Gir (Gujarat): Once upon a time, the Asiatic lion roared across the Asian continent like in Persia and Arabian Peninsula but unhindered poaching and destruction of their natural habitat confined them to Gir in Gujarat today. As the world celebrates International Lion Day, Gir is considered to be the only place in Asia after Africa where the Lion is considered to be the safest.
The initiative of preserving the Asiatic Lions were first taken up in 1910 and 1911 by the Nawab of Junagadh as he banned the hunting when their numbers reduced to a precarious double digit. In a nutshell, it was the Nawab of Junagadh, who first started the project to protect the lions in 1911. After that, the state forest department became vigilant to increase the lion population and the number of lions in Gir is the highest ever so far.
The number of lions in Gir has been steadily increasing since 1911 and now there are about 674 lions living in the forest of Gir region. Conservation of forest area is also considered to be very important behind their growing population. In the year 1990, 284 lions were seen in the forest of 300 sq km area while in the year 2020, 674 lions are living in the area of 30,000 sq km. This journey started in the year 1911 and till today, it is showing good results.
Apparently, lions are seen in 53 talukas of nine districts of Saurashtra. The credit for such great success also goes to the local Maldharis living in Gir. The Forest Department is doing some precise work on the food, water and security of the lions. Asiatic Lions which was seen in Junagadh at that time, is now crossed borders and is seen in the adjoining districts area of Amreli, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Gir Somnath. The continuous breeding of lions in Gir and the protection of lions as well as the efforts of the government and the forest department to stop the illegal deforestation have succeeded in making the king of the forest in the Gir area to live secured.
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In the year 1965, Sasan Singh Sadan was started to attract tourists. Every year, around six lakh tourists flock to see this magnificent animal in its natural habitat. Due to the positive response from tourists to the lion sightings and the curiosity of the people towards the lion and the need to see and know the lion up close, the Forest Department has started Devdia Ambardi and Girnar Nature Safari apart from Sasan with the efforts of the state government.
With the breeding of lions, the number of deaths of lions increases to 120 per year. Some of these deaths are due to the age-related issues. Some lions have died due to illness, some perished in in-fighting while some unfortunate lions died in the accidents. Although about 150 lions are dying in Gir every year, the number of lions is increasing by 20 to 30 per cent every five years. Even in the forest area, the habitat of lions is increasing by more than 20% every five years. The Asiatic lion enjoys a stroll from Greater Gir to Porbandar and even Chotila near Rajkot.
Chief Conservator D T Vasavada told ETV Bharat that "Tourists are attracted to Devlia Ambardi and Girnar Nature Safaris including Sasan, for the excitement of watching lions gigantically strolling in their habitat. At Sasan Singh Darshan, an estimated 3 to 4 lakh tourists come to see the lions every year. More than Rs.11 crore revenue is generated and these lions are protected with modern technology like radio caller GPS and CCTV to ensure their complete safety," he said.
