India Nature: Gir Sanctuary and National Park

  Sasan Gir, Gujarat, India
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

The earth has enough for everyone's need, but not for anyone's greed ~ Gandhi

Lioness, part II

South of the peaks of Girnar are the dry deciduous forested hills of Gir, the last home for the Asiatic Lion. Yes, the lion, Ashoka's symbol, Buddha's roar, and an intimate aspect of south Asian culture could easily disappear through disease or another major disaster, and most people don't even know it exists.

Tigers of India have become a poster child, launching Project Tiger in over a dozen national parks. Still, the tiger is considered endangered, with more work needed.

At the same time, the lions, with only one park and one tenth the population, are somehow not on the front burner. Why is this?

Not to say that work is not being done. A second site for Asiatic Lions in Madya Pradesh has been identified; progress is unsure.

Within about 300,000 acres are over 350 lions, an increase from fewer than twenty lions. Once the Asiatic Lion ranged from Syria to the plains of India, but habitat destruction, disease, and hunting slowly reduced and fragmented its range. In 1901, Gir was the last site of the Asiatic Lion, with an estimate of only 20 lions remaining.

Luckily, after the publication of a local daily letter concerning the demise of the lions, Nawab of Junagadh cancelled a Viceroy's hunt and enforced a hunting ban on lions. From there, the population slowly increased, although threats--disease, poaching, genetic bottlenecks, and human population pressures--still could easily destroy this vulnerable population.

Lioness, part I

One morning I took a jeep trip into the park with four others, a guide, and a driver, in search of lions. With lions spread over 300,000 acres, sightings are not very common. Nevertheless, after fifteen minutes we stopped, in the dim light of dawn. About ten feet from the vehicle was a lioness, sitting, watching nearby Spotted Deer, unconcerned with our presence.

Slowly, the lion rose to her feet, looked at us with her golden eyes, and walked towards dense brush.

We all felt very lucky to have seen one of the last Asiatic Lions.

A few minutes later, we came across a large male, walking. The driver and guide took great care to avoid its path, as the male was clearly one of the old dominant males. "Very rare to see," said the guide. In a brief time, the lion had walked away.

We felt very lucky, once again.

In the Shade

After that, we saw another lioness, resting under a tree in the morning light.

Crested Serpent Eagle

We continued our trip, weaving through the leafless teak forests in the early morning light. Soon the journey was over. We were left wondering, though about the status of the lion and the national parks of India. A sign in the visitor center said: "Everything outside the parks is gone, everything inside is threatened." This is an exaggeration, as I've seen Black Buck roaming in agricultural fields, for example, but it's not far from the truth.

Best of luck to India with its Asiatic Lion reintroduction project.

"The greatness of the country is measured in how it treats its animals." ~ Gandhi.