Asiatic Lion or Asian Lion

Asiatic Lion or Asian Lion is one of the two subspecies of lions extant.
Amongst the most regal animals on earth, the Asiatic Lion or Asian Lion is one of the two subspecies of lions extant. Slightly smaller than its African cousin, the Asiatic Lion is under dire threat as a subspecies and is struggling for survival. Its origin as a subspecies is relatively recent in evolutionary terms, occurring one hundred thousand years ago. Panthera Leo Persica, the great cat once roamed over a range extending from Greece to South Asia, but relentless human persecution has meant it is now restricted to a single reserve in the west Indian state of Gujarat, by name of Gir Forest.


Apart from size, the other features that distinguish the Asian Lion from African Lion include a bushier coat, smaller mane that exposes their ears, a central skin fold that runs across the belly and longer tufts of hair at elbows and tip of tail. Weight is in the range of four to five hundred pounds for males and two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty pounds for females. Body length is between six to seven feet excluding a three foot tail, with females being smaller, though larger individuals of around nine feet have been recorded.

Asiatic Lions live in dry deciduous forests and scrub lands of the isolated Gir Forest of slightly over one thousand square kilometers. Between three hundred to three hundred and fifty individual cats exist in this sanctuary in an overcrowded environment, often straying outside park boundaries and coming into conflict with locals. Prey includes Spotted Deer, Sambhar, Goat, Nilgai, Buffaloes and even some smaller animals. Cattle are often attacked and killed and so are camels, bringing them under ire of locals. Attacks on humans are more frequent these days owing to the shrinking habitat and growing numbers of lions, pushing them more often into bordering human territories. Social animals, Asian Lions live in smaller pride units than their African counterparts. A couple of females live with one to two males who are somewhat solitary and come together when the family dines. The lesser numbers in prides in these lions are often attributed to the smaller prey animals that are available to these hunters, making it difficult for the social cats to share in large numbers. Hunting is cooperative and chiefly done by females, with males joining at times to bring down bigger prey like buffalo.

Also known as Persian Lions (during their period of existence in Persia) and Indian Lions, these majestic big cats have only one sanctuary on the planet, the Gir Protected Area of Indian Gujarat. Millions of dollars have been spent in creating a separate reserve in Kuno-Palpur National Park in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh but the State Government of Gujarat refuses to lend a few of its lions to populate the new sanctuary which is now believed to be ready to receive its first batch of the great cats. It is widely believed that the Gujarat Government wants to keep its monopoly on the tourist trade by keeping its troubled lions jammed in the only place in the world where they can be sighted in the wild, thus bringing the entire subspecies into risk through inbreeding. Furthermore, a single epidemic or environmental catastrophe can wipe out the entire wild population of the last lions of Asia.

Asiatic lions begin to mate with the coming of winter in October and November. Pregnancy lasts near three and a half months (one hundred and three days) following which a litter of three to four cubs is born. The young are introduced to a solid diet at three months and begin hunting at nine months of age. They gain independence when they are an year old. Maturity is reached between three to four years of age. A female can successfully reproduce once every two years. Lifespan is up to seventeen years in the wild and twenty four years in captivity.

Nearly a century ago rampant hunting had led to disappearance of lions from everywhere except the Gir Forest where a handful remained. At that time, the local ruler of Junagadh, perhaps under advice from the then Viceroy of India, placed a ban on hunting of lions. The ban has continued since then and the lion population has increased over the years. However, the threats they face today are plentiful. Chief among them is the fact that they have limited genetic variability since they have only originated from a few dozen ancestors. This makes them particularly vulnerable to disease. Another problem are the local people who are cattle owners and are having an adverse impact on wild prey population through overgrazing of their animals. Plus there are thousands of wells in the forest dug by locals into which the lions frequently fall and die. Only recently has the government started to raise their boundary walls through collaboration with NGOs. Many farmers have erected illegal electrical fences to protect their fields from herbivores. A number of lions have thus died as a result of accidental electrocution from these high voltage barricades. Recently it was reported that a tribe of poachers consisting of hundreds of people has camped next to the lion sanctuary. The same individuals are reported to be responsible for the killing of tigers that has resulted in the plummeting of Bengal Tiger population in India. Officials are taking action and forest guards are on the vigil but lions continue to be shot and poisoned regularly, resulting in the loss of dozens of these extremely rare animals annually. To add to the misery of the big cats, roads and even railway tracks have been laid across the park, meaning that the already inbreeding lions are forced to live in even smaller fragmented pockets.

The rapid expansion of India, according to many, has led to the weakening of authority of the central Government over its provinces. Both the tiger and the vanishing lions of India are suffering as a result. Unless a less selfish approach is adapted by the Gujarat state and separate reserves are populated by the Asiatic Lions, the fate of these spectacular cats hangs in the balance, their current classification being Critically Endangered.

Seventy mines to be closed near Junagadh

Seventy mines to be closed near Junagadh
Gujarat Samachar
Briefly Translated from Gujarati
Recently Girnar forest having 192 km2 is declared as Wildlife sanctuary in a move to protect Asiatic Lions. As per Supreme Court directions mining activity is not allowed within 5 kms of any WLS. Hence Dept. of Mines & Minerals have started issuing notice for closure of mines on Bilkha road.
Mine owners say that if they have NOC of forest Dept they can do the mining. Also they say that wild animals are not coming near mines and that mines are located after Visawadar Road & Railway track. Thus mines should be allowed.
There are about 70 mines in Plaswa, Vijapur, Dungarpur, Toraniya and Padariya village near Junagadh. It produces about 200 truck loads of lime stones with a daily turn-over of 10 Lac Rupees. It employs over 5000 labours.
District Geologist officer Shree Mulle said that those mine owners who bring NOC from forest office will be allowed to do mining.

Prey base to be widened to check human-big cat conflict

Prey base to be widened to check human-big cat conflict
BASHIR PATHAN
Gandhinagar, July 08Government increases compensation for injuries, death and loss of cattle in leopard attacks
Frequent incidents of leopard attacks on humans have sent alarm bells ringing in the Gujarat Forest department. It has now launched concerted measures to check such incidents across the state. One of these measures includes setting up of breeding centres to increase the prey-base in the forest areas where frequent leopard attacks are reported.
The leopard population in Gujarat was estimated at 999 in the 2002 census, which rose to around 1,070 in 2006. According to a senior forest official, around 80 people have lost their lives and about 600 others have sustained injuries in leopard attacks across the state in the last 12 years, with most of the victims being from central Gujarat, mainly in the tribal-dominated Panchmahals district.
PCCF (Wildlife) Pradeep Khanna said they have already started setting up breeding centres in the forest areas in a bid to create an adequate prey-base for leopards. One such centre has already been set up in the Barda forests in Saurashtra, and another one is proposed in the Dangs, he said.
He said during summers, the big cats often stray out of their habitats in search of water as forest areas particularly in central and north Gujarat face acute water shortage. "As such, the department has now decided to create water holes in the forest areas," said Khanna, adding that "villagers are also being educated on how to protect themselves from the panthers".
Gujarat Forest and Environment Minister Mangubhai Patel told The Indian Express on Tuesday that there has been an increase in leopard attacks of late, mostly due to a shrinking prey-base and increasing human interference in the forests areas.
He expressed serious concern over the Monday incident in which four people sustained serious injuries in a leopard attack at Ratanpur village in Dhanduka taluka of Ahmedabad district. "I have directed senior officials of my department to launch efforts to check such incidents," the minister said.
Former state Chief Wildlife Warden G A Patel said the increasing unauthorised cultivation in forest areas along with dwindling forest cover and human interference were prompting the big cats to attack humans.
"The forest department will have to chalk out a detailed plan to curb the increasing human activities in the forest areas, improve the forest cover and augment the prey-base to avoid animal-man conflicts. There is an urgent need to increase the number of herbivorous animals like chital, wild boar, chowsingha, deer and languor so as to create an adequate prey-base for the leopards," said Patel. He is presently on the five-member panel set up by the Union Environment and Forest Ministry for "Rationalisation of Boundaries of National Parks and Sanctuaries".
Patel added that leopard attacks on humans are rarely reported from the Gir forest area where there is sufficient prey-base available. The population of angulets in the Gir forests is estimated at over 70,000, making a sizeable prey-base for not only leopards, but also for the world famous Asiatic Lions. The Gir forest has over 250 leopards.
Meanwhile, the department has also decided to increase the compensation amount for minor and grievous injuries in leopard attacks. The compensation amount has been raised from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for minor injuries and from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 for grievous injuries caused to humans by the big cats. The compensation in case of a loss of human life in a leopard attack has been fixed at Rs one lakh.
Similarly, the compensation for herbivorous animals killed in leopard attacks has increased by 40 per cent.
A compensation of Rs 8,000 and 5,000 has been fixed for a milch cow and buffalo. The compensation for a bull aged over two years has been fixed at Rs 6,000. For a younger bull, the amount is now Rs 3,500. The compensation rates for cattle have been fixed at Rs 550 for sheep, Rs 425 for goat, Rs 5,000 for camel and Rs 7,500 for horse.