Mr Natwarlal to shoot Sher story in Gir.

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN, May 21, 2010, 04.45am IST

Larazata tha koyal ki bhi kook se
Bura haal hua us pe bhookh se
Laga todane ek beri se ber
Mere saamne a gaya ek sher
AHMEDABAD: Remember the baritone number ‘Aao Bachhon...' from the Amitabh-Rekha Bollywood blockbuster, Mr Natwarlal, where the star sings a story of his encounter with a lion to kids? This reel story is soon to get real. The Shahenshah will step into Gir forest to shoot with the lions next month. Amitabh Bachchan, who is brand ambassador for Gujarat, will camp in Gir forest for two days between June 1 and 5 amid the Asiatic lions for a film to promote tourism.
Forest department officials are busy looking for the perfect location and ‘readying' a group of eight-ten lions to feature in these shoots.
An official said trackers from the forest have been deployed to keep a check on the movement of the group within the jungle. When Bachchan finally arrives in the forest, this group of lions would be ‘cornered' by using baits.
Officials from the forest department said, "The tourism department has asked us to block 15 rooms in Sinh Sadan, the forest guest house, from June 1-5." The Sadan has 18 rooms of which 15 would be booked for Big B and his crew. An open permit has been issued for shooting for two days in the forest. Bachchan would be shooting for two days in Gir forest and three days in Kutch.
In Gir, he would be taking shots with the group of lions, and also in the sanctuary in the natural backdrop of the forest and its maldhari inhabitants. The script will focus on the steady growth of the Asiatic lions in their exclusive abode in Gir and conservation methods. The census conducted last month showed 411 lions in the forest, which is the highest ever. 
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Ahmedabad/Mr-Natwarlal-to-shoot-Sher-story-in-Gir/articleshow/5956191.cms

Scent of Gujarat for Rs 5 crore - Bachchan on week-long tour for shoot.

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Amitabh Bachchan Ahmedabad, May 20: This “khushboo” will cost Gujarat Rs 5.4 crore. The salesman who is going to sell the fragrance is, after all, Amitabh Bachchan, though he wouldn’t be taking a penny. The superstar, who had stirred up a controversy after becoming brand ambassador of Narendra Modi’s Gujarat, will reach the state on May 28 for a week-long trip to six tourist spots, shooting one-minute films as part of a campaign. The main theme for all the films to be shot with Bachchan at the different locations will be “Khushboo Gujarat ki” — or the fragrance of Gujarat. The campaign will cost the state exchequer Rs 5.4 crore, though Bachchan will not be paid for his “services” as he had volunteered to become brand ambassador to promote tourism in the state. Bachchan had agreed to become brand ambassador after meeting Modi on January 6 during a special screening of his film Paa. But to use the superstar’s appeal to entice visitors, the Gujarat government will have to shell out Rs 1.4 crore to the creative team of advertising firm Ogilvy and Mather (&M). A source in the tourism department said Rs 4 crore would have to be paid to Rising Sun, a Mumbai-based production house that would provide support. &M India chief Piyush Pandey said he was giving final touches to the script and “it would be ready in another three days”. Sources said Pandey got the script of each of the films — to be made in Hindi and English — cleared by the chief minister, who would personally monitor the superstar’s visit. Officials said the BJP-led government was looking to Bachchan to revive the state’s dormant tourism industry. Bachchan’s photographs will be shot at each of the spots for the tourism department’s ad campaign, scheduled to begin sometime next month. The sources said he would shoot at locations like the Asiatic Lion sanctuary at Gir, the Somnath temple and Balka Teerth, the place where Lord Krishna is said to have renounced his body. He will spend three days in Kutch for shoots at Mandvi beach, the Harappan site of Dholavir and the Rann of Kutch, before going to Gir. After two days with the lions, he will go to Balka Teerth and Somnath. While it is not clear why Mahatma’s birthplace Porbandar and the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad have been excluded from the schedule, the state government, sources said, was keen on projecting Somnath, an important shrine for Hindus that has been destroyed several times by invaders. It was from here that BJP leader L.K. Advani launched his controversial rath yatra in 1990. Twenty years later, his protégé Modi is banking on the Bollywood star’s appeal to market the shrine for a welcome breath of fragrance for the state’s tourism industry. Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100521/jsp/frontpage/story_12472872.jsp

Ailing lioness keeps zoo staff on toes.

Bhavika Jain, Hindustan Times

Email Author

May 21, 2010

First Published: 01:08 IST(21/5/2010)

Last Updated: 01:30 IST(21/5/2010)

The Byculla zoo staff is taking extra care of Anita, the 22-year-old lioness and oldest member of the zoo who is critically ill.

The once fierce Asiatic lioness has been ill for the last 10 days and is suffering from abscess in her rear side. She has been critical for the last three days. Anita lies pale and sallow in her cage in the hospital at the Byculla zoo, a caretaker sidles up close to her, holding her head, trying to feed her a few morsels.

The keepers and the compounder at the zoo hospital are trying give the ailing lioness company all the time, patting her on her back when she meekly sits in the corner of her cage.

The zoo staff is constantly in touch with specialist doctor from Anand Veterinary College in Gujarat.

"She was not responding to the medications. And she had also stopped eating for the last 10 days," said a zoo official.

Anita was brought to the zoo from Gujarat in 1991 when she was three years old and has now crossed her life span and outlived a lion's life span of 20 years in captivity and 15 years in the wild.

While a doctor administers saline to her, Yeshwant Khandekar, who was Anita's first caretaker, mashes food with his fingertips to feed Anita who can barely eat. "We have been in touch with Dr RG Jani, an expert, to get the best treatment," said Dr Sanjay Tripathi, veterinarian of the zoo.

Additional Municipal Commissioner, in-charge of the zoo, RA Rajeev, came to see her recently.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Ailing-lioness-keeps-zoo-staff-on-toes/Article1-546423.aspx

Bristol Zoo Asiatic lioness Moti dies after illness.

Lioness Moti with her cubs in 1998

 

An Asiatic lioness named Moti from Bristol Zoo has died aged 15.

Vets had "diagnosed extensive disease" of her reproductive tract prior to her death.
But because of a "recent deterioration" in her health and the "advanced nature" of her illness the decision was made for her to be put down.
Moti was born at Helsinki Zoo in Finland in 1994 before moving to Bristol in 1996 where she has lived ever since.
She had her first cub in 1998 but it only survived for a few days.
She went on to give birth to two more cubs, Indi and Dacca, later that year and a third, Aiesha, in 2001.
The trio have moved on to other zoos as part of the managed conservation breeding programme.
The zoo says it will now contact the programme to seek another lioness as a mate for Kamal, their male lion.
Asiatic lions are a critically endangered species with just 300 left in the wild.
They live on a small reserve in the Gir Forest in western India - an area smaller than the New Forest
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/bristol/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8691000/8691970.stm

Gujarat uses technology to count Asiatic lions.

16 May 2010, 0113 hrs IST,Bhuwan Bhaskar,ET Bureau
AHMEDABAD: A happy civilization is credited not only with ever-growing human population, but also with the positive growth of flora and fauna. And amid talks of India emerging as a superpower in a decade or so, at least one thing is burgeoning out of the bounds of civilization.
Just a fortnight ago, it was announced that Asiatic lions registered an increase of 13% vis-a-vis the earlier census in 2005 in Gir, Gujarat.
The importance of the announcement could be ascertained by the fact that the chief minister Mr Narendra Modi choose to do it himself. Mr. Modi called it a Gujarati gift to the globe. In a press conference, he announced the figures.
He proudly pronounced that Gujarat had, for the first time in the international history of lion census, used technology to count Asiatic lions. The outcome was increased numbers, improved sex ratio and more areas conquered. There were 411 of the big cats in Gir sanctuary and surrounding areas. This was a jump of 52 over the previous census in 2005.
But it was not like everything is just as hunky dory as Mr. Modi tried to project. “It would only be a political statement if we state that India has achieved so much more in conservation as compared with other countries in the neighbourhood. The real question is have we really achieved enough given our enormous potential both in terms of natural richness and diversity and more importantly our human and knowledge resources,” said Dr Ravi Chellam, country director, Wildlife Conservation Society-India Program (WCS-India).
Nevertheless, Chellam hails the progress made so far. So does the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). “The government is moving in a right direction and people are more aware now. Wildlife has become pride of many populations. Like, lions are now pride of Gujarat and rhino that of Assam,” said the WTI co-ordinator Dr Anil Kumar Singh.
The newly emerged figures from Gir coincides with the Golden Gujarat celebrations, marked to commemorate the 50 years of foundation of the state. But the nation has to wait for the same kind of celebration as tiger census 2009 is continuing.
“India holds over half the world’s tiger population. ccording to the latest tiger census report released on February 12, 2008 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the current tiger population stands at 1,411,” claims the website of Wildlife Protection Society of India. These figures didn't include Jharkhand and Sunderbans. The state of West Bengal was covered only partially (i.e. North Bengal) during the census.
At the turn of the 19th century, one estimate of the tiger population in India placed the figure at 45,000. It came down to shocking 1,800 in the beginning of 1970s. Then in 1972, Government of India introduced wildlife protection act, which made poaching a crime and lied foundation for numerous sanctuaries.
One law in four decades! "It is not like the Wild Life Protection Act has not been amended since then. But apart from making laws, we should do a lot of other things too. Budgets of the state forest departments especially for wildlife management have grown tremendously.
Unfortunately bulk of these resources are invested in infrastructure like glossy buildings and roads. The sanctuaries and national parks are grossly understaffed. The field staff are poorly paid and lack the basic infrastructure.
It is important that the national parks and sanctuaries are open for a public audit which is not merely restricted to the financial aspects but more importantly cover the ecological and social aspects of conservation," said Dr Chellam. India has been a fabulous success story in shooting down poaching as well as accidental mortality mishappenings.
"Last year 17 cubs died falling in open wells. We are covering the open wells like mission and here is the result— only one death is reported this year," said Mr Modi. In 2010, only 23 tigers were reported dead due to the above said activities as against 85 in 2009.
There are many, who feel the laws are softer on poachers. "The sentence should be more harsh. Poachers get bail easily under present laws. They should get at least 12-14 years of jail if convicted, so that they can't turn back in the jungle," said Dr Singh of WTI.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/the-sunday-et/dateline-india/Gujarat-uses-technology-to-count-Asiatic-lions/articleshow/5935849.cms

Caged king...

Prasad Nichenametla, Hindustan Times

Email Author

Sasan, Gir, May 13, 2010

First Published: 01:29 IST(13/5/2010)

Last Updated: 01:31 IST(13/5/2010)

“I promised villagers near Gir that lions would not be sent outside the state,” Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said last Sunday at a function to release the lion census, which brought happy tidings.
The Asiatic lion (panthera leo persica) population in the state, which the previous census in 2005 had estimated at 359, had grown to 411.
But that was where the good news ended.
“Lions are part of our heritage,” Modi added, stubbornly sticking to his stand of not allowing 12 lions from Gujarat’s Gir forest – its last natural habitat – to be relocated to Madhya Pradesh.
The Union environment ministry had planned a lion project in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno Palpur, 450 km north of Bhopal, but this is unlikely to materialise soon as the issue has become enmeshed with regional sentiments.
Subliminally, Modi has linked the issue with his political plank – of protecting “Gujarati asmita (pride)”. Thus, a conservation issue has got politicised, and the plan to gradually bring the Asiatic lion out of the endangered list has been nipped in the bud.
Incidentally, both MP and Gujarat are ruled the same party – the BJP.
But the growing lion population has stretched the 1,412 sq. km Gir to its limits. Gir officials say Bruhad or Greater Gir can accommodate 500 animals, but according to wildlife conservationists, even the present population is too high.
With weaker and younger males driven out by stronger ones, several lions have strayed into coastal areas and close to towns such as Rajkot.
The 2010 census shows 74 lions have settled outside the protected area, creating concerns about man-lion conflicts.
“The Maldharis in Gir forests and adjacent villages have adapted to the lions’ presence for centuries. But we cannot expect the same from villages or towns where it is proposed to shift them,” says Kausik Banerjee, senior research fellow, WII.
“Gujarat says Kuno Palpur is close to Ranthambore (in Rajasthan), which has tigers, and, hence, the lions will be in danger. If that is the case, how did lions come to India and coexist with tigers?” asks Ravi Chellam, country director, Wildlife Conservation Society of India.
On the basis of Chellam’s report, Kuno Palpur was finalised as the proposed second home for the lion.
“There is no scientific basis for not shifting a handful of lions out of the 411 that currently live in the wild,” says Chellam, who was earlier with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun.
J.S. Chauhan, chief conservator of forests, Bhopal, in charge of the lion project in Kuno Palpur, adds: “If the sticking point is the brand ‘Gujarat’, let us call them ‘Gujarat Gir lions’ instead of ‘Asiatic lions’. They may be in Madhya Pradesh but they will still be Gujarati lions.”
Modi is unconvinced. He says: “At a time when the population of tigers is dwindling in the country, lions are growing in the state thanks to the ecology provided by the locals – the cowherd community called Maldharis. Gir is the best-protected sanctuary in the country, maybe even the world.”
But experts aren’t buying this line. “It is not for one individual to decide the fate of a species. Modi can be a champion of Gujarati asmita but by not allowing lions outside the state, he will become a champion of the extinction of a wonderful species,” says Faiyaz Ahmed Khudsar, convener, Biodiversity Conservation Trust of India. 
Based on a public interest petition from non-governmental organisations in 2005, the matter is now before the Supreme Court.
Senior forest officials and wild life experts in Gujarat agree in private that it is politics that is coming in the way of moving the lions.
“There is no harm in parting with a few lions. It’s nothing but politics, which is not sparing even the wild animals in the country,” a very senior official in Gujarat forest department tells Hindustan Times.
At the ground level, there is a business angle at work as well. Locals fear that Gir forest will lose its attraction as a tourist destination if its status as the last natural habitat of the Asiatic lion goes.
“Once that special tag is gone, who will care (about this place)? The sentiment to protect the lion will slowly fade in these local communities also,” a forest officer says.
“Gujarat has done a good job but what we need is another living place for the animal far away from Gir -- like the past lion habitats in Madhya Pradesh or somewhere else,” adds Divyabhanu Singh Chavda, member, National Wildlife Board, and president, board of trustees, World Wide Fund for Nature.
The arguments and counter-arguments flow back and forth. The king of Gir forest, meanwhile, remains caught in a web of politics.
Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Caged-king/Article1-542867.aspx

Where lions rule…

G. AVANI
Gir National Park is one place where the Asiatic Lions still roam free.

This is the only place in the entire world where they still roam the jungles. Their very name reflects sheer power and beauty. They could once call Asia minor, Arabia and the whole region from Persia to India as their home but by the end of the 19th century their numbers dropped to a shocking 20 due to excessive hunting. Conservation efforts to increase their number over the years has resulted in their population rising to around 350 (2005 census: 359). These super carnivores are none but the awe-inspiring Asiatic lions whose population is now confined to the forests of GIR in Gujarat.

Set for the safari

It is to experience an encounter with these amazing animals that we began our safari early morning in an open top Gypsy at Gir National Park which is also a reputed bird sanctuary; home not only to native but also migratory birds. This 1412.13 sq. km.-national park, whose topography is formed of deciduous forests, grasslands, acacia shrub, wetlands including seven rivers, is home to 2375 different species of fauna of which 2000 species are insects, 37 species are reptiles and 38 species are mammals. No sooner did we enter the park than we were informed that a pride of lions was just a few metres away. What a way to start a day!

Along with our vehicle there were about four to five others, all earnestly searching the bush for the pride. Then we had the glimpse of a lioness who was resting amidst the trees. Close by was a young male lion which was feeding on a lamb.

We learnt that the lamb was actually a bait for leopards in order to put on a radio-collar to one of them. As we sat admiring the lion we heard that two lionesses with four cubs would probably cross our path if we went a little further. Sure enough the youngest members of the pride along with two lionesses were spotted on one side of the road ready to cross to the other side. One by one the vehicles switched off the ignition.

First, one lioness crossed the road with the four cubs following her. The other lioness stayed back until all the cubs had crossed and only then did she cross the road herself. What a sight it was to watch!

Bird watching

When they finally disappeared into the bush we moved ahead and we could see quite a few birds including the pied kingfishers, shikras, flycatchers and the eurasian thick-knees. We were also able to spot a yellow-wattled lapwing which we were longing to see for quite sometime. But we knew that the best time to watch birds was in winter when a lot of migratory birds come down (Kamleshwar dam at Gir is a great spot for bird watching).We spotted a couple of mongooses and a giant monitor lizard before the safari came to an end. We were amazed to see the Maldharis the nomadic herdsmen living among the lions. ‘Maldhari means ‘owner of animal stock' and their villages are known as ‘ness'. We could see even kids tend cattle here. After that great morning safari we were longing for more.

The evening safari started at about 3:00 p.m. and we got close up shots of many birds. As we went a little further we caught sight of an Indian Pitta, holding on to a dry leaf, which obviously wanted to get to its nest at the other side of the road. We waited quietly until it was sure that we were no trouble and then it flew into its nest to place that leaf in . We were informed that four lions were at a water hole just ahead. On reaching that water hole we saw two adult lionesses resting with two younger lions.

We could see how skilfully a lion hunts when the young female who had spotted a mongoose close by stalking its prey carefully. However the mongoose was too quick for this amateur hunter and swiftly climbed up a tree. The lioness attempted to follow the mongoose up the tree but could not climb as high as the mongoose could. When she wanted to jump down, her brother playfully prevented her from doing that. We had to leave these lions behind and were informed that we were pretty lucky to see those four cubs with two lionesses in the morning as their pride had made a kill deep in the jungle, so it was unlikely that they would be seen for a few days. It was a great day for all of us and these memories will live on forever and surely will compel to come once again to this paradise of lions.

Fact file

Location: Junagadh District, Gujarat

Nearest city: Junagadh

Wildlife: Lions, leopards, Sambar, spotted deer, blue bull, chousingha, chinkara, wild boar, Jackal, striped hyena, jungle cat, rusty-spotted cat, langur, porcupine, black-naped Indian, marsh crocodile or mugger plus 40 species of reptiles and amphibians, 250 birds and about 50 other species

Avani is a I Year MBBS student at Mediciti Institute Of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad

Source: http://beta.thehindu.com/life-and-style/nxg/article427971.ece

Counting Gir’s Big Cats.

Shubhalakshmi Shukla Tags : Wildlife Conservation Trust, Gir Sanctuary, Nawabi trackers Posted: Tue May 11 2010, 00:28 hrs

The just-concluded 13th Asiatic Lion census in Gir Sanctuary has revealed an increase in their numbers. Shubhlakshmi Shukla, the only reporter to tag along with the hundreds of officials and volunteers who conducted the exercise, reports

It was three in the morning and there was a stench of fresh meat. A few metres from our vehicle, we saw it — a dead spotted deer. The big cats couldn’t be far. Sure enough, a leopard was slinking towards its kill, but before it could get to it, the meat was dragged away by a lion that had pounced on it from a slope on the other side.” Anish Andheria, director of the Wildlife Conservation Trust, was clearly excited, his black Nikon D200 SLR dangling on a strap from his neck. It is 9 am at the forest guest house in Sasan, a village of 4,000 on the fringes of the Gir Sanctuary in Junagadh district. Anish had just returned from a three-day sojourn in the forest as an observer in the just-concluded census of lions. 
“On April 24, I saw a lion and a lioness in the Dadakadi zone. Then I saw a female sub-adult in the Kerambha zone,” he said. “In all, I have seen 18 lions—some of them were sub-adults, three or four were cubs and most of them were females.” The 13th Asiatic Lion census took place in Gir Sanctuary and the forests neighbouring it, between April 24 to 27, amid a simmering controversy over the Madhya Pradesh government seeking the relocation of a few big cats from Gir, and Gujarat government refusing to part with them.
The Gujarat government would not allow the media to tag along with the hundreds of officials and volunteers in the exercise. Fortunately, though, there was room for this flora enthusiast who could rattle off scientific names of Gir plants. The census yielded heartening results—the number of lions in Gir had increased remarkably over the last five years, from 359 in 2005 to 411 in 2010.
Andheria, 38, drove some 200 km in the woods over three days, subsisting on bajra ni rotli and shak offered by villagers. Laxman Dholkai, sarpanch of Sasan village, who had arrived at the guest house on his motorcycle, said, “We have always lived with the Asiatic Lion and with hundreds of other animals and birds. And we want to continue to live with them.” Dholkai has been part of three earlier lion censuses.
In the just-concluded census, over 300 sarpanchs offered their tractors to supply food, accommodation and 900 villagers were chosen as volunteers. The operation was spread over an area roughly the expanse of Delhi, divided into seven regions that were further divided into 28 zones, which were further fragmented into 100 sub-zones. The scale of the operation was staggering: 135 officers, 450 enumerators, 900 volunteers, 50 photographers, 12 doctors, 11 researchers, 200 four-wheeled vehicles and 450 motorbikes.
On the morning of April 27, the last day of the exercise, a gray, hardtop Gypsy rumbled into the forest, and after an hour, we — four of us, including the driver, a guide and Vira Chopra, three-time lion census observer—reached a shallow, cemented water trough where three men stood in the unforgiving sun, wearing black boots provided by the forest department. One of them was a forester clad in khaki, GPS device in hand. The other two were volunteers. Smoking a beedi, one said they had spotted two cubs and one grown female since morning. “That’s good news,” said Chopra, above the cacophony of cicadas resounding through the teak forest. He believed the number of young adult lions was on the rise.
Back in Sasan, the conversation was animated, broken by calls from the teams reporting from the field. There were eminent animal enthusiasts here, among them were Venu Menon of the Animal Allies Foundation and ornithologist Lavkumar Khacher. By evening, the guest house was swarming with more than a hundred volunteers and forest officials. Seventy-four-year-old Sanath Chavan, who was deputy conservator of forests, Gir Sanctuary, in 1968, when the first census was conducted, recalled how a lion had once sat atop a villager for two hours. The man had lain on the ground waiting for death, but all the lion did was break two of his rib bones, and that from its sheer weight. Chavan, who has spent half-a-century with lions, had many stories to tell—about Nawabi trackers who sat beside the biggest lions, and “cowardly” Britishers who made them hold the cats by their limbs so that they could shoot at them. The stories went on till dinner, after which everyone went back to their maps and notes — they had a report to submit at 2 pm the next day.
Source:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/counting-girs-big-cats/617081/0

Sharing the pride.

RAVICHELLAM Tags : gujarat, tigers Posted: Mon May 10 2010, 03:06 hrs

Globally, a majority of people including Indians are not aware that India has wild lions. The tiger, which replaced the lion as the national animal in the early 1970s, does hog the headlines and therefore has a much stronger link to India and an overwhelming presence in public conscience. The only surviving population of wild and free-ranging lions in Asia is found in and around the Gir forest in the Saurashtra peninsula of Gujarat.

The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) has been in the news recently. The result of the 2010 lion census was recently announced and the total number of wild lions in Saurashtra is 411 — a 14 per cent increase from the last official estimate of 359 lions in 2005. This is clearly good news. In fact the conservation history of the lions in and around Gir is a remarkable success story, and the challenge now is to sustain and build on these achievements to ensure the long-term survival of these wonderful wild cats.
Lions are unique in being the only social cats. The lions in Gir are special as they are mainly forest-dwelling and subsisting on deer unlike their African cousins. I spent more than four years studying the lions for my PhD, from December 1985 to March 1990, and since then have retained an abiding interest in the ecology and conservation of these lions.
The government of Gujarat and the citizens of the state, especially in Saurashtra deserve whole-hearted appreciation and support for their conservation efforts, which have led to a significant increase in the number of Asiatic lions. The scale of this achievement can be fully recognised only when we compare the current population of lions in Gir with estimates in the late 1800s and early 1900s which put the number as low as 20 to 50 lions. While we may quibble over the veracity of these estimates (including the current ones), what cannot be challenged is that the lions in Gir had a close brush with extinction due to their very low population, and with the increase in numbers their conservation status has improved.
Despite the conservation prospects vastly improving for the lions in Gir, this population constitutes the only remaining wild Asiatic lions. It is akin to having all your eggs in one basket. Lions, in the current situation, face the risk of extinction from a whole host of threats. If any of these threats were to actualise, it will have catastrophic consequences and result in the complete erosion of the conservation gains of more than a century. Science and prudence demand that at least one more free-ranging population of lions be established by translocating eight lions from Gir and reintroducing them in Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in western Madhya Pradesh.
 I see the translocation and establishment of another free-ranging population of lions as buying insurance against extinction of wild and free-ranging lions in Asia. Irrespective of the size of the population of lions in Gir, the fact that Gir and its surroundings are the only place where wild lions occur in Asia, is enough justification for the translocation. It does not matter whether you have a dozen eggs or one hundred eggs in your basket. If the basket falls all the eggs are bound to break.
As I have already acknowledged, the proposed translocation is no reflection on the quality of care and management that the state government and the citizens have bestowed on the lions over the last several decades. We do not buy life insurance for ourselves and our family members expecting that we will all die shortly. Similarly why should we not take all precautions to guard against the conservation threats that a single population is inherently bound to face? The argument that no such event has occurred in the last century is to tempt fate.
There is a major problem in the thinking and policy making related to wildlife conservation in India. The focus is invariably on the fate of individual animals, when the inescapable reality is that all animals are born to die. It is the timing and the circumstances of death that should be of concern rather than the fact that animals have died. The focus of conservation action should be to ensure, (a) persistence of populations of wildlife, (b) quality, integrity and contiguity of wildlife habitats, and (c) mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts. I expect far more effective conservation if this line of thinking is properly understood and guides conservation planning in India.
The government of Gujarat and popular sentiment in the state have been opposing the idea of translocating lions outside the state. A whole host of objections have been voiced, including the state’s response to a PIL in the Supreme Court. I do not want to use this space to refute these objections, not because they cannot be refuted, but because I think there is a need for us to fundamentally re-engage Gujarat in this dialogue. I strongly believe that almost all of their objections come from a flawed understanding of the objectives of the proposed translocation and an incomplete understanding of the scientific principles governing the management of endangered species. The Government of India and Government of Madhya Pradesh should proactively engage Gujarat in this conservation initiative.
By keeping the conservation of Asiatic lions as the focused objective, and adopting a generous and cooperative attitude, I am hopeful that the two state governments and the Centre can work out an innovative set of solutions to break the current logjam. I am confident that the lion’s roar will soon resound through vast tracts of forests which were once part of its former distribution range in central India.

The writer is country director, Wildlife Conservation Society-India Programme
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sharing-the-pride/616604/0

Not A Lion In Sight

Losing homes to Asiatic lions that never arrived is enough to drive Saharia tribes towards hunger and malnutrition, finds SHRIYA MOHAN

Photo : Shriya Mohan

THE BROTHERS are named Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. But their similarity to the Bollywood Deol family ends there. Two-year-old ‘Bobbeed yol’, as he is called, has straggly, light brown hair and loose skin forms wrinkles on his stickthin limbs. He squats listlessly on a cement parapet, watching older boys play. His elder brother, five-year-old ‘Sunneed yol’, is malnourished too, and sick with pneumonia — for the nth time in his life. Bobby and Sunny live in Naya Palpur, a resettled village in Sheopur district about 450 km from Bhopal. Their entire village was displaced from their original home in Kuno sanctuary.
The story has an odd twist. Gujarat’s Gir sanctuary is the world’s last refuge for 400-odd endangered Asiatic lions. For decades, however, Gujarat has stubbornly refused to transfer lions from Gir to the Kuno sanctuary in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. In 1995, Saharias from 24 villages were relocated to make way for the lions that never arrived. Bobby Deol and Sunny Deol's family cultivate mustard on five acres of dry land; the annual 20-quintal yield translates into Rs 10,000. With the children being sick with pneumonia or diarrhoea every other month, and forced dependency on private doctors, the family struggles to get by. The children are trapped in a vicious cycle. A weak immune system that makes them prone to infection and diseases that affect their ability to eat and digest food leaving them more malnourished than before.

THE SAHARIAS Mostly live in: Shivpuri, Sheopur Population: 3,23,285 Percentage malnourished: 51% Number of NRCs: 12

Traditional hunter gatherers from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Saharias are classified as a “primitive” tribal community in India. In 2008, the Madhya Pradesh Government set aside Rs 6.5 crore in a five-year plan for the development of Saharias. The funds were marked for education, health, nutrition, drinking water, agriculture, housing and employment. But Sheopur and Shivpuri, districts dominated by Saharias, still have a malnutrition record of 51 percent.
In Shivpuri district, Saharias are being displaced by two upcoming projects — a 1,60,000 hectare Madikheda dam and the Madhav National Park where homes of Saharia families will make way for tall grass for wild deer. The families have been given stony dry land and Rs 50,000 for an acre of land, as compensation for relocation.
Despite all odds, Shivpuri has got one thing right; the district has nine Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) — government centres where malnourished children are taken care of — one in every block. For any family in the district, the nearest NRC is less than an hour away. The NRCs here also don’t follow the 14-day admittance period like others across the state. Children stay till they achieve a basic level of normalcy in weight and health.
And yet, controlling malnutrition in these parts isn’t easy. Constant displacement has meant that the Saharias are afforded no opportunity to think beyond the immediate, an immediate that unfortunately does not even include their children’s lives.

(Shriya Mohan is a media fellow of the National Foundation for India)

Source: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main44.asp?filename=cr150510not_a.asp

MP tears into Gujarat over lions.

Bhadra Sinha, Hindustan Times

Email Author

New Delhi, May 05, 2010

First Published: 00:18 IST(5/5/2010)

Last Updated: 00:19 IST(5/5/2010)

The two BJP ruled states, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh (MP), are fighting for their ‘pride.’ The two are locked in a fierce battle over relocation of Asiatic lions from Gir sanctuary in Gujarat to Kuno in MP.
In defence to the Gujarat allegations, MP in its latest affidavit before Supreme Court has claimed that its neighboring state has failed to offer the best protection to the specifies that is “dwindling rapidly.”
MP lodged its protest and discredited Gujarat’s “baseless arguments” on why translocation of two prides of lion (between 6 to 8) was impossible. According to MP’s affidavit 72 lions in Gir have died in the last two years, of which 25 died while falling into open wells. There are 8,000 wells in Gir that do not suit the living eco system for the lions.
Gujarat has been opposing the move to translocate the lions to create a second population of Asiatic lions, a project that was developed way back in 1979.
Since 1981 till December last the Centre and MP government have spent over 34 crores to the lion project in Kuno sanctuary. This involved successful rehabilitation of all the 1543 families from inside the sanctuary. For this the government had to divert 4658-hectare forestland.
MP further stated in its affidavit that the factors responsible for the high mortality rate of lions is over crowding in Gir and poaching.
There are around 360 lions in Gir that is spread over 1882.6 square kilometer.
It denied Gujarat government’s claim that reintroduction of few Asiatic Lions in Kuno would be artificial tinkering with
the complex natural eco system and socio cultural traditions.
MP added that reintroduction of the species would not end with the translocation of two pride of lions into Kuno.
“A continued program of exchange of individual lions between Gir and Kuno is needed at the rate of 2-3 lions per
generation. It is envisaged that such exchanges would last for a minimum duration of 25-30 years,” the state government said in its affidavit.
Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/MP-tears-into-Gujarat-over-lions/Article1-539441.aspx

Gujarat’s pride: lion population up.

Two Asiatic Lions seem to be in a playful mood as they sit in scrubland near the village of Sasan on the edge of Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, some 480km southwest of Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
An endangered lion that survives only in the Gir Forest, the Asiatic Lion has increased in number to more than 400 due to decades of conservation work, officials said. The Asiatic Lion once roamed across southwest Asia but is now restricted to the 1,410sq km Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary and the surrounding jungle.

Source: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=359201&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22

Endangered Lions Making Comeback.

Posted on: Monday, 3 May 2010, 09:55 CDT


The endangered Asiatic Lion, which once thrived in southwest Asia before being forced to congregate in a small forest in western India, is starting to make a comeback thanks to the efforts of local conservationists, according to media reports on Monday.

Fewer than 200 were believed to be in existence in the late 1960s. However, that number as more than doubled, as 411 Asiatic Lions are now believed to live in India's Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary - a growth rate that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi called "remarkable" during a May 3 interview with the AFP news agency.
The survey of lions revealed that there were 162 mature females, 97 mature males, and 152 cubs in the Gir forest region.

The population increase and the male-to-female ratio was, in the words of Chief Conservator of Forests Pradeep Khanna, a "very good indicator" that the species was making a comeback.

In 2000, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the Asiatic Lion as being a critically endangered species. Its status was upgraded to endangered two years ago.

According to the official website of the Asiatic Lion Information Centre, the lion, whose scientific name is Panthera leo persica, "has long been celebrated as Lord of Beasts, and it became a symbol for human power and sovereignty. In ancient societies in India, to fight with a lion was considered to be the ultimate test of leadership."
"Asiatic lions are slightly smaller than their African cousins, although the largest Asiatic lion on record was an imposing 2.9 m in length," the group adds. "Though they have a less well developed mane, Asiatic lions have thicker elbow tufts and a longer tail tuft."
Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1858926/endangered_lions_making_comeback/

Lion population registers healthy growth Gujarat districts news.

Lion population registers healthy growth Gujarat districts news
03 May 2010

Gujarat's Junagadh district and neighboring Amreli seem to be in competition for hosting the largest population of coveted Asiatic lions. As many as 108 lions have been sighted in Amreli, second only to Junagadh, which has recorded a lion population of 270. The Gir National Park Sanctuary is located in Junagarh.
Meanwhiles, the king of the jungle seems to be have taken a special liking for Bhavnagar's grasslands. However, Porbandar district has not seen a single lion.
According to the latest census, there are 77 cubs less than a year old and 75 that are less than three years of age, which prompted Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to compare with a similar 40-per cent youth component of the Indian population on Sunday.
Modi said the world needed to take note of the scientific approach of the lion census conducted by Gujarat this time. He added that relevant authorities should conduct a scientific study of the method and replicate it in other wildlife censuses too.

He said that the earlier methodology was somewhat unscientific, based as it was on the instances of lion sightings reported and arriving at estimates of population based on attacks reported on other animals. This time around though, a more scientific and systematic method had been developed and deployed to arrive at more accurate population figures.
According to the forest department, the latest census used GIS, GPS and wireless technologies for effective coordination and proper documentation, which had been done for each observation through direct sighting with the animals identified with distinct body-marks.
Each team involved in the census had been directed to record the body-marks and other details including time of the sightings, to and fro directional movement etc on a form prepared by the forest department. Digital photographs had also been taken to serve as records.
Summer is the regarded to be the best time to conduct the counting exercise as the number of water bodies gets restricted at the time and wild life including lions need to converge at such places at least once every 24 hours which making the exercise that much easier.
The available water sources and probable watering places were surveyed in a nine-month-long pre-census exercise.
Claiming that effective conservation methods adopted by the state forest department had resulted in the significant rise in lion population, Modi said, "After the unfortunate incident (poaching cases of 2007), we recruited 400 new people, trained them for better guarding of the forest, and brought in motorcycles and all kinds of new technology.''
He said that Gujarat was very proud of its heritage and population of all wildlife had increased in the last 30 years, he added.
"The results can be seen in the census data this time," he added.
Commending the local people for their enthusiastic participation in the spectacular increase in the lion population, Modi said, "We got the maximum of people's participation in the census process this time.''
However, the key role in the lion conservation efforts is that of the residents of the villages adjoining the jungle king's habitat who take it in their stride when their livestock is attacked by the wild predators. An indication of the keenness of villagers to be part of the efforts is the help which they sought to extend to the conservation authorities on the condition that the proposed relocation of the lions was scrapped.
Modi said the villagers told the authorities not to worry about the lions preying on their livestock as it was their internal issue. He said the villagers told him they could deal with the lions as they considered the animals part of the family, but pleaded that the animals not be taken away from them.
Gujarat's conservation success story is however, not limited to lions as other wildlife populations are also rising. Principal secretary, department of environment and forests, Gujarat, SK Nanda said large numbers of sambars, leopards and porcupines had also been sighted by volunteers. He said the population of sambar has been estimated at 48,000, with 20 leopards in Gir forests and 1,070 all over Gujarat.
Source: http://www.domain-b.com/environment/20100503_healthy_growth_oneView.html

Living amid roar of lions

On Sunday morning, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi announced the official tally of the number of Asiatic Lions in the Gir forests in Saurashtra. But the roar of the Lion King is not the only beauty that the Gir jungles are host to.
A plethora of wildlife, flora and fauna, people and nature make the home of the Lion King strikingly beautiful and thrilling. The people in the forest - the Maldhari families - are an exotic tribe, who live in colonies called ness, with their livestock inside the forest. Their traditions and culture is distinctly visible in the way they live their lives with the wild beast.
The mutual tolerance - of the beast of the human presence and humans' endurance to deal with his attack on their livestock - is indeed a subject of study.
We present here a series of pictures, most of them taken during the Asiatic Lion census in Gir forest earlier this week. Renowned wildlife photographer Mukesh Acharya captures the myriad hues and moods of the woods in his lens.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/slideshow_living-amid-roar-of-lions_1378518

Bingo! ALPS (NGO ) member's comment in Washingtonpost...

In India, a lion conservation success story turns into political issue

PHOTOS

"The lion is our king," said Lakshmiben Ulwa, 54, who belongs to the Maldhari community of cattle rearers that lives in the Gir sanctuary. (Rama Lakshmi - Washington Post)

The Gir park is the world's only habitat for free-ranging Asiatic lions. (Rama Lakshmi - Washington Post)

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Chaturvedi took a dig at the other Indian wildlife parks, saying that they have been unable to protect their dwindling tigers, now totaling a mere 1,411. "Let those who ask for our lions focus on the disappearing tigers first. If they cannot protect their tiger population, how will our lions be safe there?"

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  Special Report: Green science, policy, living

Jairam Ramesh, India's environment and wildlife minister, even offered tigers to Gujarat as an incentive to part with its lions, but without any luck.
Many analysts say that Gir's big cats descend from a handful of lions and make up a limited genetic pool. Iran, the only other country with a captive breeding population of Asiatic lions, refused to help India introduce much-needed genetic diversity.
Population spilling over

Meanwhile, Gir can no longer contain its growing numbers of lions.
In the past four years, lions have begun dispersing naturally into newer areas, traveling along streams, grassland and farms. Gujarat's forest officials say this is creating a satellite lion population that would insulate them in the event of an infection. But advocates of translocation say that this does not provide adequate geographical isolation.
Some lions fall into open village wells in the dark and die. Many farmers say that the presence of lions keeps a check on the blue bulls that destroy their crops.
Instances of man-lion conflict are rare.
Inside the Gir sanctuary, there are 375 families of Maldharis, a traditional forest-dwelling community of vegetarian cattle rearers. Their cattle are routinely hunted by the lions.
"We never get angry at the lion. The lion is our king. It is our duty to see that its stomach is full," said Lakshmiben Ulwa, the 54-year-old matriarch of a door-less, mud hamlet.
But that bonhomie may not last.
Two weeks ago, in a rare incident, a sub-adult lion was axed to death by three woodcutters in Mandalpara village, a few miles from the sanctuary. The lion had attacked seven farm laborers.
"As the number of lions rise, they will spill over and conflict with humans will rise. Nobody wants a lion in their back yard," said Ritwick Dutta, the attorney for the translocation advocates in the Supreme Court case. "But Gujarat state wants a monopoly over the lions and does not want to part with even five lions."
During last month's census operation, Gir officials asked for 120 volunteers. They were flooded with 800 applications from people ready to forgo a week of school and office to do their bit for the lions.

Jagrut Rindani, a 31-year-old member of the Asiatic Lion Protection Society, was among the volunteers.
"As a wildlife enthusiast, I understand the concerns about an epidemic hitting our lions. But the lion is Gujarati pride. My heart is saying our lions should not go anywhere, but my mind is saying something else," he said.

Amreli is Junagadh's rival as host of lions in Gujarat

Amreli is Junagadh's rival as host of lions in Gujarat

‎
Daily News & Analysis - Jumana Shah - 6 hours ago

Incidentally, the Gir National Park and Sanctuary is located in ... probable places where the lions could visit were surveyed during the forest department's ...

Complimenting Gujarat government for rise in Gir lions

‎
Merinews - 6 hours ago

Narender Modi government in Gujarat should be complimented for success in its efforts to increase number of lions in Gir forests now to 411 out of which 77 ...

Exact Figures Area and Gender-wise - Asiatic (Gir) Lion Census -2010.

Details of Lion Census 2010
Area	Cubs Up to 1 Yr.	Cubs 1 to 3 Yrs.			Adult Male	Adult Female	Total
		Male	Female	Unidentified
Gir National Park	61	18	17	21	59	121	297
Girnar Century	4	2	0	0	7	11	24
Coastal Area	4	0	2	0	9	6	21
Paniya	0	0	0	0	3	6	9
Mityala	0	1	1	0	2	3	7
Other	8	2	3	8	17	15	53
T O T A L	77	23	23	29	97	162	411

State sticks to old plan without new lion habitats and other 8 news articles...

1. Asiatic lion population rises to 411 Sify - 2 hours ago Announcing the results of the Asiatic lion census 2010 carried out in the sprawling expanse of the greater Gir, the chief minister said benchmarked against ...

2. Roaring success: Lion numbers leap in Gujarat ‎Times of India - 3 hours ago As many as 33 big cats were counted 250 km from Gir National Park in semi-forest areas of Mahuva and Palitana in Bhavnagar. No less than 74 lions are now ...

3. Indian Express

   Lion census: Gujarat's pride crosses 400 ‎Indian Express - 4 hours ago EXpress aechive There is good news for the country: the Asiatic lion population ... What's more: lions can now be found outside the Gir National Park and ...

4. State sticks to old plan without new lion habitats ‎Indian Express - 4 hours ago But the state Forest Department is still following the extended 2006-07 management plan, which does not include these territories. Notably, the Asiatic lion ...

5. Lion count tempers tiger gloom ‎Calcutta Telegraph - 4 hours ago Gir's Asiatic lion population has jumped to 411, heartening animal lovers but also giving Narendra Modi a chance to reaffirm his opposition to lion ...

6. The Hindu

   Asiatic Lion population in Gir grows by 13% ‎The Hindu - Manas Dasgupta - 6 hours ago GANDHINAGAR: The population of Asiatic Lions in the Gir forest in Gujarat's Saurashtra region, the only abode of the animals in the world, has grown by 13 ...

7. Lions hold their ground in Gir forests ‎Daily News & Analysis - Jumana Shah - 7 hours ago But, the Asiatic lion population in Gir now stands at 411. ... Conceding that the lions migrated out of the forest to surrounding areas, the chief minister ...

8. Asiatic lion count goes up, so does Gir's pride ‎Daily Pioneer - Rathin Das - 7 hours ago Compared to 205 in 1979, the Asiatic lion population in Gir has doubled in 30 years to ... increase in the future, pointed out a Forest Department official. ...

9. 411 lions in Gir forests, population up by 52 since last count ‎India Today - 12 hours ago Giving details about the census, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the population of Asiatic lions in Gir forests of Junagadh district and adjoining ...

Asiatic lion population rises to 411.

May 2nd, 2010 - 4:40 pm ICT by IANS -

Gandhinagar, May 2 (IANS) The population of the Asiatic lion in Gujarat - its lone abode across the globe - has risen to 411, registering a growth of over 13 per cent from the last census in 2005, Chief Minister Narendra Modi announced here Sunday.
“This is Gujarat’s gift to the globe as we celebrate our golden jubilee,” Modi said.
Announcing the results of the Asiatic lion census 2010 carried out in the sprawling expanse of the greater Gir, the chief minister said benchmarked against the 1979 population of 205, the number today stands more than doubled.
In the 2005 census, their number was 358.
“Of the total 411 lions, 77 were cubs less than one year old and another 75 were in the one to three year age-group. Thus, almost 40 per cent of the lion population comprises the young - as does India’s, which bodes well for the future,” he added.
Modi pointed out that India and many other countries of the world are worried about the gender imbalances creeping into its demographic profile.
“Not so in the case of the Asiatic lion. Their latest population profile shows 97 males against 162 females, making for a ratio of 1:1.67,” he said.
“The immediate result of the rise in female population is that the incidents of male lions devouring cubs have decreased with the females bunching together to ward off such attempts,” he added.
The chief minister said the Rs.40-crore special package for the Sasan Gir lion sanctuary and its environs announced by the state government had reaped rich dividends following enhanced communication facilities and a crash programme to cover open wells.
“We would lose ten cubs on an average every year due to these open wells. This last year the loss was only one,” he said, adding that the sanctuary was today one of the best protected in the country.
Source: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/asiatic-lion-population-rises-to-411_100357229.html