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.

Asiatic LionPanthera leo persicus

Asiatic LionPanthera leo persicus
Size: Weight: Male 160-190 Kg; Female 110-120 Kg. Length (head and body): Male 170-250 cm; Female 140-175 cm. The largest Asiatic Lion on record measured 2.9 m from nose to tail-tip. Shoulder height: Male 100-123 cm; Female 80-107 cm.
Habitat and Distribution: Dry scrubland and open deciduous forest habitats. This species used to be found across the whole of Northern Africa, south west Asia and northern Greece. Today, there are only around 350 individuals left, found only in the Gir forest reserve in Gujarat, northern India.
Age: Females live on average 17-18 years whilst males live for around 16 years. In captivity, they can live up to 30 years.
Groups and Breeding: Lions are sociable and often live in large groups known as prides (although some are nomads living alone or in pairs). These prides consist of related females and their young, together with a coalition of 1-4 males. The females are responsible for catching most of their food and hunt together in packs.
When lions mate, the females are ‘super fecund’, this means that they can mate with more than one male and the cubs that are subsequently born in the same litter can have different fathers. During a mating bout, which could last several days, the couple frequently copulate twenty to forty times a day and are likely to forego hunting. In captivity lions reproduce very well. Gestation lasts 100-119 days and the female gives birth to a litter of one to six cubs. The females in a pride often synchronize their reproductive cycles so that they cooperate in the raising and suckling of the young. Cubs are weaned after six to seven months, but competition for food and infanticide from males taking over prides means that in the wild, 80 per cent. of cubs die before the age of 2 years.
Diet: These are carnivorous animals and will feed on almost any animal from rodents through to large ungulates. However, larger animals such as deer, antelope, wild boar, and buffalo form the largest part of their diet. An adult female lion needs about 5 kg of meat per day, a male about 7 kg but they can gorge up to twice this amount when food is scarce.
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Did you know ?
# In 2005 only 359 individual Asiatic Lions were found in the wild. Possible reasons for such small numbers include hunting for the hide, sport and their claws, poisoning and conflict with humans for attacking livestock, loss of habitat and threats by floods, fires and epidemics.
#Lions can reach speeds of about 37 miles per hour, but they lack the stamina to be long-distance runners, so they have to come within about 30m of their prey before starting their attack.
#A lion's roar can be heard up to 6 miles away. This is used to let other members of the pride know where they are and to mark their territory to other males.
#A lion’s mane is thought to make it look bigger and therefore deter other potential predators and also makes them more attractive to females. Scientists have discovered that females prefer males with fuller and darker manes. The Asiatic Lion’s mane is smaller than an African Lion’s and does not hide its ears.
#Lions are very territorial and can have bitter fights for land and for dominance of the prides. Many lions bear deep scars and teeth marks from fights.
#During the breeding season, lions can mate up to 700 times!
#A lion’s territory can be up to 150 square miles, depending on availability of prey species and peer pressure. They will mark their boundaries with urine and faeces.
#Lions may spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping to get away from the heat of the day and to preserve energy for the following day’s hunting.
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Panthera leo persicus is Asiatic lion

Asiatic lion
Scientific name: Panthera leo persicus
Country: India
Continent: Asia
Diet: Asiatic lions feed on wild pigs, cattle, antelope and deer in the wild. At the Zoo they are fed meat, raw eggs and a smear of marmite a week, to get a balance of vitamins. They are fed 6 days out of 7, as this reflects their natural behaviour in the wild where they would not successfully catch prey every day.
Food & feeding: Carnivore
Habitats: Tropical dry forest, tropical grassland, desert and semi-desert.
Conservation status: Critically Endangered
Relatives: African lion, Tiger, Domestic cat
Description: Asiatic lions have a shaggier coat than their African counterparts, and both sexes have a distinctive fold of skin that runs along the belly. They have a longer tassel of hair on the end of the tail and longer tufts of hair on the elbows. Males are 1.7-2.5 m long and weigh 150-250 kg. While females are 1.4-1.75 m in length and weigh in at 120-182 kg. Like all cats they are equipped with powerful retractable claws and long sharp canine teeth that are used in dragging their prey to the ground.
Lifestyle: Like African lions, hunting is a cooperative affair but adult males rarely participate. If vegetation is sparse, hunting usually takes place at night, but where it is thick, it may also take place during the day. The lions use stealth to approach their prey and then charge and either grab or knock it down before it outruns them. Only one in about four charges ends successfully. Lions are inactive for most of the day, spending up to 20 hours per day resting or sleeping.
Family & friends: Like their African cousins, Asian lions are highly social animals, living in units called prides. However, the Asiatic pride is much smaller, with an average of only 2 females compared to the African pride, which has an average of four to six. The males are also less social and only associate with the pride when mating or on a large kill. It has been suggested that this may be because of the smaller prey available in Gir. Small prey mean less animals are needed to hunt them down, and there would be less meat to share between more lions if the prides were larger.
Keeping in touch: As you can often hear when walking by Bristol Zoo Gardens in the late evening, Asiatic lions often communicate by roaring late in the day and into the night.
Growing up: Females reach sexual maturity at 2 to 4 years of age. They normally have 2 to 4 cubs after a gestation period of 100-119 days. The cubs start eating meat at about 3 months of age while continuing to suckle for up to 6 months. They spend 9 months perfecting their hunting techniques, become independent aged one and reach maturity at 3 to 4 years. Cub mortality is high, up to 80% may die before 2 years of age. They can live for about 17 years in the wild and up to 24 in captivity.
Did you know?
Although fearsome predators, Asiatic lions in the past have rarely attacked humans. But in recent years attacks on humans have been on the increase. The reason seems to be that restricting the entry of cattle that previously roamed the park has left the lions lacking a key food source, and hungry lions sometimes look to humans, whose numbers in the area have increased dramatically, for their next meal.
Conservation news
Conservation news: The Asiatic lion was once found in Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Middle East and most of India. It became extinct in Europe around 100 A.D. and in Palestine around the time of the Crusades. It remained widespread until the time of the advent of firearms in the mid 1800s, which led to widespread extinction through hunting as a sport. In 1900, the Nawab of Junagadh, the local ruler, declared the few remaining lions of the Gir forest in India protected animals. The Nawab told everyone that there were only 20 remaining to prevent people from going to the Gir to hunt them. The population was estimated to be around 100 between 1968 and 1979 but is now thought to be more than double this. However, the forest is now approaching the limit of the number of lions that it can support and other safe havens for Asiatic lions in India are sorely needed. One suggested location is the Barda Hills near Porbandar. The Gir Forest is a dry deciduous forest in Gujarat, western India. Its wildlife sanctuary is 545 square miles with only the central 100 square miles completely protected as a National Park. About 7,500 Maldhari people and their 14,000 cattle live in the Forest Sanctuary, with a further 160,000 people and 100,000 cattle living within 6 miles of the Sanctuary. As there are so few Asiatic lions, it is necessary to manage the captive and wild populations if the species is to recover. It is essential to ensure that all the lions are pure bred and that pairs are not closely related to one another. Bristol Zoo Gardens is actively involved in this programme.
Animals at Bristol Zoo
Our Asiatic lions are Moti (female) and Chandra (male). Moti was born at Helsinki Zoo in July 1994 and came to Bristol Zoo Gardens in 1996. Chandra was born at Chester Zoo in October 1994 and came to us from Cotswold Wildlife Park in 1996. Two cubs were born at Bristol Zoo Gardens in August 1998, Indi and Dacca, and a third in August 2001, Aiesha. They have since grown up and moved to other Zoos as part of a conservation breeding programme, coordinated by London Zoo.