Indian lion staff get insurance

Indian lion staff get insurance
By Sunil Raman BBC News, Delhi
A new initiative in the Indian state of Gujarat will soon see forest staff in the country's only reserve of Asiatic lions get insurance cover.
At present there is no cover available to thousands of forest personnel who work in wildlife parks in the state.
Forest personnel who die on duty or who are injured have little access to financial help - which has lowered morale and affected recruitment.
But the death of 19 lions last year has led to the launch of the initiative.
'Boost morale'
It is the brainchild of the Gujarat government and a non-governmental organisation, Wildlife Trust of India.
It comes into being after years of discussions between the state government and the trust, which has long argued that such a scheme would "motivate and boost the morale" of forest personnel.
Similar schemes for wildlife staff operate in other parts of India.
"The scheme was started in 2001 and is the only one of its kind that has paid 40 death claims to families of forest guards killed fighting poachers and in accidents involving wild animals while protecting forests," the trust's website says.
The insurance plan was approved by the Gujarat government earlier this month.
It will be financed entirely by the trust, in return for employees each paying 70 rupees (around $2) premium.
The policy will cover the insured person against accident or death when on duty for 100,000 rupees (around $2,000).
The Gujarat government is now in the process of collating information about the number of staff working in Gir - the country's only Asiatic lion reserve - and other wildlife parks, officials say.
Another rare animal, the wild ass, is located in the Rann of Kutch in the eastern part of the state.
The trust's Rakesh Kumar Singh said a large number of posts in the forest department are vacant at the moment.
"Most forest staff do not want to go and work in parks, as they do not want to endanger their lives," he said.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6753773.stmPublished: 2007/06/14 17:03:18 GMT© BBC MMVIII

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.