The Asiatic lion news archive - 2003

Stories relating to the Asiatic lion and updates on the captive breeding programme from 2003.

DATELINE: June 20, 2003
Gir space crunch driving lions out

While it is known that the number of Asiatic lions is on the rise, what is interesting is that their population in the Gir Protected Area (comprising the Gir National Park and Gir Wildlife Sanctuary) has remained relatively constant, and it is the peripheral areas where their number is rising.

‘‘Lion sightings are being recorded in areas where they were previously not seen. These are mainly the areas which years back served as their habitat before they were driven into Gir,’’ says H.S. Singh, Director of Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation.

A total of 327 animals were registered in and around the protected area by the State Forest Department in the recent census. Of these, 271 were sighted in GPA while 56 were found in surrounding areas. Much to the surprise of wildlife experts, 29 lions were seen in Bhavnagar circle. Six of the big cats were sighted in Bhavnagar’s Hipawadli village, which is 40 km from the GPA.

Deputy Conservator of Forests (Gir West) Mahesh Singh says: ‘‘The lions are migrating to newer areas. This is mainly because the GPA has reached saturation as far as its carrying capacity is concerned. New entrants are being driven out by the existing population. Migration is being observed since the last decade as the lion population has increased considerably.

Another reason for the migration is believed to be the easy availability of prey. In the GPA, lions mainly feed on herbivorous animals. In peripheral areas there is livestock to feed on because of the dense human settlements. ‘‘They get food easily and so prefer to stay there,’’ says Singh.

It has been suggested that forests on the periphery of GPA be developed to help the lion population. Now there is a fresh reminder that such action is needed urgently. Two lionesses, aged six and seven, were recently found dead on the periphery of the sanctuary.

While villagers say the lionesses had drowned, officials suspect these were electrocuted when they came in contact with electrified fences around the fields.

Though the post-mortem has attributed the deaths to drowning, the doctor who conducted the autopsies said finding the exact cause of death was difficult as the bodies had decomposed.

Source: Stavan Desai, The Indian Express