Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest,
national park, and
wildlife sanctuary
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
near
Talala Gir in
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It is located north-east of
Somnath, south-east of
Junagadh
Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state.
Literally ...
and south-west of
Amreli
Amreli is a city and a municipality in Amreli district in Indian state of Gujarat.
History
It is believed that during 534 AD Amreli existed was formerly known as Anumanji, Amlik and then Amravati. The city is named in ancient Gujrati as ''Am ...
. It was established in 1965 in the erstwhile
Nawab of Junagarh's private hunting area, with a total area of , of which is fully protected as a national park and as wildlife sanctuary.
It is part of the
Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
.
The 14th Asiatic Lion Census 2015 was conducted in May 2015. In 2015, the population was 523 (27% up compared to previous census in 2010). The population was 411 in 2010 and 359 in 2005. The lion population in
Junagadh
Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state.
Literally ...
District was 268 individuals, 44 in Gir Somnath District, 174 in Amreli District, and 37 in Bhavangar District. There are 109 males, 201 females and 213 cubs.
Gir National Park is closed from 16 June to 15 October every year, throughout the monsoon season.
History
In the 19th century, the rulers of
Indian princely states
A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to a ...
used to invite the British colonists for hunting expeditions. At the end of the 19th century, only about a dozen
Asiatic lion
The Asiatic lion is a population of '' Panthera leo leo'' that today survives in the wild only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujar ...
s were left in India, all of them in the Gir Forest, which was part of the
Nawab of Junagarh's private hunting grounds. British viceroys brought the drastic decline of the lion population in Gir to the attention of the Nawab of Junagadh, who established the sanctuary. Today, it is the only area in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
where Asiatic lions occur and is considered one of the most important
protected areas in Asia because of its biodiversity. The Gir
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
with its diverse
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...
and
fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...
is protected as a result of the efforts of the government forest department, wildlife activists and NGOs. It is now considered the jewel of Gujarat's ecological resources.
Geography
Water reserves
The seven major
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...
rivers of the Gir region are ''Hiran'', ''Shetrunji'', ''Dhatarvadi'', ''Shingoda'', ''Machhundri'', ''Ambajal'' and ''Raval''. The four reservoirs of the area are at four dams, one each on Hiran, Machhundri, Raval and Shingoda rivers, including the biggest reservoir in the area, the ''
Kamleshwar Dam
The Kamleshwar Dam, officially known as the "Hiran-I Dam", is a rock-fill embankment dam on the Hiran River in Visavadar, Gujarat State, India. Measuring , the dam is located within the Gir Forest National Park and was completed in 1959 for irrig ...
'', dubbed 'the lifeline of Gir'. It is located at 21°08′08″N to 70°47′48″E.
During peak
summer, surface water for wild animals is available at about 300 water points. When
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
hits the area following poor rainfall, surface water is not available at a majority of these points, and
water scarcity
Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is whe ...
becomes a serious problem (mainly in the eastern part of the sanctuary). Ensuring the availability of water during peak summer is one of the major tasks of the Forest Department staff.
Flora
More than 400 plant species were recorded in the survey of Gir forest by ''Samtapau & Raizada'' in 1955. The
botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
department of
M.S. University of Baroda has revised the count to 507 during their survey. According to the 1964 forest type classification by ''Champion & Sheth'', the Gir forest falls under "5A/C-1a—very dry teak forest" classification.
Teak
Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...
occurs mixed with dry
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
species. The degradation stages (DS) sub-types are thus derived as:
# 5/DS1-Dry deciduous
scrub forest and
# 5/DS1-Dry
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
h forests (Locally known as "vidis"). It is the largest
dry deciduous forest
The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...
in western India.
Teak bearing areas are mainly in the eastern portion of the forest, which constitutes nearly half of the total area. Several species of
acacia are found. Also found here are ber, jamun (''
Syzygium cumini''), babul (acacia), flame of the forest,
zizyphus
''Ziziphus'' is a genus of about 40 species of spiny shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, distributed in the warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of the world. The leaves are alternate, entire, with three promi ...
,
tendu and dhak.
Also plants like karanj, umlo, amli, sirus, kalam, charal and an occasional vad or
banyan tree are found. These
broadleaf trees provide a cool shade and moisture content to the region. As part of the
afforestation programme
casuarina
''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fa ...
and
prosopis
''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in ari ...
have been planted along the coast borders of gir.
The forest is an important
biological research area with considerable
scientific
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
, educational,
aesthetic and
recreational
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...
values. It provides nearly 5 million kilograms of green
grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...
by annual
harvesting, which is valued approximately at 500 million (US$7.12 million). The forest provides nearly 123,000
metric ton
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s worth of
fuel wood
Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can ...
annually.
Wildlife
The count of 2,375 distinct
fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...
species of Gir includes about 38 species of
mammals, around 300 species of birds, 37 species of
reptiles and more than 2,000 species of
insects
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
.
The
carnivores
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other so ...
group mainly comprises the
Asiatic lion
The Asiatic lion is a population of '' Panthera leo leo'' that today survives in the wild only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujar ...
,
Indian leopard
The Indian leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. The species ''Panthera pardus'' is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because populations have declined following habita ...
,
jungle cat
The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littoral ...
,
striped hyena,
golden jackal
The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy ...
,
Bengal fox
The Bengal fox (''Vulpes bengalensis''), also known as the Indian fox, is a fox endemic to the Indian subcontinent from the Himalayan foothills and Terai of Nepal through southern India, and from southern and eastern Pakistan to eastern India an ...
,
Indian gray mongoose
The Indian grey mongoose (''Urva edwardsii'') is a mongoose species native to the Indian subcontinent and West Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
The grey mongoose inhabits open forests, scrublands and cultivated fields ...
and
ruddy mongoose
The ruddy mongoose (''Urva smithii'') is a mongoose species native to hill forests in India and Sri Lanka.
Description
The ruddy mongoose's fur is brownish and coarse, long in hindquarters, but short in other parts of the body. Its head to body ...
, and
honey badger
The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is liste ...
.
Asiatic wildcat
The Asiatic wildcat (''Felis lybica ornata''), also known as the Asian steppe wildcat and the Indian desert cat, is an African wildcat subspecies that occurs from the eastern Caspian Sea north to Kazakhstan, into western India, western China and ...
and
rusty-spotted cat
The rusty-spotted cat (''Prionailurus rubiginosus'') is one of the cat family's smallest members, of which historical records are known only from India and Sri Lanka. In 2012, it was also recorded in the western Terai of Nepal. Since 2016, the gl ...
occur, but are rarely seen.
The main
herbivores
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
of Gir are
chital
The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...
,
nilgai
The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter S ...
,
sambar,
four-horned antelope
The four-horned antelope (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), or ''chousingha'', is a small antelope found in India and Nepal. Its four horns distinguish it from most other bovids, which have two horns (with a few exceptions, such as the Jacob sheep) ...
,
chinkara
The chinkara (''Gazella bennettii''), also known as the Indian gazelle, is a gazelle species native to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Taxonomy
The following six subspecies are considered valid:
* Deccan chinkara (''G. b. bennettii'') ...
and
wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
.
Blackbuck
The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources.
It stands up to high at the shoulder. Ma ...
s from the surrounding area are sometimes seen in the sanctuary.
Among the smaller mammals,
porcupine and
hare are common, but the
pangolin is rare.
The
reptiles are represented by the
mugger crocodile
The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes ...
,
[Da Silva, A. and Lenin, J. (2010)]
"Mugger Crocodile ''Crocodylus palustris''
pp. 94–98 in S.C. Manolis and C. Stevenson (eds.) ''Crocodiles. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan''. 3rd edition, Crocodile Specialist Group: Darwin. Indian cobra
The Indian cobra (''Naja naja''), also known as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of cobra found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, and a member of the "big four" species that are ...
,
tortoise
Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like oth ...
and
monitor lizard which inhabit the sanctuary's bodies of water. Snakes are found in the bush and forest.
Python
Python may refer to:
Snakes
* Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia
** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia
* Python (mythology), a mythical serpent
Computing
* Python (pro ...
s are sighted at times along the stream banks. Gir has been used by the Gujarat State Forest Department which formed the Indian Crocodile Conservation Project in 1977 and released close to 1000 marsh crocodiles into Lake Kamaleshwar and other small bodies of water in and around Gir.
The plentiful
avifauna
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight s ...
population has more than 300 species of birds, most of which are resident. The
scavenger group of birds has 6 recorded species of
vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
s. Some of the typical species of Gir include
crested serpent eagle
The crested serpent eagle (''Spilornis cheela'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Within its widespread range across the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and East Asia, there are considera ...
,
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
Bonelli's eagle
The Bonelli's eagle (''Aquila fasciata'') is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an ...
,
changeable hawk-eagle
The changeable hawk-eagle ''(Nisaetus cirrhatus)'' or crested hawk-eagle is a large bird of prey species of the family Accipitridae. More informal or antiquated English common names include the marsh hawk-eagle or Indian crested hawk-eagle.Ferguso ...
,
brown fish owl
The brown fish owl (''Ketupa zeylonensis'') is a fish owl species in the family known as typical owls, Strigidae. It is native from Turkey to South and Southeast Asia. Due its wide distribution it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...
,
Indian eagle-owl
The Indian eagle-owl (''Bubo bengalensis''), also called the rock eagle-owl or Bengal eagle-owl, is a large horned owl species native to hilly and rocky scrub forests in the Indian Subcontinent. It is splashed with brown and grey, and has a whit ...
,
rock bush-quail,
Indian peafowl
The Indian peafowl (''Pavo cristatus''), also known as the common peafowl, and blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been introduced to many other countries. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and ...
,
brown-capped pygmy woodpecker
The brown-capped pygmy woodpecker or Indian pygmy woodpecker (''Yungipicus nanus'') is a species of very small woodpecker found in Nepal, India and Sri Lanka. Some taxonomic authorities continue to place this species in the genus ''Dendrocopos'' ...
,
black-headed oriole,
crested treeswift
The crested treeswift (''Hemiprocne coronata'') is a species of tree swift. It was for some time considered the same species as its eastern relative, the gray-rumped treeswift (''Hemiprocne longipennis''), but they do not interbreed where their ...
and
Indian pitta
The Indian pitta (''Pitta brachyura'') is a passerine bird native to the Indian subcontinent. It inhabits scrub jungle, deciduous and dense evergreen forest. It breeds in the forests of the Himalayas, hills of central and western India, and migrat ...
. The
Indian grey hornbill
The Indian gray hornbill (''Ocyceros birostris'') is a common hornbill found on the Indian subcontinent. It is mostly arboreal and is commonly sighted in pairs. It has grey feathers all over the body with a light grey or dull white belly. The h ...
was not found from the last census of 2001.
Asiatic lion
![Adult Asiatic Lion](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Adult_Asiatic_Lion.jpg)
The
Asiatic lion
The Asiatic lion is a population of '' Panthera leo leo'' that today survives in the wild only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujar ...
's habitat is dry scrub land and open
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
forest. The lion population increased from 411 individuals in 2010 to 674 in 2020, and all of them live in or around Gir National Park.
In 1900 it was estimated that the population was as low as 100, and the Asiatic lion was declared a protected species. A census in 1936 recorded 289 animals. The first modern-day count of lions was done by
Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth
Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth (15 August 1906 – 16 April 1963 Leysin, Switzerland) was an English schoolteacher and amateur naturalist who wrote one of the first field guides to the butterflies of the Indian region. He was also involved in censuses ...
, the principal of
Rajkumar College, Rajkot and
R.S. Dharmakumarsinhji sometime between 1948 and 1963; and a further survey, in 1968, recorded that since 1936 numbers had fallen to 162.
Even though the Gir Forest is well protected, there are instances of Asiatic lions being
poached. They have also been poisoned in retaliation for attacking livestock. Some of the other threats include floods, fires and the possibility of
epidemics
An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics of infectious d ...
and natural calamities. Gir nonetheless remains the most promising long term preserve for them.
During a prolonged
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
from 1899 to 1901, lions attacked livestock and people beyond the Gir Forest. After 1904, the rulers of Junagadh compensated livestock losses. Today, the lions in Gir National Park rarely attack people.
Lion conservation
The Lion Breeding Programme creates and maintains breeding centres. It also carries out studies of the behaviour of the Asiatic lions and also practices
artificial insemination
Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...
. One such centre has been established in the Sakkarbaug Zoo at the district headquarters of
Junagadh
Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state.
Literally ...
, which has successfully bred about 180 lions. A total of 126 pure Asiatic lions have been given to zoos in India and abroad.
The
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of lions takes place every five years. Previously indirect methods like using
pugmark
Pugmark is the term used to refer to the footprint of most animals (especially megafauna). "Pug" means foot in Hindi (Sanskrit पद् "pad"; Greek πούς "poús"). Every individual animal species has a distinct pugmark and as such this is us ...
s of the lion were adopted for the count. However, during the census of April 2005 (which originally was scheduled for 2006, but was advanced following the reports and controversy over vanishing tigers in India), "Block-Direct-Total Count" method was employed with the help of around 1,000 forest officials, experts and volunteers. It means that only those lions were counted that were "spotted" visually. Use of "live
bait" (a prey that is alive and used as a bait) for the exercise, though thought to be a traditional practice, was not used this time. The reason believed to be behind this is the
Gujarat High Court
The Gujarat High Court is the High Court of the state of Gujarat. It was established on 1 May 1960 under the ''Bombay Re-organisation Act, 1960'' after the state of Gujarat split from Bombay State.
The seat of the court is Ahmedabad. The pre ...
ruling of 2000 against such a use of animals.
During the 2010 census 'The Cat Women of Gir Forest' counted more than 411 lions in the park, and 523 in 2015. The women who do the counting are of traditional Muslim tribes in neighboring villages. There are over 40 women van raksha sahayaks, who seek only to protect the animals of the park.
Ecological problems
Gir National Park and Sanctuary faces a number of threats to its ecosystem. Natural threats include recurrent drought, cyclones, and forest fires.
Anthropogenic threats include over-grazing, encroachment, excessive traffic and resultant weed infestation.
Tourism contributes to this environmental degradation, as does the mining carried out in the periphery. Pollution results from the railway lines that run through the peripheral zone.
The narrow
genetic base in the large mammals is also an issue of growing concern.
See also
*
Barda Wildlife Sanctuary
Barda Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Gujarat, India. It is situated approximately from Porbandar and west of Gir Forest National Park. Previous to its 1979 establishment as a wildlife sanctuary, Barda was a private reserve for Porbandar and ...
*
*
Girnar
Girnar is an ancient hill in Junagadh, Gujarat, India.
Geology
Mount Girnar is a major igneous plutonic complex which intruded into the basalts towards the close of the Deccan Trap period. The rock types identified in this complex are ga ...
*
Talala Gir
*
Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary
Kuno National Park is national park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, India. It derives its name from Kuno River. It was established in 1981 as a wildlife sanctuary with an initial area of in the Sheopur and Morena districts. In 2018 ...
*
In-situ conservation
''In-situ'' conservation is the on-site conservation or the conservation of genetic resources in natural populations of plant or animal species, such as forest genetic resources in natural populations of Teagan species. This process protects th ...
*
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...
*
Siddi
*
Baradiya
* ''
The Lion Queens of India''
References
External links
*
Finding more space for the Asiatic lion, The Hindu - Opinion* Frontline
* National Geographic
Asia's Last Lions*
Asiatic lion Population and Habitat Viability AssessmentAsiatic Lion Protection Society (ALPS), Gujarat, India
{{Authority control
Gir Somnath district
Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests
National parks in Gujarat
Protected areas established in 1965
Tourist attractions in Junagadh district
1965 establishments in Gujarat