary almost free from human habitation for the free and flexible movements of lions,” Vijendra Shrivastav, sub-divisional officer, Kuno Palpur (West) Wildlife Sanctuary told Mongabay-India as he spoke about the preparations of the sanctuary to receive lions from Gir wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat. “We are asking just for two pride of lions that typically includes a male, three to five females and their young cubs. On successful relocation, the family of lions will access the unused habitats and will also increase the seasonal mast availability for wildlife in the sanctuary and diversity.”
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Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno Palpur Wildlife sanctuary is all set to be the new home for relocated Asiatic lions from Gir in Gujarat. Photo by Anup Dutta.
It has been 29 years since Kuno Palpur was identified as the site for the relocation of Asiatic lions, from their last habitat in Gujarat, to protect them from extinction. Currently, there are 523 (as per the last census carried out in 2015) lions in Gir and this relocation project was supposed to have been completed by 2020. The “Action plan for the reintroduction of the Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) in Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary – Draft 2016” prepared by the expert committee for translocations of lions from Gir to Kuno Sanctuary observed that the “last free-ranging population of approximately 523 Asiatic lions Panthera leo persica are found in the 22,000 square kilometre of the Gir landscape in Gujarat, western India. Carnivore populations restricted to single sites face a variety of extinction threats from genetic and stochastic environmental factors.” The draft is now under implementation. Catastrophes such as an epidemic, an unexpected decline in prey, natural calamities or retaliatory killings could result in the extinction of the lion population when they are restricted to single populations, the action plan adds. Reintroduction of Asiatic lions to an alternative site to ensure their long-term viability has become a major conservation agenda since the late-1950s. Failure of the first attempt of the Asiatic lion reintroduction in India (Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary of Uttar Pradesh) in the 1960s has been ascribed to the lack of an a priori scientific study on lion prey base, habitat requirements, local people’s attitude and a post-release monitoring program, notes the plan. In the early 1990s, after ecological assessment of some protected areas within the historical range of lions was undertaken, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) identified Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary (Kuno WLS) in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh as the most potential reintroduction site. Subsequently, between 1996 and 2001, 23 villages were resettled from inside the identified Kuno sanctuary by the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department (MPFD) and an area of about 1,280 square km was demarcated as Kuno wildlife division. A new home for the Asiatic lion is finally materialising Located in north Madhya Pradesh, Kuno was one of the hunting grounds of the royal families of the region and was notified as a sanctuary in 1981. “The sanctuary is classified under the semi-arid – Gujarat Rajputana biogeographic zone,” a senior forest officer of the Madhya Pradesh’s forest department said. According to Azad Singh Dabhas, a retired forest officer, “in the 1990s, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) took up the matter of finding an alternative home for the species and identified Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary as the most suitable site.” He explained that the idea was that in case of catastrophes such as an endemic, an unexpected decline in prey, natural calamities or retaliatory killings could result in the extinction of threatened species which are restricted to a single site – Gir National Park in Gujarat. Between 1996 and 2001 the Madhya Pradesh Government relocated 23 villages containing 1,547 families from Kuno Sanctuary in preparation for the new lion population. “Not a single incidence of poaching and human-animal conflict has been reported in the last three years,” said a senior official of the sanctuary. Though the sanctuary is inhabited by carnivores such as leopard, wolf, jackal, Indian fox and striped hyena, in the last over two decades, the population of chital, sambar, nilgai, chinkara, wild pig, chowsingha, and blackbuck are found in abundance.
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A view of the Kuno river flowing through Kuno Palpur Wildlife sanctuary. Photo by Anup Dutta
“One of the major challenges was of the sites of the relocated villages to develop them into grasslands. The sites of the relocated villages have developed into large grasslands, extending in size to as much as 1,500 ha in some cases,” said Shrivastav. According to Atul Chouhan, Kuno Sangharsh Samiti, “The state tourism department is successfully running a three-star hotel located on the Shivpuri Highway. A large number of visitors prefer to stay in the forest guest house, which is located inside the Kuno Reserve and is around 25 kilometres from the Tiktoli, the entry gate to the Kuno Reserve. Round the year more than 2,000 visitors come to Kuno Reserve. And the number of visitors to Kuno is rising up. If, lions are going to be introduced in Kuno Reserve the footfall is certainly going to rise.” The Samiti, now with about 2,000 members, was formed by like-minded people of Sheopur district in 2009-10 after the Gujarat government refused to share lions. The Samiti, along with the forest dwellers who were shifted from the sanctuary have held protests, submitted memorandums to the government alleging that they sacrificed their ancestral homes and land in a way to provide a safe place for the lions. They demanded that the government should respect their sacrifice and take constructive efforts to introduce lions in Kuno Palpur. Chouhan wants the government to involve youth of the villages in tourism activities by training them as field guides of the sanctuary. From the 24 villages, a total of 1,545 families were affected. The villagers were relocated to Karhal tehsil of Sheopur district. “We have left our ancestral homes, anticipating that we are doing it for a bigger cause by understanding the need of the government to provide a safe place for lions and conversation of our natural heritage. But, what we have received nothing in return. There are no signs of lions being introduced in the Kuno. The government has done injustice with us,” said Kapoor Singh Yadav, a resident of village Naya Paron situated on the Sheopur-Shivpuri State Highway. Yadav, along with his family members and 50 odd families of village Paron, which was situated inside the Kuno Palpur Sanctuary, shifted to the new location in 2004.
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Panoramic view of Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary. The current carrying capacity of the area is a maximum of 40 lions. Photo by Anup Dutta.
Gujarat’s reluctance to relocate the lions As per the action plan, the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) endorsed the lion reintroduction program in Kuno. However, the proposal met with resistance from the Gujarat Forest Department (GFD) which was reluctant to provide founder lions from Gir for reintroduction purposes. An affidavit was also filed before the Supreme Court of India objecting the lion reintroduction. Gujarat government has been refusing to give lions to Madhya Pradesh alleging that it would not be safe to shift the mighty beast to a state which has failed to protect its own tiger population. After legal tangles spanning for almost two decades, the apex court finally gave its verdict in April 2013 and explicitly directed the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India (GoI) to expedite the lion reintroduction in Kuno in compliance with the IUCN guidelines of carnivore reintroduction. Accordingly, the 2016 draft action plan was developed under the directives of the Additional Director General (Wildlife) to guide a successful lion reintroduction in Kuno. The plan, now under implementation, enlists various ecological, biological, management and social facets in accordance with the IUCN/SSC guidelines to develop a time-bound protocol essential for implementing the reintroduction program. Some management actions recommended in the action plan are concomitant and should continue for long-term, it notes.
*This image is copyright of its original author
For now, Gir is the last refuge of the Asian lion population. A second home is essential to save the Asiatic lions. Photo by Kalyan Varma.
Gir in Gujarat is the last refuge of the Asian lion population. According to the 14th Lion Estimation Population Report, the lion population has increased by 27 percent from 411 in 2010 to 523 in 2015. The increase in lion numbers inside the protected area has been just six percent (as of 337 to 356), however, the rise outside has been higher 126 percent (from 74 to 167). A large number of lions wander outside the Gir National Park in the eco-sensitive zone of the Gir Protected Area. In 2018, when the deaths of 23 lions in Gir took place, the Gujarat government maintained it to be a one-off incident. The government allegedly refused to touch and go in deep to dig out the medical analytical cause behind the deaths. After the incident, the Gujarat government launched a Rs. 350 crore (Rs. 3.5 billion) lion conservation project. The project was reviewed by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in July 2019, when, during rains visuals of lion frisking in the urban areas of Gir Forest hit social media. The reintroduction plan The expert committee has suggested a four-phase plan for the reintroduction of lion in Kuno which involves organisational commitments, ecological monitoring and quantifying social carrying capacity of lion reintroduction, followed by capture, translocation and soft release of lions in Kuno, post-reintroduction monitoring & research, conflict mitigation, followed with an annual review of the project. The first three phases would be undertaken over a period of two years, after which, upto the next 20 years or so the plan highlights genetic management & supplementation, under which six lions (two males and four females) should be supplemented in the Kuno population from Gir until 16-20 years from the first reintroduction at an interval of 4 years. The report maintains, carnivore reintroduction is an appropriate conservation strategy to restore the integrity of ecosystems. However, many pitfalls exist that can result in the total or partial failure of a reintroduction program and can potentially waste valuable and limited resources. Lion population could reach a capacity of 80 individuals in 30 years According to Kuno divisional forest officer, current habitat management initiatives by Madhya Pradesh Forest Department (MPFD) inside Kuno WLS such as weed eradication, fire management, grassland management, waterhole management etc. would continue so as to enhance nutritional carrying capacity for wild ungulates, which would serve as a prey base for the lions Although the current carrying capacity of lions at Kuno WLS is a maximum of 40 lions, Population Habitat Viability Analysis (PHVA) models for Kuno lions show that the lion population will be viable for long- term only at a minimum figure of around 80 individuals. Expecting approximately a realised growth that has been observed for recovering tiger populations, along with supplementation every four years from Gir; the lion population in Kuno WLS should reach the current carrying capacity of 40 within 15 years. To reach the required self-sustaining population size of 80 lions, the time required would be close to 30 years. https://india.mongabay.com/2019/11/kuno-...Wt_REnB41I
OMG!! How long will this take, my god. When will they put lions in Kuno. The largest sentence says, "the time required close to 30 years" So they will put lions in Kuno 30 years later?? I will have kids by then.
Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos
