Was an 'innocent' lion captured in Rajula?

Vijaysinh Parmar, TNN | Jul 24, 2012, 11.09PM IST
RAJKOT: Have forest officials captured an "innocent" lion in Rajula? Forest department believes that the lion which they caged on July 21 from Lunsapur village was the one that killed 55-yearold Bhikha Parmar of Nagesri village on July 18.
However, wildlife lovers who have been watching lions in this area very closely, are confident that the caputured lion is not the one which killed Parmar. In fact, they told TOI that the killer lion is still roaming in the area and actually chased a group of five shepherds in Nagesri on Monday evening.
Vijay Kotila, sarpanch of Lunsapur, says confidently that the lion captured from outskirts of this village was not the one which killed Parmar. "We have been monitoring lions' movement very closely since many years and the lion captured was in fact seen with a lioness near our village. Forest department captured it believing that it was the one which killed Parmar," Kotila claimed.
Ajay Varu, sarpanch of Nagesri village, claimed that the forest department has captured an innocent lion, which will now face life imprisonment in Sasan animal care centre. "The lion was captured to placate public anger over the killing of a human," he claimed.
As per wildlife rules, any lion or wild cat which kills humans are captured and caged in Junagadh's Sakkarbaug Zoo or in the rescue centre in Sasan.
However, when contacted, A B Bloch, range forest officer of Rajula range, said that there is no possibility of capturing an innocent lion. "However, if we receive such complaints from villages, we will look into this matter,'' Bloch said.
There are at least 45 lions in 12 square km area near Rajula and Jafrabad talukas of Amreli district. As per the 2010 lion census, there were 100 lions in Amreli district.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Was-an-innocent-lion-captured-in-Rajula/articleshow/15126328.cms

Edinburgh Zoo’s latest arrival in love at first swipe.

Published on Tuesday 24 July 2012 18:50
WHILE the world waits for pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang to enjoy their first romantic encounter, it seems that passions are running high elsewhere at Edinburgh Zoo.

The zoo’s resident Asiatic lioness, Kamlesh, has been introduced to new arrival Jayendra, a lion 13 years her junior.
Jayendra, two, arrived from Bristol Zoo at the end of June, and keepers say he has “hit it off” with the older animal.
The pair have even been spotted curling up together to sleep.
Jayendra has not yet reached sexual maturity, but it is hoped the pair will have cubs later on.
But, as the above pictures illustrate, Jayendra has some growing up to do before he can claim to be the dominant partner in this relationship.
Alison Maclean, head carnivore keeper at Edinburgh Zoo, said: “It’s great news that we have Jay at the zoo and he has already been introduced successfully to Kamlesh, our feisty female Asiatic lion.
“When you’re introducing any animal to another animal for the first time there is always uncertainty, especially when it’s two very powerful lions.
“Kamlesh is around 13 years older than Jay and is slightly larger in size than him too, so it was going to be interesting to see how they would react to each other.
“I’m glad to say that they seem to have hit it off, and they could even be spotted curled up sleeping together on the first night after the introductions - which is a great sign.
“Jay has been submissive to Kamlesh and she is definitely the boss in the relationship, for now anyway. We expect this will change when Jay reaches sexual maturity and takes over as the dominant one in the pair.
“We are hopeful that they will become a breeding pair and produce cubs in the not-too-distant future which would be fantastic for us at the zoo and the ongoing conservation and breeding programme for these incredibly endangered animals.
“It has been a pretty smooth and speedy introduction mainly because there wasn’t a tussle over who’s in charge. Jay is very active and can often be spotted climbing the tree branches in his enclosure, whereas she’s a little more relaxed and not as boisterous as him.”
Asiatic lions, which are one of the seven subspecies of lions, are critically endangered because of habitat loss and poaching.
They can now be found only in the Gir Forest National Park in India, and there are thought to be just 175 left in the wild.
Smaller than their African relatives, Asiatic lions usually weigh about 190kg (29 stone) whereas African lions weigh in at around a hefty 230kg (36 stone).
Asiatic male lions also have a shorter and lighter-coloured mane meaning that their ears are always visible, unlike that of the African lion.
Source: http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/pictures/edinburgh-zoo-s-latest-arrival-in-love-at-first-swipe-1-2429527

Gir lions are nation�s property, concedes Gujarat govt.

Published: Tuesday, Jul 24, 2012, 15:18 IST
By Jumana Shah | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
The six-year-long battle in the Supreme Court over shifting of the Asiatic Lions from Gir sanctuary to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno Palpur Sanctuary saw an interesting twist on Monday. During the hearing on a plea related to the relocation of Asiatic Lions to Kuno-Palpur Sanctuary of Madhya Pradesh from Gir National Park, the Gujarat government agreed that wildlife is not the ‘property’ of any state but belongs to the country.
Senior counsel for the petitioner in the case, Raj Panjwani says, “This, in effect means that the state has agreed for the translocation of the lions out of Gujarat, if wildlife experts confirm that Kuno is prepared to receive the big cats. The state’s counsel said that if the security and prey base measures are fulfilled, we have not objection.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior forest officer from Gujarat informed DNA, “The lions should be relocated scientifically. We can move them if it is affirmed that Kuno has sufficient prey base, it is secure; there shouldn’t be other pathogens, etc. We believe that the materials presented before the courts are not enough to take an informed decision on the subject.”
Panjwani adds that the whole issue was ‘whether’ the lions can be translocated or not.That has been resolved today, as the government’s counsel conceded that lions are not the property of the state of Gujarat. “So the question whether Gujarat can say ‘no’ to relocation is settled. It cannot. So the issue is now about when and how the lions should be moved. That is an administrative issue that can be dealt with by wildlife experts,” he said
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_gir-lions-are-nations-property-concedes-gujarat-govt_1719077

Tree count to help develop environment plans.

TNN Jul 22, 2012, 02.07AM IST

AHMEDABAD: The first ever tree count taken up by the urban bodies will lead to the formation of a development plan for improving environment of the cities in the state.
The state government officials said that a tree survey to estimate tree population in the rural areas, outside the forests of Gujarat, was done in 2003 and 2009, but no such assessment was carried out for the urban parts of the state. Hence in 2011, the social forestry department decided to conduct the first tree counting in all eight municipal corporations, urban authorities areas and 159 municipalities.

The main objective of the count was to assess carbon store and also scope of carbon sequestration in the urban areas, to develop plan for improving environment of the cities and towns, to estimate the total number of trees and status of tree cover in the urban areas, to create a baseline information to monitor trend of tree cover in different cities and to find out the preferences of tree species in urban areas.
The officials said that to complete the tree census, the social forestry department has joined hands with urban department. The first planning for tree census in urban areas of Gujarat was done in late 2010 and enumeration was completed in 2011. The verification of counting was done in late 2011 and also in January 2012.
In Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation area, the tree counting was carried out in cantonment and other areas by the forest department, in schools and institutions it was conducted by teachers and students of the botany department of Gujarat University and municipal school board and in city gardens it was undertaken by park warden department of the municipal corporation. In the census, trees of each species were counted in 11 girth classes, ranging from 10 to over 300 cm.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-22/ahmedabad/32787904_1_tree-census-tree-count-tree-survey

Big cats at war: Driven out by lions, leopards attack humans.

Published: Monday, Jul 23, 2012, 16:13 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
The man-animal conflict at Gir seems to be growing. And it’s not just with lions. Incidences of leopard attack on human beings too are increasing. They have more than doubled in the last two years.
The primary reason for this situation is the deserted sugarcane fields on the periphery of the forest, which attract the leopards. However, activists also claim that a certain degree of competition with the king of the jungle, the Asiatic lion, drives the leopard out of the forest in search of prey.
The rule of the forest is that the lion gets the first right of refusal. With the lion population expanding to 411 according to the latest census and the leopard population at 600, the competition is intensifying every passing day.
The year 2011-12 saw six deaths due to attack by leopards as against two in 2010-11. This year, two cases have already been recorded. Officials and activists who have been working in the Junagadh forest range, particularly close to Sasan Gir, insist that the increase in attacks is due to the increase in number of sugarcane fields.
Deputy conservator of forest, Sasan, Gir, Sandeep Kumar insists that there is enough prey base for both the big cats, but concedes that the leopard backs off when the lion stakes claim on a prey. “That is the rule of the jungle, the lion is the king,” says the forester who is a keen observer of life in the wild. With the Supreme Court and international wildlife community breathing down the Gujarat forest department’s neck on parting with a few lions for Madhya Pradesh, the forest department is hard-selling the ungulate population in the Gir forest region, but the officials are ominously quiet on the multiplying leopard population which competes with the lions for the forest’s resources.
Another forest officer, refusing to be quoted, defends the man-animal conflicts claiming most attacks have happened on outsiders — non-residents of the area— and invariably all the victims are somehow associated with the sugarcane business.
“With more people getting into sugarcane farming, the leopards are finding a happy home in these fields. In sugarcane farming, once the crop is planted, the field only needs to be watered. This is done through a canal-like network. This means the field is left undisturbed for close to a year,” said an official who closely monitored the developments.
Dinesh Goswami, an activist with Prakruti Nature Club, a local NGO which works for the awareness, interacted with the locals after a few incidents of leopard attack. He claims, “When people eat meat and fish and leave the bones behind, it attracts the leopards. This brings the feline in close contact with humans leading to attacks,” said Goswami.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_big-cats-at-war-driven-out-by-lions-leopards-attack-humans_1718674

India struggles with best way to protect rare lions

Credit: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nurtured back to about 400 from a population of less than 50 a century ago, wild Asiatic lions now are the subject of an Indian Supreme Court lawsuit calling for their relocation to another sanctuary in order to preserve their genetic diversification.

By: KATY DAIGLE | The Associated Press
Published: July 20, 2012

»  Comments | Post a Comment

GIR SANCTUARY, India -- A peacock shrieks. A monkey scrambles higher into the canopy of a kesudo tree. And an Asiatic lion — one of the last few hundred in the wild — pads across the dusty earth of a west Indian sanctuary that is its only refuge from the modern world.
Within the confines of this dry forest in Gujarat state, the lions have been rescued from near-extinction. A century ago, fewer than 50 remained. Today more than 400 fill the park and sometimes wander into surrounding villages and farmland.
But the lions' precarious return is in jeopardy. Experts warn their growing numbers could be their undoing. Crowded together, they are more vulnerable to disease and natural disaster. There is little new territory for young males to claim, increasing chances for inbreeding, territorial conflict or males killing the young.
Conservationists agree these lions need a second home fast, and far from Gir. Government-backed experts in the 1990s settled on a rugged and hilly sanctuary called Kuno, where lions historically roamed with tigers, in the neighboring state of Madhya Pradesh. Millions were spent preparing the park. But Gujarat rejected the plan. And no lions were sent.
Now, the uncertain fate of the Asiatic lions — once dominant in forests from Morocco and Greece across the Middle East to eastern India — rests in the hands of bureaucrats, and the case has reached the Supreme Court.
"We are the only ones who have lions. We have managed without interference until now," said Gujarat's environment secretary, S.K. Nanda. "Can we humans be arbiters of where these lions should live? Should we move the mountains and the rivers, too? If the lions want to move, let them move on their own."
* * * * *The subject of saving lions is an emotional one in India. The lion also holds iconic status in religions and cultures. The multi-armed Hindu warrior goddess Durga is traditionally shown with a lion as her mount. Four lions make the national emblem — symbolizing power, courage, pride and confidence. Even the common Sikh name "Singh," shared by the current prime minister, means "lion" in several languages.
The Asiatic lions, a subspecies, are nearly as large as their African cousins, though the males' manes are less fluffy and their tails have larger tufts.
By the 20th century, they had nearly been wiped out by trophy hunters. The last Asiatic lion outside Gujarat was gunned down in Iran in 1942.
Within India, hundreds of thousands of lions, tigers, leopards and wolves were killed over decades of frenzied hunting, encouraged by British colonials. Three years after independence, the country's Asiatic cheetahs were extinct.
But the lions in Gujarat got a reprieve. A princely ruler banned hunting of the few dozen lions left in 1901.
The state created Gir Sanctuary over more than 540 square miles, relocating all but a few hundred buffalo herdsmen who lived peaceably with the predators.
The sanctuary became a model in conservation, with constant patrols against poachers and cultivated grasslands for the lions' prey: spotted deer and blue-hued antelope. A veterinary hospital was built. The lions thrived.
Tourists from India's newly minted middle class now flock to the park, riding open-topped jeeps to see lions lazing under trees or teaching their butterfly-chasing young to stalk small prey.
A few dozen trackers keep count of the animals and fill artificial water holes.
"Not everyone gets a job like this," said Raju Vajadiya, idly swinging a stick, the only defense he and his colleagues usually have or need.
* * * * *Gujarat's conservation laurels now teeter on its next move. Experts say Gujarati officials can best show their devotion to the lions by letting some go. The lions urgently need a second sanctuary, they say — one outside Gujarat to ensure genetic diversification and protection from disease or natural disaster.
Evidence suggests the gene pool is dangerously shallow, meaning a disease that affects one Gir lion could quickly affect many. Tanzania's Serengeti National Park saw a third of its 3,000 lions wiped out in 1994 by canine distemper.
But Gujarat denies any need to move lions from the state. It dismisses the idea that disease or calamity could pose a threat. To give the lions more space, Gujarat recently opened a second sanctuary on its coast. Conservationists say the two populations are still too close together.
To address gene pool concerns, Gujarat is breeding them in a zoo, but conservationists say it's ridiculous to think those could be a substitute for lions raised in the wild.
The central government and Madhya Pradesh state already have prepared the second lion home in Kuno, relocating villages and hiring specialists to build up a prey base for the cats. In 2006, Faiyaz Khusdar, an ecologist on the project, filed a lawsuit challenging how such a plan could be enacted but no lions ever were sent.
The Supreme Court is now deliberating on the messy dispute and could — if it wants — resolve it within weeks.
"India risks becoming a champion of extinction," said Khusdar. "People would never forgive us if we lose these beautiful cats."
Source: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/world-new/2012/jul/20/tdmain02-india-struggles-with-best-way-to-protect--ar-2070443/

Rare Asiatic lion cubs born at Paignton Zoo.

The four cubs will stay with mother Indu for about 12 to 18 months, before being sent to other zoos which also have an endangered species breeding programme

 

19 July 2012 Last updated at 19:51 GMT
Rare Asiatic lion cubs born at a Devon zoo in May have survived their first "critical" weeks.

Paignton Zoo said the four critically-endangered cubs now have a "realistic fighting chance".
A cub born last year had to be put down when it was two months old and vets discovered it had spinal defects
Asiatic lions have been hunted "to the edge of extinction" and the Gir Forest in Gujarat is now their only remaining natural habitat.
There are believed to be fewer than 300 of the creatures left in the wild and a similar number in zoos around the world, which operate a conservation breeding programme for endangered species.
The four cubs, who were born on 15 May, have not yet been sexed or named.
'Cautiously excited' "We don't get too close as we want them to be raised as naturally as possible," zoo spokesman Phil Knowling told BBC News.
"The cubs will stay with their mother for probably about 12 to 18 months - she's doing a good job and seems to be a natural."
For the eight-year-old father and mother, Mwamba and Indu, it is their first successful breeding after several failed attempts.
Neil Bemment, operations director and curator of mammals, said the survival of the cubs would be "very good news" for the endangered species.
"They have come through the critical first few weeks," he said.
"We have been letting Indu get on with being a new mum - so far she seems to be doing really well.
"We are cautiously excited - if she is successful then it will be thanks to a lot of care and attention from the keepers.
When the four cubs are deemed old enough, they will go to other zoos with an endangered species breeding programme.
Asiatic lions are smaller than African lions and have a distinctive fold of skin on the belly.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-18914256

Lion kills man in Amreli village.

TNN Jul 19, 2012, 12.46AM IST

RAJKOT: A 55-year-old man was killed by a lion at Nageshree village in Jafrabad taluka of Amreli district on Wednesday morning. The deceased has been identified as Bhikhabhai Parmar.
He was sleeping in his hut on the outskirts of Nageshree village when the lion attacked him around 3 am, forest officials said.
"The lion entered the hut and dragged Bhikhabhai away. He was then killed by the big cat. The deceased's body has been sent for post mortem. The lion may have entered the hut as there was a goat in it. Bhikhabhai may have tried to save his goat and was attacked by the lion," said A B Bloch, range forest officer, Rajula forest range.

The lion had dragged the victim's body 700 metres away from the hut. "The rescue team has been called in and we have placed cages to nab the lion in the area,'' Bloch said.
Earlier, Bhura Parmar, 35, a resident of Dholadri village, was killed by a lion in the same area on April 18. Dholadri is just five kms from Nageshree village. The area falls under an expanded lion territory called Bruhad Gir.
Subsequently, forest department officials caged one lion and sent it to Sakkarbuag Zoo in Junagadh. As per rules, any lion or wild cat which attacks humans is captured and caged in Sakkarbaug Zoo or in the rescue centre in Sasan Gir for its life time.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-19/rajkot/32746207_1_man-in-amreli-village-lion-sasan-gir

A la carte: King’s banquet has different menus.

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN | Jul 17, 2012, 01.35AM IST
AHMEDABAD: The king of the jungle has changed his menu! Eating habits of Asiatic lions in Gir and its periphery has seen a remarkable change. Over the last five decades, lions have increasingly started to feast on wild animals instead of livestock.

A study by foreign researcher Paul Joslin in the late 1960s had revealed that about 75% lions were dependent on livestock, including cattle, while only 25% hunted wild animals down.

The ratio has reversed today, according to an ongoing study by Gujarat's forest department. "Today, about 80% lions have wild animals in their main diet and only 20% feast on cattle," said deputy conservator of forests Sandeep Kumar.

Even outside the protected sanctuary area, less than 50% of intake is livestock. In coastal areas like Bhavnagar, 63% of lions' diet is blue bull or neelgais - a major reason why local farmers accept lions as their neighbour because blue bulls damage their crops.

A fast-growing prey base and human population, mainly maldharis, moving out of jungles are the main reasons for the reversal in the trend. The phenomenon is reflected in the number of cattle heads killed by lions inside the sanctuary - from 700-800 in 1970s to just about 200 today.

"The study corroborates the findings of Meena Venktraman, who did her PhD in 2008 on Asiatic lions. The study revealed that 81% of lions in the sanctuary area depend on wild animal for their food while the rest depend on livestock," said Kumar.

Experts like Dr H S Singh, additional chief principal conservator of forests, too agree.

Usually, such studies are done by scat analysis after studying faeces of animals to identify the kind of animal and its diet.

In Gir west, chitals account for 46% of lions' diet followed by cattle (18%), sambhar (17%) and blue bull (13%). Contrary to this, in the eastern areas, towards Amreli and Bhavnagar, blue bull is the king's favourite diet - nearly 30% - followed closely by cattle which accounts for 28%.

Buffet time for the Big Cats

In Devaliya, foresters have seen a human side to the lions. Much like us, the big cats also seem to prefer varied diets.

A lioness and her three cubs in the area have a special liking for male neelgai. This mini-pride has an impeccable record in hunting stout, male neelgai. Nothing else will satisfy them!

An ongoing study by the forest officials and deputy conservator of forest Sandeep Kumar reveals that while some prides prefer to feast on a variety of prey, there are many others that prefer hunting for specific animals. Like this group of Devaliya, there was another group of 13-14 lions in Vekharia in Bhavnagar who preferred only neelgai as their food.

He said the kill pattern of the lions depended on various factors including the size of the pride, the climate, the availability of the prey and the size of their groups found in the area among others.

Kumar said that if the group was big, it would love to have a huge buffalo or a neelgai as its food. But if the group was a small it would kill a chital or sambhar.

He noted that the diet even changed with the season. In winters, the killing of chital for food was 54 per cent, while this reduced to 38 per cent in summer. In monsoon, about 26 per cent of the cattle were killed for food, but during winter it was reduced to 13.5 per cent.

Kumar said that during the monsoon, the sambhar would shift to areas with higher altitudes and hence they would be killed more by leopards — which stay in these higher altitude areas. Lions are not found on very high altitude areas. However, chital killing by lions increased in these seasons, as the chital always stays in flat lands and are an easy target for the big cats. He observed that during monsoon, the killing of cattle also increases. Many farmers leave their cattle alone who stray into the forest area and become prey to lions.

Officials said that the even the movement of the group and their size also play a major role into accounting for the lion diet. In Gir area, one can find large group of chital during winter and hence they fall easy prey to lion. But during summer and monsoon when the group size of chital reduces, the killing of these animals also decreases.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/A-la-carte-Kings-banquet-has-different-menus/articleshow/15010573.cms

Lion transfer: SC amicus seeks mandate for relook.

TNN | Jul 14, 2012, 01.34AM IST
AHMEDABAD: Supreme Court amicus curiae P S Narasimha sought directions from the apex court on the formation of a sub-committee to look into shifting lions to Kuno-Palpur from Gir.
The Gujarat government is fighting a legal battle in the Supreme Court in the wake of a PIL filed by an environment group seeking translocation of some Asiatic lions from Gir to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno-Palpur sanctuary.
The amicus curiae proposed to the SC that a sub-committee be formed to look into the adequacy, preparedness of the staff and other factors including prey base. The committee according to the proposal should take a fresh into the issue.
Principal Secretary Forests and Environment S K Nanda confirmed that a proposal for a sub committee has been forwarded to the SC by amicus curie PS Narasimha.
Recently the Supreme Court had sent a team to Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to take a view of all concerned parties including the local people.
The state wildlife board at a meeting in March, unanimously resolved that the opinions of the people of Saurashtra should be taken into consideration before a decision is taken.
Senior wildlife activists Lavkumar Kachar had argued that the lion belonged to the people of the Saurashtra, not to the Central or Gujarat governments. He said that the felines are an important part of the biodiversity of the area. He also argued that no government or agency could take a decision without the consent of Saurashtra's people. He added that the people of the region have played a major role in conservation of the lion.
Nanda said that Gujarat government has been pitching in the apex court that the issue of relocation of Lions to Kuno Palpur be looked into afresh as their population in Gujarat was steadily increasing. He further said that transferring the animals would adversely affect conservation.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Lion-transfer-SC-amicus-seeks-mandate-for-relook/articleshow/14871080.cms

New 109 sq km conservation reserve earmarked for lions in Ahmedabad.

AHMEDABAD: The swiftly-multiplying Asiatic lions of Gir have got the forest department to consider expanding the lion's kingdom. Now that these big cats have spread to parts of Amreli and Bhavnagar, the forest department has decided to mark a 109 sq km-area between Bhavnagar and Amreli as a conservation zone.

The new conservation reserve will be in the Jesar-Hipavadli zone. The area is spread across 109 sq km and is about 70 km from Gir forest. Officials said the state government will create breeding and water facilities for the Asiatic lion in the proposed reserve on the lines of those existing in Gir.

The only difference will be that this area will not be a national park, where movement of the people is restricted without valid permission. Here, all new activity in the area will be banned but the movement of people in the area will not be restricted.

The May 2010 lion census revealed that population of Asiatic lions has reached 411.

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN | Jul 12, 2012, 02.05AM IST
The census had also revealed that like Savarkundla, Liliya and adjacent areas of Amreli and Bhavnagar districts have a stable population of 53 lions.

Officials said that apart from being home to 53 lions, the area also acts as a corridor for big cats to travel along the banks of the Shatrunjay river. The area is a corridor to the newer territories near Bhavnagar and Amreli. In the conservation zone, humans will not be shifted out as is done in Gir National Park. Officials said that conservation zone status would pave way for the area to be declared a sanctuary.

"Once the proposal for a conservation reserve is cleared by the state, there will be restrictions on new industries in the area. There will also be no further mining here along with greater legal protection for the lion. A conservation reserve allows the human populace to co-exist in the area," said a senior officer.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/New-109-sq-km-conservation-reserve-earmarked-for-lions-in-Ahmedabad/articleshow/14829910.cms

Gujarat works on alternative habitat for Asiatic lion.

The new conservation area will be spread across 109 sq km in the Jesar-Hipavadli zone

Maulik Pathak

Ahmedabad: In an attempt to establish an alternative habitat for the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), the Gujarat government plans to designate an area between Bhavnagar and Amreli districts in the state as a conservation reserve for the rare and endangered subspecies.
The effort is part of the state forest department’s broader plan to expand the distribution range of some 400 lions that survive in the Gir forest and are increasingly moving out of the area, perhaps because of their rising headcount.
The new conservation area in the Jesar-Hipavadli zone will be spread across 109 sq. km; it’s about 70km from Gir, the abode of the lions for over a century. The state will create breeding and water facilities for the beasts in the proposed conservation reserve on the lines of those existing in Gir.
The area, apart from being home to at least 20-odd lions, also acts as a corridor for the beasts to travel along the banks of the river Shatrunjay to reach relatively newer territories near Bhavnagar and Amreli. The Gir forest area also once served as a corridor for the lions to travel to other regions before they made it their home.

New abode: A file photo of a lion inside the Gir sanctuary. The new conservation area will be spread across 109 sq. km in the Jesar-Hipavadli zone, about 70km from Gir, where the state will create breeding and water facilities for the beasts. Photo: Rajanish Kakade)/AP

The alternative habitat will comprise three areas—parts of Bhavnagar district, Amreli district and the lion corridor. In all, about 60 lions are equally distributed in these three areas.Barda, a sanctuary 160km from Gir in Amreli district, has also been identified as a home for the lions for a long time now and the forest department expects eight lions to shift there in October.
Barda has a large human population, which had made it difficult for the lions to enter the area in the past, according to two persons in the know of the development who did not want to be identified. A plan for rehabilitation of the locals is in the works and soon some lions could be shifted there.
“Once the proposal for conservation reserve is cleared by the state there will be restrictions for industries to come up in the area. Also there can be no mining here. There will be more legal protection for the lion. A conservation reserve allows human population to co-exist in the area,” said R.L. Meena, chief conservator of forests (wildlife division), Junagadh circle.
S.K. Nanda, principal secretary in the Gujarat government’s environment and forest department, said his department will soon give the green light to the forest department’s proposal.
“If ever there is an outbreak of some disease or a natural disaster which can put the existence of the entire lion population at stake, we will have an alternative site in place,” H.S. Singh, additional principal chief conservator of forests, social forestry, Gujarat, said.
The lions can prey on the blue bull population in the would be conservation reserve.
Plans are also afoot to create a lion gene pool at Ramapara in Amreli district.
The state government proposed to the Centre early this year the notification of an area of 3,467 sq. km near Gir as an ecologically sensitive zone, barring any industrial development or mining activity in the area.
The area is more than double the five protected areas covering 1,758 sq. km in the Gir sanctuary, according to Singh.
A corpus of Rs. 150 crore has been earmarked for the lions’ conservation.
There were 411 lions as per the 2010 census and officials say that the number has increased. The counting is done once in every five years and the next one will be in 2015. From 1968, when 177 lions were counted, till 2010, the census has shown a constant increase in the lion population.
The spotted deer is the most abundant prey for the lions and its count increased from about 4,600 in 1974 to 52,500 in 2010.
About 110-odd lions are currently outside Gir. “The lions have moved to new territories and found new homes naturally,” said Sandeep Kumar, district forest officer, Gir.
“We have allowed the lions to go out (of Gir) naturally. This is the reason why Barda even till date, after being chosen as an alternative site for lions in 1979, does not have any lions. This year by October we are expecting a group of lions to move there,” said Singh.
The Gujarat government is currently fighting a legal battle in the Supreme Court after an environmental group filed public interest litigation seeking the translocation of some lions to the Palpur-Kuno wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh on grounds that Gir is overpopulated.
The Gujarat government has argued that the translocation is unnecessary and that it would expose the lions to poachers in Madhya Pradesh.
For over 130 years, Asiatic lions have been restricted to the Gir forest and its vicinity. Lion hunting was rampant in the past and their population was down to a few dozens in the early 1980s. The princely ruler of Junagadh banned lion hunting at the turn of the 20th century.
Gir has become a model of conservation, with constant patrols against poachers.
“There would be about 500-600 lions in Gir today. A large number of lions have been wiped out in the past at Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park due to epidemics and so it becomes necessary to have a second home for them,” said an expert who did not want to be named.
“Gujarat has been doing a great job in conserving lions and an alternative site by them is timely. There have been some concerns lately over rising leopard population in the area who compete with the lions for food,” the expert said.
maulik.p@livemint.com
Source: http://www.livemint.com/2012/07/10224817/Gujarat-works-on-alternative-h.html?h=B

Young Simbas establish huge kingdom.

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN Jul 11, 2012, 04.32AM IST

AHMEDABAD: Like in the movie Lion King, young Simba has come off age. Three-and-a-half-year-old Sandipan and his unnamed brother have established the largest kingdom in the Sasan Gir, spread over 100 sq km and including 32 big cats.
These are the two youngest rulers who have captured the biggest pride in the sanctuary. And, both have been accepted as rulers, even by other adult males.
Experts who have been monitoring Gir for years say this is unusual. H S Singh, additional principal chief conservator of forest and an expert on lions, calls this a rare phenomenon. "Usually a lions captures his own territory only after he is five years. Capturing a territory at such a young age is only possible if the opponent is weak and the new king is brave enough to take risks," Singh said.

Of the six groups present in the territory - spread over Dedakadi, Karambha, Paniya and Dedia villages - Sandipan and his brother have already mated with five females. Deputy conservator of forest Sandeep Kumar, who is monitoring the take-over in the tourism zone, said, "In my entire career, I have never come across an incident where lions this young have captured the territory and are being easily accepted by older big cats."
In May last week, the two brothers had established their supremacy over the biggest pride of the Gir forest and instead of pushing the old lion out, the duo stayed close to him until he died.
The last bastion, Paniya, which has presence of two adult lions, was conquered without any bloodshed. "We were expecting a fierce battle between these adults and the brothers. But, the take-over was very smooth with the two adults accepting the Sandipan's supremacy," said Kumar.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-11/flora-fauna/32632323_1_big-cats-lion-king-sasan-gir

Wildlife tour operators, resorts to shell out conservation fee .

Author(s): Kumar Sambhav S...

Date: Jul 11, 2012

Fund so collected will be spent on conserving forests, managing human-wildlife conflict and generating livelihood for local communities

Tour operators and resorts near national parks and sanctuaries will have to pay at least 10 per cent of their turnover as conservation fee (Photo: Sayantoni Palchoudhuri)
Hoteliers and tour operators who have been cashing in on wildlife tourism without bothering about local communities and resources might finally have to part with a good share of their profit for wildlife and forest dwellers. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has decided that hotels and resorts within a five kilometre radius of national parks and sanctuaries should be charged a minimum 10 per cent of their turnover as local conservation fee. The fund thus collected will be spent by states on conservation of forest resources, managing human-wildlife conflict and generating livelihood for local communities.
The move comes in the backdrop of a Supreme Court case where the apex court is considering whether tourism should be allowed in the core areas of tiger reserves. In March last year, Bhopal based non-profit Prayatna filed a public interest petition in the apex court, pleading that critical tiger habitats should be kept inviolate of all kinds of human disturbances, including tourism. The National Tiger Conservation Authority of the ministry supported the petition, saying tourism should be phased out from the core areas. Regulated tourism can be allowed in the buffer areas, it said. The court, however, directed the ministry to finalise the eco-tourism guidelines for the protected areas, due since June last year before it would decide the matter.
MoEF finalises eco-tousim guidelines
In the new guidelines, finalised on June 12, the ministry has reiterated that tourism should be phased out gradually from the core areas. As an interim measure, it suggested that for tiger reserves with the core areas of more than 500 sq km, community-based tourism can be allowed in a maximum of 20 per cent of the core zone. In return, 30 per cent of the buffer area will have to be restored as wildlife habitat. For core areas smaller than 500 sq km, 10 percent of the core can be opened for tourism subject to the condition that 20 per cent of such area is restored as wildlife habitat.
The ministry told the court that the mushrooming of high-end tourist facilities around protected areas in recent years has led to exploitation, degradation, disturbance and misuse of fragile ecosystems, causing “further alienation of local people”. The guidelines, thus, aim to make  tourism in such areas community-based and community-driven. “Any core area in a tiger reserve from which relocation has been carried out will not be used for tourism activities. Forest dwellers who have been relocated will be given priority in terms of livelihood generation through community-based eco-tourism,” the guidelines say. Local home stays will be exempted from the conservation fee.
The guidelines prescribe roles and responsibilities for the state governments, protected area managements and the resort owners. They direct the states to formulate eco-tourism strategy within one year to ensure local community participation and benefit-sharing and ensure that forest and wildlife is conserved in the ecologically sensitive areas and in the critical wildlife corridors. A state-level steering committee under the chief minister, which would include the chief wildlife warden and representatives of local communities, tribal welfare department, Panchayati Raj institutions and civil society institutions, will periodically review this strategy.
The guidelines say every protected area should have an eco-tourism plan which demarcates the area open for tourism, estimates carrying capacity of the area and fixes the number of tourists accordingly and sets in place a monitoring mechanism to asses impact of tourism. The guidelines say that tourism infrastructure must be low key comprising low-impact architecture, renewable, waste recycling, water management and made in a way sensitive to the corridor value of the area. At least 50 per cent of the energy of the resorts should be generated from renewable sources. The guidelines say a local advisory committee of the officials at the division/district level, local experts and community members should be formed to monitor the practices of the resort owners.
Source: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/wildlife-tour-operators-resorts-shell-out-conservation-fee

Gir sanctuary: Another maldhari relocation project on the cards.

ADAM HALLIDAY

Posted: Jul 12, 2012 at 0512 hrs IST

Ahmedabad A large, competing population of livestock and wild ungulates in and around Gir is overcrowding the area and leading forest officials into discussions about what can be done, much like in the early 1970s when maldhari, or pastoralist, families had to be relocated.
An internationally-funded study had then counted 21,000 domestic herbivores devouring much of the plants there, resulting in a low wild ungulate population of just a few thousand.
After maldharis were relocated, the population of wild ungulates (chital, sambar, nilgai, wild boar, four-horned antelope, langur and chinkara) increased dramatically and their total population now stands at nearly 70,000.
“Livestock population has reached the 1970 levels again, and there is increasing competition between domestic and wild herbivores, leading to degradation of patches in the forest area and more cases of carnivores (the Gir region hosts Asiatic lions, leopards and hyenas) attacking the maldharis’ livestock,” said a veteran forest department official, adding the central government has been apprised of the situation.
Although a second maldhari relocation project is on the cards, top forest officials contend there is still much to debate before a full-fledged plan is laid out (in fact, the revised management plan being currently debated for the sanctuary and national park does not contain such a plan).
“On top of the list is the financial costs that will be required to move and resettle thousands of humans and tens of thousands of animals,” said another senior official involved in the discussions.
The second is the resistance such a plan is likely to trigger, and even if that can be settled, rehabilitation packages will have to be negotiated, he said, somewhat wary that demands for such packages are likely to be exaggerated in some cases.
The third is whether or not the political class or agencies in the central government will fully back such a relocation project. Foresters say they will have to test the waters even if they take the entire onus of carrying out the groundwork themselves.
In the transition years of the 1960s and 1970s, the state forest department and a trio of institutions — Bombay Natural History Society, Smithsonian Institution and Yale University — had initiated a research, “The Gir Lion Project”.
Aided by forester Sanat A Chavan, who has since retired, researcher Paul Joslin had recorded “about 21,000 domestic livestock graze within the (Gir) sanctuary and this number gets doubled or trebled during the dry season”.
This had dire consequences. The research noted there was “very low ungulate biomass due to heavy grazing and browsing by domestic livestock” and lions fed “almost exclusively” on maldharis’ livestock in the absence of their natural prey.
Meanwhile, the Asiatic lion population had dropped from 177 to 285 in just five years. And later, between 1972 and 1986, hundreds of maldhari families were shifted from the area and a rubber wall was erected to stop animals from grazing inside the sanctuary. Besides, wild ungulates were bred and introduced as prey for the carnivores.
From less than 10,000 in 1974, the wild ungulate population reached 69,972 by the time the lion population was estimated to be 411 in 2010.

The protected part of Gir forest covers 1,412 sq kilometres, which includes the national park and sanctuary.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/gir-sanctuary-another-maldhari-relocation-project-on-the-cards/973435/

Endangered Asiatic Lions May Be Overly Guarded In India's Gir Sanctuary.

AP  |  By KATY DAIGLE Posted: 07/05/2012 1:06 pm Updated: 07/05/2012 3:30 pm

GIR SANCTUARY, India (AP) — A peacock shrieks. A monkey scrambles higher into the fire-colored canopy of a kesudo tree. And an Asiatic lion — one of the last few hundred in the wild — pads across the dusty earth of a west Indian sanctuary that is its only refuge from the modern world.
Within the guarded confines of this dry forest in Gujarat state, the lions have been rescued from near-extinction. A century ago, fewer than 50 remained. Today more than 400 fill the park and sometimes wander into surrounding villages and farmland.
But the lions' precarious return is in jeopardy. Experts warn their growing numbers could be their undoing. Crowded together, they are more vulnerable to disease and natural disaster. There is little new territory for young males to claim, increasing chances for inbreeding, territorial conflict or males killing the young.
Conservationists agree these lions need a second home fast, and far from Gir. Government-backed experts in the 1990s settled on a rugged and hilly sanctuary called Kuno, where lions historically roamed with tigers in the neighboring state of Madhya Pradesh. Millions were spent preparing the park. But Gujarat rejected the plan. And no lions were sent.
Now, the uncertain fate of the Asiatic lions — once dominant in forests from Morocco and Greece across the Middle East to eastern India — rests in the hands of bureaucrats.
"We are the only ones who have lions. We have managed without interference until now," Gujarat's environment secretary, S.K. Nanda, said proudly from behind an enormous desk in an office complex decorated with lion posters reading: "Gujarat's pride; World's envy."
"Can we humans be arbiters of where these lions should live? Should we move the mountains and the rivers, too?" Nanda said. "If the lions want to move, let them move on their own."

___
The subject of saving lions is an emotional one in India. The lion also holds iconic status in religions and cultures. The multi-armed Hindu warrior goddess Durga is traditionally shown with a lion as her mount. Four lions make the national emblem — symbolizing power, courage, pride and confidence. Even the common Sikh name "Singh," shared by the current prime minister, means "lion" in several languages.
The Asiatic lions, a subspecies, are nearly as large as their African cousins, though the males' manes are less fluffy and their tails have larger tufts.
By the 20th century, they had nearly been wiped out by trophy hunters. The last Asiatic lion outside Gujarat was gunned down in Iran in 1942.
Within India, hundreds of thousands of lions, tigers, leopards and wolves were killed over decades of frenzied hunting, encouraged by British colonials. Three years after independence, the country's Asiatic cheetahs were extinct.
But the lions in Gujarat got a reprieve. A princely ruler banned hunting of the few dozen lions left in 1901.
The state created Gir Sanctuary over more than 1,400 square kilometers (540 square miles), relocating all but a few hundred buffalo herdsmen who lived peaceably with the predators, mainly by giving them wide berth.
The sanctuary became a model in conservation, with constant patrols against poachers and cultivated grasslands for the lions' prey: spotted deer and blue-hued antelope. A veterinary hospital was built. The lions thrived.
Tourists from India's newly minted middle class now flock to the park, riding open-topped jeeps to see lions lazing under trees or teaching their butterfly-chasing young to stalk small prey.
A few dozen trackers keep count of the animals and fill artificial water holes.
"Not everyone gets a job like this," said Raju Vajadiya, idly swinging a stick, the only defense he and his colleagues usually have or need. "It is a godly thing to give a lion water on a hot day."
Protecting the lions has been popular with locals, who consider the predators docile when not harassed. Farmers welcome them in their fields. Newly married couples visit them for good luck. Families break park rules to picnic by Gir's streams, unaware or unconcerned that they are water sources for the big cats.
"The lion is like a god to us," peanut farmer Sadik Hasein Chotiyara said. "If the lion attacks, it's because that person made a mistake."
At the same time, locals in general are more open to sharing the lions with other states than Gujarat's leaders are.
Gujarat officials insist lion attacks on humans don't happen. Nonsense, say scientists and residents.
Research indicates confrontations are increasing, as the growing cat population has pushed one in four lions into new mini-sanctuaries they get to by riverbeds that snake through farms and villages.
Droughts that kill prey can make matters worse. After a drought in the 1980s, there were 120 lion confrontations in 1989-91 killing 21 people — five taken as lion food, said biologist Ravi Chellam.
Most of the estimated 15 lion attacks each year happen outside the park, where people are less lion-savvy, scientists say. In April, a lion killed a 35-year-old man who was reportedly pelting it with stones.
___
Gujarat's conservation laurels now teeter on its next move. Experts say Gujarati officials can best show their devotion to the lions by letting some go. The lions urgently need a second sanctuary, they say — one outside Gujarat to ensure genetic diversification and protection from disease or natural disaster.
Evidence suggests the gene pool is dangerously shallow, meaning a disease that affects one Gir lion could quickly affect many. Tanzania's Serengeti National Park saw a third of its 3,000 lions wiped out in 1994 by canine distemper, likely brought by tourists' dogs. Decades earlier, Tanzania's Ngorogoro Crater lions were decimated when rains spawned swarms of blood-sucking flies that left the cats with festering sores.
But Gujarat denies any need to move lions from the state. It dismisses the idea that disease or calamity could pose a threat.
To give the lions more space, Gujarat recently opened a small second sanctuary on its coast. Conservationists say the two populations are still too close together.
To address gene pool concerns, Gujarat is breeding them in a zoo, but conservationists say it's ridiculous to think those could be a substitute for lions raised in the wild.
"From a scientific perspective, this is the worst thing they could do. If they really cared about the species' survival, they would want this second home," said conservation biologist William Laurance, of Australia's James Cook University.
The central government and Madhya Pradesh state have already prepared the second lion home in Kuno, relocating villages and hiring specialists to build up a prey base for the cats. In 2006, an ecologist on the project filed a lawsuit challenging how such a plan could be enacted but no lions ever sent.
The Supreme Court is now deliberating on the messy dispute and could — if it wants — resolve it within weeks.
"India risks becoming a champion of extinction," said Faiyaz Khusdar, the ecologist who filed the lawsuit. "People would never forgive us if we lose these beautiful cats."
Gujarat also doubts that other states will keep lions safe. And here, they echo global concern.
Environmentalists increasingly question India's commitment to its endangered wildlife, including half the world's remaining tigers, its only black tigers, and more than half the world's Asiatic elephants and one-horned rhinoceroses.
As the country heaves with 1.2 billion people, it has quickly industrialized its countryside, destroying most of its forests along with wetlands and mangrove stands.
More than 40 animal and plant species have gone extinct in a half-century and 134 more are critically endangered. Poaching and poisoning are rampant, despite a 1972 law criminalizing such killings. A recent study in the journal Biological Conservation counted 114 species being poached, including elephants and rhinos for their tusks, and tigers for body parts used in Chinese medicine.
Many sanctuaries have been powerless to stop the killings. There are not enough rangers, and some may take bribes. Some exasperated states like Maharashtra and Assam have told rangers they can shoot poachers on sight.
While Gujarat's lions have been spared the worst, they still face the same threats. The International Union for Conservation of Nature changed their status to "endangered" from "critically endangered" based on their numbers in 2008, but noted they were still falling to hunters and poison traps and drowning in village wells.
Statistics are difficult to find, but a reported 34 of Gujarat's lions were poached in 2007. Another 10 were hunted in 2009 by criminals who passed the cat bones off as tiger parts. Tigers also came under attack that year, disappearing from two sanctuaries in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
"They are not able to conserve their own wildlife. How can they protect ours?" said R.L. Meena, a Gujarat district wildlife warden.
He insisted the state would defy any court order not in its favor. "They will not take our lions."
___
Conservationists say dangers outside Gujarat are an argument for better wildlife protection nationwide, but not an excuse for resisting the Kuno lion home in Madhya Pradesh.
"Gujarat is fiercely proud of the lions, and rightfully so," said biologist Luke Hunter of Panthera conservation group based in New York. "You would think they'd want to take the next logical step in conservation and establish other populations."
Some accuse Gujarat of using its hold on the lions as a tourism draw. Gujarat fires the same allegation at states willing to take lions in.
The central government supports moving lions to Kuno, but notes that Indian wildlife laws leave decisions to the 28 states. "We will not interfere," environment secretary Tishya Chatterjee said.
But New Delhi has intervened to protect wildlife before. It launched a nationwide tiger-protection project in the 1970s. In a situation similar to the lions, it ordered the northeastern state of Assam to contribute rhinos for a second population to boost that gene pool in faraway Uttar Pradesh state.
Environmentalists say the need for the central government to protect species is not declining but rising as India's population and economy soar.
"Conservation in India is not about managing animals anymore," said Divyabhanusinh Chavda of the World Wildlife Fund in India.
"It's about managing people."
___
Follow Katy Daigle on Twitter at http://twitter.com/katydaigle

India joins hands with S Asian neighbours to protect wildlife.

New Delhi: Recognising the danger posed to wildlife from illegal trade, India and its South Asian neighbours have agreed to develop institutional mechanisms to promote harmonised and collaborative approaches to common threats, a government document said.

However, the modalities of this agreement and the ensuing legal structures evolved at the First Meeting on Illegal Wildlife Trade in South Asia held in Kathmandu two years ago are still under discussion.

India is a lucrative market in the USD 20 billion global illegal wildlife trade. At a time when poaching and illegal trade of wildlife articles have assumed alarming proportions, the Environment Ministry document has conceded that the South Asian nations were "not resourced adequately" to deal with the problem.

A number of regional initiatives have emerged, including SACEP (South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme), SAWTI (South Asia Wildlife Trade Initiative) and SAARC Convention on Cooperation on Environment to check the illegal trade of wildlife articles.

"...But (these agencies) have not been resourced adequately to implement activities," concedes the document --Environmental and Social Framework Document for "Strengthening Regional Cooperation in Wildlife Protection in Asia"-- prepared for financial assistance from the World Bank under regional IDA (International Development Association) window.

When contacted, officials in the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) refused to share more details.

Wild animals are killed for the flourishing illegal international trade of their skins, bones, flesh, fur, used for decoration, clothing, medicine and unconventional exotic food.

Victims of the trade include the iconic tiger and elephant, the snow leopard, the common leopard, the one-horn rhino, pangolin, brown bear, several species of deer and reptiles, seahorses, star tortoises, butterflies, peacocks, hornbills, parrots, parakeets and birds of prey and corals.

Yearly trade of wildlife articles probably ranks third after narcotics and the illegal weapons trade, says the document quoting INTERPOL.

The nations across the world are also signatories to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), which was set up to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

The report says that poaching techniques are "extremely gruesome".

"The more egregious methods include skinning or dehorning live animals and transportation of live creatures in inhuman conditions," it says.

Poaching has become so intense that tigers have disappeared from many parks throughout Asia.

"Nowhere has the impact been greater than in India and Nepal which remain the bastions of tiger conservation," says the document.

India has a Memorandum of Understanding with Nepal on controlling trans-boundary illegal trade in wildlife and conservation, apart from a protocol on tiger conservation with China.

A Global Tiger Forum of Tiger Range Countries has been created for addressing international issues related to tiger conservation.

India has appealed to China to phase out tiger farming, and eliminate stockpiles of Asian big cats body parts and derivatives. The importance of continuing the ban on trade of body parts of tigers was emphasised.

The economic value of the illegal wildlife trade is determined primarily by cross-border factors. Wildlife are poached in one country, stockpiled in another, and then traded beyond the South Asia region. http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/india-joins-hands-with-s-asian-neighbours-to-protect-wildlife_784798.html

Gujarat's indigenous tribes to get brand registration for tribal medicines.

2 Jul, 2012, 12.41PM IST, Vishal Dutta & Himanshu Darji,ET Bureau
AHMEDABAD: Indigenous tribes from Gujarat would become India's first tribal community to get their age-old medicinal knowledge branded and registered under trademark and geographic indication (GI). The state government has initiated a tribal branding project to create and promote a tribal-made product pool to protect tribal community knowledge.

ET has learnt that the forest department will create a pool of brands for local herbs found in Dangs along with the local tribes to improve the latter's income levels and to efficiently utilise the vast natural resources of the region. This will include value-addition by using modern processing, packaging and marketing system. The proposed brand for the herbs is in addition to the existing brand 'Dhanvantri' that belongs to Gujarat Forest Development Corporation.

"Currently, middle-men collect herbs from the locals who in turn end up getting exploited. We will create a dedicated marketplace for processed hubs that could be bought by ayurvedic pharma companies," S K Chaturvedi, chief conservator of forest of Valsad and Dang districts.

The Dangs has more than 350 species of medicinal plants scattered over 311 villages and has 60 Bhagats (tribal healers).

The forest department will train the tribals in scientific method of herbs and its preservation, Chaturvedi says. "Modern processing units will be set up to add value to the raw herbs and special training will also be imparted to tribals to improve the productivity of the plants," he said.

Dangs is home to herbs like harde, baheda , mahuda, charoli, shatavri, citrak, white musli, jivanti, kaucha and galo amongst others. "Unlike Ayurveda, the medical knowledge of the tribals has never been documented by the Bhagats. The knowledge has been passed on to subsequent generation verbally," says Dr Deepak Acharya, director of Abhumka Herbal, that is deciphering tribal knowledge into finished products and sharing profit with the tribal community.

Bio-piracy in the region began in 1990s but reached its peak in 2000. Later, local administration and tribal healers sprung into action to find means to plug it. Registration will empower owners of the said intellectual property to restrict others from using similar intellectual property, says advocate Aayush Modi working with Nanavati Associates that is working on this state government initiative. The firm along with the State Forest Development Agency (SFDA) has begun applying for trademark registrations for various products manufactured or sold by the tribals. "It will enable sales and promote specific brands emerging from the region," adds IPR specialist Mr Pranit Nanavati.

Abhumka has so far introduced over 12 medicinal products from the region -- herbal cattlefeed DudhNahar, vitality capsules Teranta and StonOff, for removal of kidney stones -- for instance.

Lioness’s radio rage terrorizing Gir village.

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN Jul 2, 2012, 02.22AM IST

AHMEDABAD: A lioness in Liliya, in the Gir forest, is terrorizing villagers who live around her territory. She is perpetually angry and lashes out at anyone who crosses her path. The villagers say her temper is fuelled by a radio collar that was fitted on her; and the collar — equipped with a tracking device — does not work anymore.
Residents, who refuse to be identified, say that the lioness has on a couple of occasions attacked the people of Kanrach village. However, fortunately, no major injury has been reported. Curiously, the villagers are sensitive to animals' wellbeing. They had recently thrashed some outsiders who had entered the area for an illegal lion show.
As for the officials, they acknowledge that the lioness is a troublemaker. Once, she made even forest guards run helter-skelter for cover. The foresters slipped into slush but luckily the lioness did not attack them.

Manoj Joshi, who runs a nature club in the area, said: "One day, the lioness was found sitting beside a driver who was sleeping near his vehicle in the open."
Two attempts to relocate the lioness have failed because it is difficult to trace her. "This lioness is very clever. She has been making forest officials chase her futilely," said deputy conservator of forests (Gir east) Anushman Sharma. "In the late 2000, this lioness was caught from Gondal after the rescue team camped in the area for over 15 days. Whenever the team zeroed in on her location and rushed to the spot, she would go missing." Gondal is about 150 km from Sasan.
Sharma admitted that the radio collar which the lioness was wearing had indeed become non-functional. But for removing that, one has to catch her. He said some villagers thought the collar served a purpose. "They feel that the collar makes unscrupulous elements think that the forest department is monitoring the area and hence they keep away."
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-02/ahmedabad/32508116_1_lioness-gir-forest-gir-village

MP’s wait continues: For Gir lions and Karnataka jumbos .

Monday, 02 July 2012 00:04 pioneer
Both the proposals — of shifting the Asiatic lion from the Gir forests in Gujarat and elephants from Karnataka — are stuck in courts. While Gujarat argues that there is no need for a second home to the Gir lions and that translocation to MP would make them vulnerable to poachers, NGOs in Karnataka say that translocated elephants would suffer the pangs of being separated from their family groups and that such a plan would result in degradation of the forests in that State. MP Forest Minister is, however, hopeful that the plan would come through, writes  Zafar Alam Khan
The Madhya Pradesh Government’s proposed ambitious plan to translocate Asiatic Lions and elephants from Gujarat and Karnataka, respectively, is in doldrums. The Bharatiya Janata Party Government of the State has failed to persuade the same party ruled Gujarat and Karnataka Governments for the same. ‘Viva city’ tried to find out that what went wrong and why translocation of these animals still hangs in balance. Madhya Pradesh Government’s efforts to translocate the animals could not be a pipe dream since the State has the largest area under forest cover as compared to other States of the country.
Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Sartaj Singh while talking to ‘Viva City’ said, “The issues are pending in the court and we are hopeful that the verdict would go in our favour.”
Notably, the decision to make Kuno-Palpur sanctuary near Gwalior a second home for the Asiatic lions was taken in 1990 by the Union Government on the advice of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) while shifting of 29 jumbos from Karnataka was almost imminent but in the last moments a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) played spoilsport and the translocation was stuck.
Gujarat opposes tooth and nail the plan for a second home for Asiatic lions at Kuno-Palpur sanctuary of Madhya Pradesh while the plan of getting elephants from Karnataka also suffered jolt as a plea against it was admitted in the Karnataka High Court.
The Karnataka High Court has asked the Union Government, the Animal Welfare Board of India, Principal Secretary to the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment to file a counter affidavit against the petition on the translocation of elephants from the state.
The petition filed by the Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) and the People For Animals (PFA) has alleged the State Government has decided to transfer 29 elephants to Madhya Pradesh. The NGOs cited a report in a section of the media stating that the Karnataka Government was planning to hand over captive elephants to Madhya Pradesh Government for use in safaris, and that 29 elephants had been identified for such a transfer.
The NGOs wrote letters to the principal conservator of forests objecting to the translocation of the elephants. Since the state government seemed keen on pursuing the transfers, the petitioners decided to approach the court.
The NGOs argued that the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 prohibits the sale of elephants. The elephants, if transferred, would be separated from family groups. The translocation of such a huge number of elephants would result in degeneration of the forest, since each elephant requires 250 kg of fodder every day. They are extremely vulnerable to tuberculosis when they come into contact with human beings.
The activists sought a direction from the court to issue a writ not to sell, transfer or translocate elephants from Karnataka. The State Government counsel has submitted that a decision had been taken not to translocate captive elephants to Madhya Pradesh or to any other part of the country.
While, in case of lions’ transfer from Gujarat, a proposed second home for Asiatic lions has pitted the BJP-led State Governments of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh against each other. Gujarat, whose Gir sanctuary is the only abode for Asiatic lions, is upset with the plan to shift some of the big cats to the Kuno-Palpur sanctuary near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, as decided in the late 1990s by the Union Government on the advice of the Wildlife Institute of India.
The issue came up for hearing in Supreme Court on May 1 this year on a petition by Biodiversity Conservation Trust, a wildlife NGO.
The Madhya Pradesh Government bluntly told the court that Gujarat’s allegations that Madhya Pradesh forest officials were incapable of handling the lions and that there was poaching in the area and not enough prey base for the lions were baseless. The debate further escalated when the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Department posted on its website that “Kuno has been selected as an alternative home for the endangered Asiatic lion, which is now confined only to the Gir National Park and Sanctuary of Gujarat.” Gujarat claims it has done enough to protect the lions and that a second home for them is unnecessary. Not only has the number of Gir lions gone up to 411, the State Government has also added 400 sq km of grasslands and forests to the 1,400-sq-km sanctuary as part of its concept of Greater Gir. Gujarat forest officials also say the poachers who operate in Gir come from Katni in Madhya Pradesh, not very far from Kuno-Palpur, which means the proposed second home is no safer for the lions.
Gujarat’s principal chief conservator of forests Pradeep Khanna said, “There is absolutely no need for shifting the lions out of Gujarat. The endangered species is more secure here than anywhere else.”
Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Sartaj Singh counters, “It is wrong to say lions won’t be safe in Kuno-Palpur when Madhya Pradesh has done a good job of managing other national parks in the State which have tigers. Gujarat should understand that it is for the future benefit of the species that a second home is necessary.”
Another Gujarat forest official reminds that the Wildlife Institute of India’s recommendation to shift lions to Kuno-Palpur was itself a political decision as it was dominated at that time by officials from Madhya Pradesh. He adds that the second home strategy is flawed as Kuno-Palpur is just 344 sq km in area and the recommendation is for shifting only six lions.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhopal/77395-mps-wait-continues-for-gir-lions-and-karnataka-jumbos.html