Indian Lions Moving out of Gir Sanctuary

Indian Lions Moving out of Gir Sanctuary
It has been reported from India that at least 6 lions have recently left The Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary and relocated themselves some 50 miles to the Amreli region. There have been increasing reports of lions, sometimes in prides, roaming outside the boundaries of Gir Forest.
As the lion population in Gir grows, coupled with increasing encroachment into the park iteslf, it is inevitable that the lions will succumb to that pressure, and start to wander outside the sanctuary. New Habitat Required The pressue on Gir heightens the need for new habitat to be designated for the Asiatic lions. There are roughly 359 Asiatic Lions living in Gir forest today. However the conservation success over the last 50 years means that there are now more lions than there is room in Gir. Many of the Lions have been straying outside the sanctuary due to the population pressure, so the State and Central Government are planning to add 300 sq. km more area to the existing 1460 sq. km. In last two decades two regions have been added to the area of National Park, but there is now urgent need for a further expansion. There have also been plans made to create a second reserve, which would help protect the still severely endangered lions from outbreaks of disease, but these plans seems to have stalled at the moment.

Cub Mania in Japan:

Cub Mania in Japan:
Zoos in Japan are celebrating the arrival of newborn lion and cheetah cubs at the beginning of a warm spring.
One rare lion cub, born on 11th February, made his first public appearance on the 21st of March.
The precious Indian lion cub, also known as the Asiatic lion, was very weak and put in an infant incubator immediately and the zoo has decided to raise the cubs.
Two cubs were born but the sibling died after the birth.
Scampering around, the seven-week-old Indian lion is being treated like the "prince" of the zoo because he is the first male cub in eight years.
On Wednesday, he was named "Raja" deriving from the Hindi word for "King".
The cub rested its front paws on the milk bottle as proud father Shunichiro Tajima fed the cub like he does everyday.
The rare cub has been nurtured by the zoo keeper and have grown to a healthy 5198 grammes.
In the past eight years, male cubs were born but none of them survived. Raja is the proud survivor of the Zoorasia. His older brother is housed at Ueno Zoo at Tokyo.
The cubs are particularly special because they are so rare - there are barely 500 of the species still in existence - 300 in the wild and 200 in captivity.

Japan goes ga-ga over baby lion.

Japan goes ga-ga over baby lion.
Monday, 31 March, 2008
Meet Japan's latest animal star. The five-kilo baby lion-cub, born only a month ago on February 11, is greeted with squeals and coos from the crowds at the Zoorasia Yokohama zoological gardens at every public appearance he makes. "He was so cute. I cannot say anything more," said 33-year-old Yuri Horiuchi, one of hundreds of visitors at one of his twice a week public showings, who jokingly added that the lion cub was cuter than her two daughters. "I am glad that I can take many photographs of the baby lion before he grows much, much bigger in just a short time," added 10-year-old Natsumi Yoshida. While some other animals may pout at all the fuss surrounding him, this little cub may deserve most of it. Rare species The tiny lion cub is of a rare subspecies of lions called the Asiatic lion. Only 350 individuals are known to survive in the wild and are distinct from the African lions seen in most zoos. The last of the Asiatic lions now mostly live in the state of Gujarat, India therefore going by the name of "Indian lion" in Japan. Once king of the animal kingdom from the Mediterranean to the borders of Bangladesh, this big cat has been hunted for sport, killed by farmers trying to protect their livestock and basically chased from their habitats by humans to the point of being now critically endangered. For the zoo keepers in Yokohama, 45 kilometres outside the Japanese capital Tokyo, this new born pussy cat deserves the full star treatment. It is, after all, also the first Asiatic lion cub born country. "His mother is not only unaccustomed to raising a child but also a bit too old as a lion to raise a child. Yet to be named So after discussions, we decided to raise him by ourselves because it would enhance his survival probability," said Shunichiro Tajima, one of the zoo keepers in charge of the lion cub. But while it is just about starting taking baby steps to being the carnivore it is, with its first small morsel of horse meat eaten recently, this kitty is still just a little ball of fur and prefers to lap up specially-treated cat's milk from its trainer. It has, however, no name yet. Zoo officials have set aside three already – Suraj, Dost and Raja (meaning respectively "sun", "friend' and "king" in Hindi) but are asking the public to make the final decision in a vote on March 31st.