AHMEDABAD: The Poonam Avlokan which has been announced for the first time by the forest department will cover an area of 30,000 sq km, the biggest surveyed so far in terms of lion footfall.
The lion kingdom in Saurashtra has registered an increase of 400% in the past 19 years. The territory which was near 6,000 sq km in 2001, now stretches across 30,000 sq km.
Announcing the lion census, the forest department said that the 300 forest beat guards will fan out across the 30,000 sq km to count the rulers of the forest. “Each beat guard will have to cover an area of about 100 sq km, which is a huge challenge,” said a forest official.
The population of Gir lions has grown from 327 in 2001 to nearly 750 as at the last Poonam Avalokan in May this year, registering a growth of 114%.
The latest figure, however, does not include lionesses with cubs, who usually go into hiding to save cubs from other lions.
“Usually, once the cubs are born, the mother goes in hiding to save the young ones from other lions. They hide in areas which are difficult to reach. Hence the count of 750 does not include such females and the newborn cubs.”
A senior forest official said, “The department has asked the field staff to upload photos along with the locations and time of lion sightings so that the count is more accurate.” H S Singh, a lion expert and a member of the National Board for Wildlife said, “The number of lions is increasing due to conservation efforts by the state government and the people of Saurashtra. There has been no killing or poaching of lions in the region except some sporadic incident of electrocution or falling in wells.” He said that the lions are pushing the boundaries of their kingdom and reaching out to new places. But I feel that the core lion kingdom is in an area of 13,000 sq km where they are regularly sighted. Areas like Surendranagar cannot be said to be in their regular territory.”
A senior officer refusing to be identified said that the department now has to put in place better disease surveillance and form a task force to meet regularly and talk on disease management. The department has to accept that with the growth population lions are now staying close to humans and domestic cattle infections are going to happen. “All we need is a nearly 1,000 sq km of national park which will help us to keep the animals at least in that area safe from any kind of outbreak,” the official said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/lions-rule-30k-sq-km-territory-grew-by-400/articleshow/76184895.cms
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