The number of Asiatic lions in the Gir forest region has increased by 29 per cent to 674, the Gujarat forest department said.

PM Narendra Modi also shared the news on Twitter, hailing the development and attributing the rise in numbers to community participation.

The Gujarat forest department carried out a ‘population estimation exercise’ on the night of June 5 and 6 when there was a full moon. The exercise was undertaken as the five yearly census could not be carried out in May due to the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown, the department said.

As per the May 2015 census, there were 523 Asiatic lions in Gir, an increase of 27 per cent from 2010.

Asiatic lion

The Asiatic lion is one of the 21 critically endangered species identified by the government for taking up recovery programmes. 

Asiatic lion population estimate is an integral part of wildlife management in the area known as Asiatic Lion Landscape, which includes Gir National Park and Sanctuary, falling in eight districts — Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Rajkot, Gir Somnath, Botad and Jamnagar. 

Asiatic lion is endangered species, scheduled at Schedule-I in Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 which is present in the local areas of Asiatic Lion Landscape. 

The free ranging lions today exist as two disjunct populations: Panthera leo leo in Africa and Panthera leo persica in India. The former are presently found in savannah habitats across sub-Saharan Africa. 

The government notified the large geographical extent of ‘Sasan Gir’ as a wildlife sanctuary on September 18, 1965 in order to conserve the Asiatic lion. It covers a total area of 1,412 sq km of which 258 km forms the core area of the National Park. 

The Gir forest is well known all over the world for the only wild gene pool and for the last home of the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica). The only surviving free-ranging population of the Asiatic lion exists in the Gir forest.  

How was the survey conducted?

The ‘Poonam Avlokan’ (full-moon night estimation exercise) showed that the lions’ population has reached 674, a 28.87 per cent increase, the official release said. It was the highest growth rate recorded so far, it added.

The population of 674 comprised 161 males, 260 females, 116 sub-adult lions and 137 cubs.

The exercise also revealed that the area inhabited by lions has increased by 36 per cent from 22,000 sq km in 2015 to 30,000 sq km in 2020.

The exercise was carried out using ‘direct beat verification’, also known as the block count method, and involved 1,400 personnel, it further said.

The teams relied on GPS data, identification marks and radio collar numbers to find out estimation of the population of the big cat at Gir, known as the last abode of Asiatic lions.

As per the officials, about two dozen lions died in the region in the last three months due to Babesiosis, a tick-borne disease. In October-November 2018, Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) had claimed the lives of 40 lions.

Earlier, Junagadh range chief conservator of forest D.T. Vasavada had said that the estimation exercise was not a complete census. “Lion census is carried out every five years in an extensive manner. Large number of central and state government officials, wildlife lovers, NGOs and members of National Board of Wildlife are involved in it. But due to lockdown we cannot call them now and a full-fledged census cannot be carried out,” he had said.

Asiatic Lion Conservation Project

In 2018, the environment ministry launched the ‘Asiatic Lion Conservation Project’ aimed at protecting the world’s last free-ranging population of the species and its ecosystem.

Environment ministry said the project would go a long way in further protecting and developing the pride of Gir and their habitat.

The total budget of the project for three years, amounting to Rs 97.84 crore, is funded from the centrally sponsored scheme - development of wildlife habitat (CSS-DWH) with 60:40 contributions by the Union and the state governments.

The ‘Asiatic Lion Conservation Project’ will strengthen the ongoing measures for their conservation and recovery with the help of state-of-the-art techniques, instruments, regular scientific research studies, disease management, modern surveillance and patrolling methods, the ministry said.

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