TNN 16 September 2009, 04:28am IST
GANDHINAGAR: Even as the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife prepares to discuss the issue of translocation of Asiatic lions
from Gir forest to Kuno in Madhya Pradesh (MP), on Wednesday, non-governmental organisations and wildlife activists from Gujarat have launched a campaign to prevent it.
Since Monday, nature lovers sent over 1,000 emails justifying why Asiatic lions should not be translocated to MP. Letters have even been sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to intervene and stop translocation of lions. The last census showed the lion population in Gir at 360.
Revtubha Rayjada of the Sky Forest Youth Club-Keshod said local communities have made sacrifices by demonstrating their commitment to lion conservation besides technical issues that go against its shifting to MP.
Rayjada said the lions have dispersed up to Mahuva, Talaja and Bhavnagar. He added local people in Kuno are known for poaching and that is how the local tiger population is on the verge of extinction in MP. Earlier, attempts to relocate the lion to Uttar Pradesh and Sheopuri MP had failed due to lack of local support.
Ahmedabad-based wildlife activist Manisha Rajput, who has also initiated a fax and email campaign, backed Rayjada's stance and said that "looking at MP's track record, the entire project of lion shifting should be scrapped as there is no local support for the tiger. How can one expect support for lion conservation?" She also pointed out how the tribes involved in lion poaching in Gir in 2007 were from MP.
Bhushan Pandya, a wildlife photographer, has also sent emails and joined in the drive. He said, "Translocation should not be based merely on scientific aspect. Social and historical facts are equally or even more important for this particular species." He added that lions are known to visit and even live close to human habitations. In Gujarat, people have played a very crucial part in lion conservation and protection of other flora and fauna around them.
Kodinar-based Prakruti Pariyavaran Trust has also handed over a memorandum to Junagadh collector against the move.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/ahmedabad/No-taking-Gujarats-pride-out-of-Gir/articleshow/5015806.cms
Thursday, September 17, 2009
State govt to oppose proposal to shift lions from Gir at Delhi meet
Express News Service
Posted: Sep 16, 2009 at 0122 hrs IST
Print Email To Editor Post Comments
Gandhinagar The Gujarat government will oppose the long-pending proposal of shifting a few Asiatic lions from Sasan Gir to Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh, when this contentious issue comes up for discussion at a crucial meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife in Delhi on Wednesday.
Gujarat Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Pradeep Khanna told Newsline in the evening: “Gujarat’s stand on the issue of trans-locating Gir lions has been consistent. We will resist any move to shift the big cats from Gir to Kuno Palpur, when it is taken up for discussion at the Board meeting tomorrow.”
Khanna and Principal Secretary (Forest) S K Nanda will attend the Board meeting to be chaired by Union Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh. He said the Kuno wildlife sanctuary project mooted by Madhya Pradesh lacked scientific backing and security. Besides, there are only 300 of the total 1,000 tigers surviving in MP. “If the neighbouring state cannot protect its tigers, how can it protect lions?” he asked.
The PCCF also contended that tigers and lions cannot survive together in Kuno Palpur.
In response to a petition filed in the Supreme Court by a Delhi-based NGO for the transfer of Gir lions to MP, the apex court had referred the matter to the National Board for Wildlife and asked it to submit a report in the matter. After hearing the representatives from both Gujarat and MP at the Wednesday meeting, the Board will submit its report on the issue to the SC, sources said.
At the meeting, Gujarat will also seek the Board’s permission for implementation on the Girnar Ropeway project in Junagadh. Gujarat proposes to acquire about eight hectares of forest land, where there are about 12,000 trees, for construction of pillars for the ropeway project. “Though there are about 12,000 trees standing on the forest land, the axe will fall only on 200 to 300 trees,” said a senior Forest official.
The Board will also hear Gujarat’s plea for laying a high tension electric line, and also the ONGC and IOC oil pipelines across the Wild Ass Sanctuary in Kutch. “We hope the Board will give its nod to both the proposals,” Khanna said.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/state-govt-to-oppose-proposal-to-shift-lions-from-gir-at-delhi-meet/517567/
Posted: Sep 16, 2009 at 0122 hrs IST
Print Email To Editor Post Comments
Gandhinagar The Gujarat government will oppose the long-pending proposal of shifting a few Asiatic lions from Sasan Gir to Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh, when this contentious issue comes up for discussion at a crucial meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife in Delhi on Wednesday.
Gujarat Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Pradeep Khanna told Newsline in the evening: “Gujarat’s stand on the issue of trans-locating Gir lions has been consistent. We will resist any move to shift the big cats from Gir to Kuno Palpur, when it is taken up for discussion at the Board meeting tomorrow.”
Khanna and Principal Secretary (Forest) S K Nanda will attend the Board meeting to be chaired by Union Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh. He said the Kuno wildlife sanctuary project mooted by Madhya Pradesh lacked scientific backing and security. Besides, there are only 300 of the total 1,000 tigers surviving in MP. “If the neighbouring state cannot protect its tigers, how can it protect lions?” he asked.
The PCCF also contended that tigers and lions cannot survive together in Kuno Palpur.
In response to a petition filed in the Supreme Court by a Delhi-based NGO for the transfer of Gir lions to MP, the apex court had referred the matter to the National Board for Wildlife and asked it to submit a report in the matter. After hearing the representatives from both Gujarat and MP at the Wednesday meeting, the Board will submit its report on the issue to the SC, sources said.
At the meeting, Gujarat will also seek the Board’s permission for implementation on the Girnar Ropeway project in Junagadh. Gujarat proposes to acquire about eight hectares of forest land, where there are about 12,000 trees, for construction of pillars for the ropeway project. “Though there are about 12,000 trees standing on the forest land, the axe will fall only on 200 to 300 trees,” said a senior Forest official.
The Board will also hear Gujarat’s plea for laying a high tension electric line, and also the ONGC and IOC oil pipelines across the Wild Ass Sanctuary in Kutch. “We hope the Board will give its nod to both the proposals,” Khanna said.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/state-govt-to-oppose-proposal-to-shift-lions-from-gir-at-delhi-meet/517567/
African Cheetah likely to be translocated
Bhopal, Sep 12,PTI :
With Iran refusing to give cheetah to India for translocation, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh said today that efforts would be made to get this animal either from Kenya, South Africa or Namibia.
"Iran has refused to give cheetah that has become extinct in India ," Ramesh told reporters here."Efforts will be made to secure cheetah either from Kenya, South Africa or Namibia," he added.
The Minister said that experts sounded pessimistic over the plans to reintroduce cheetah in India at the consultative meeting on reintroduction of cheetah recently held at Bikaner in Rajasthan.
About reports suggesting that cheetah to be brought from a foreign country might be translocated in the wild of Madhya Pradesh, Ramesh said that such a suggestion was made at the meeting.
About the translocation of lions from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh, he said that he had already talked to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi twice on the issue.He had not agreed to give the Asiatic Lion of Gir Reserve to Madhya Pradesh, Ramesh said adding that now it is the turn of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to talk to his Gujarat counterpart on this issue.
The Madhya Pradesh forest has readied Kuno-Palpur sanctuary in Sheopur district for the translocation of lions at a cost of Rs 25 crore spread over an area of 330 sq kms, sources said.
Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/24801/african-cheetah-likely-translocated.html
With Iran refusing to give cheetah to India for translocation, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh said today that efforts would be made to get this animal either from Kenya, South Africa or Namibia.
"Iran has refused to give cheetah that has become extinct in India ," Ramesh told reporters here."Efforts will be made to secure cheetah either from Kenya, South Africa or Namibia," he added.
The Minister said that experts sounded pessimistic over the plans to reintroduce cheetah in India at the consultative meeting on reintroduction of cheetah recently held at Bikaner in Rajasthan.
About reports suggesting that cheetah to be brought from a foreign country might be translocated in the wild of Madhya Pradesh, Ramesh said that such a suggestion was made at the meeting.
About the translocation of lions from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh, he said that he had already talked to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi twice on the issue.He had not agreed to give the Asiatic Lion of Gir Reserve to Madhya Pradesh, Ramesh said adding that now it is the turn of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to talk to his Gujarat counterpart on this issue.
The Madhya Pradesh forest has readied Kuno-Palpur sanctuary in Sheopur district for the translocation of lions at a cost of Rs 25 crore spread over an area of 330 sq kms, sources said.
Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/24801/african-cheetah-likely-translocated.html
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Gujarat offers hefty sum to shift out of Gir.
3 Jul 2009, 2028 hrs IST, IANS
GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat government is planning to shift some 100 families of the Maldhari community living inside the sprawling Gir National
Park as part of a project to resettle these herdsmen outside the sanctuary, officials said on Friday.
According to the plan, prepared by the state environment and forests department, each family will receive a compensation of Rs. 1 million and would be rehabilitated outside the sanctuary by the end of 2010, an official of the department said, requesting anonymity.
He added that the compensation amount has already been allocated in the Gujarat State Budget 2009-10, announced by State Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala in the assembly on the opening day of its monson session.
The Maldharis have been living inside the Gir sanctuary for centuries and consistently refused proposals for relocation made by the past state governments since 1972.
However, the government has now worked out a compensation package which may be acceptable to the Maldharis, he said.
Over the years, the state government could persuade only a small number of Maldhari families to relocate, while the rest of the herdsmen continued to live inside the national park, the official added.
The Gir sanctuary, spread over 1,000 sq. km in western Gujarat, is home to some 350 Asiatic lions - the only place where the species can still be found in the wild now.
Experts say the lions are threatened by man-animal conflict, accidents and poaching. Earlier, a proposal to shift a pride of lions to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary was made, but it has been rejected by the state government citing security reasons. The case is pending in the Supreme Court.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth/Hefty-sum-to-shift-out-of-Gir/articleshow/4735088.cms
GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat government is planning to shift some 100 families of the Maldhari community living inside the sprawling Gir National
Park as part of a project to resettle these herdsmen outside the sanctuary, officials said on Friday.
According to the plan, prepared by the state environment and forests department, each family will receive a compensation of Rs. 1 million and would be rehabilitated outside the sanctuary by the end of 2010, an official of the department said, requesting anonymity.
He added that the compensation amount has already been allocated in the Gujarat State Budget 2009-10, announced by State Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala in the assembly on the opening day of its monson session.
The Maldharis have been living inside the Gir sanctuary for centuries and consistently refused proposals for relocation made by the past state governments since 1972.
However, the government has now worked out a compensation package which may be acceptable to the Maldharis, he said.
Over the years, the state government could persuade only a small number of Maldhari families to relocate, while the rest of the herdsmen continued to live inside the national park, the official added.
The Gir sanctuary, spread over 1,000 sq. km in western Gujarat, is home to some 350 Asiatic lions - the only place where the species can still be found in the wild now.
Experts say the lions are threatened by man-animal conflict, accidents and poaching. Earlier, a proposal to shift a pride of lions to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary was made, but it has been rejected by the state government citing security reasons. The case is pending in the Supreme Court.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth/Hefty-sum-to-shift-out-of-Gir/articleshow/4735088.cms
Gujarat govt transfers 345 hectares forest land to industries.
By our correspondent
Gandhinagar, DeshGujarat, 5 July, 2009
The Government of Gujarat yesterday decided to de-notify hundreds of hectares of state forest land in four sanctuary areas-the Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Little Rann of Kutch, Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Velavadar Black Buck Sanctuary and Narayan Sarovar Bird Sanctuary. De-notification was in agenda of Gujarat Wildlife Board meeting presided by Chief minister Narendra Modi. Influential industrial houses had their way and the board led by Chief Minister Modi approved transfer of forest land to industries. This decision will result into a severe threat of industrial and human activity in Gujarat’s forest areas.
The board approved diversion of 89.74 hectare land in the Wild Ass Sanctuary for the power transmission line of Adani Power Ltd and 241.59 hectare land for Power Grid Corporation’s transmission lines. The board also approved diversion of 7.28 hectare land for Usha Breco Ltd for ropeway construction in Girnar Sanctuary; 4.40 hectare land from Velavadar black buck Sanctuary for Gujarat State Road Development Corporation (GSRDC) for construction of a six-lane Sarkhej-Vataman-Bhavnagar central spine road; 0.315 ha land diversion for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd for laying of fibre optic lines in Balaram-Ambaji Sanctuary, 0.45 ha land diversion for Vodafone Gujarat Limited for laying of fibre optics in Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary and 0.45 ha land diversion for Reliance Communication Gujarat Ltd in Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary. The proposal passed by the state government will now be sent to the National Wildlife Board and the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to be forwarded to the apex court for final approval.
Other decisions taken in the meeting are following.
-The government will encourage tribal people to plant ten trees on the occasion of child birth in their family. The family would be awarded ownership of that tree which can ultimately provide income to the tribal family. The Forest department would design a project about this.
-Gir sanctuary will get Garlanding road project, Lion breeding strategy and Leo-Gen laboratory for genetic research about the Asiatic Lion.
-1939 hectares area of Gir sanctuary will be released and 2141 hectare forest area will be added.
-Gujarat government will celebrate Jeevdaya week to celebrate Paryushan, a Jain festival.
Source: http://deshgujarat.com/2009/07/05/gujarat-govt-transfers-345-hectares-forest-land-to-industries/
Gandhinagar, DeshGujarat, 5 July, 2009
The Government of Gujarat yesterday decided to de-notify hundreds of hectares of state forest land in four sanctuary areas-the Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Little Rann of Kutch, Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Velavadar Black Buck Sanctuary and Narayan Sarovar Bird Sanctuary. De-notification was in agenda of Gujarat Wildlife Board meeting presided by Chief minister Narendra Modi. Influential industrial houses had their way and the board led by Chief Minister Modi approved transfer of forest land to industries. This decision will result into a severe threat of industrial and human activity in Gujarat’s forest areas.
The board approved diversion of 89.74 hectare land in the Wild Ass Sanctuary for the power transmission line of Adani Power Ltd and 241.59 hectare land for Power Grid Corporation’s transmission lines. The board also approved diversion of 7.28 hectare land for Usha Breco Ltd for ropeway construction in Girnar Sanctuary; 4.40 hectare land from Velavadar black buck Sanctuary for Gujarat State Road Development Corporation (GSRDC) for construction of a six-lane Sarkhej-Vataman-Bhavnagar central spine road; 0.315 ha land diversion for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd for laying of fibre optic lines in Balaram-Ambaji Sanctuary, 0.45 ha land diversion for Vodafone Gujarat Limited for laying of fibre optics in Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary and 0.45 ha land diversion for Reliance Communication Gujarat Ltd in Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary. The proposal passed by the state government will now be sent to the National Wildlife Board and the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to be forwarded to the apex court for final approval.
Other decisions taken in the meeting are following.
-The government will encourage tribal people to plant ten trees on the occasion of child birth in their family. The family would be awarded ownership of that tree which can ultimately provide income to the tribal family. The Forest department would design a project about this.
-Gir sanctuary will get Garlanding road project, Lion breeding strategy and Leo-Gen laboratory for genetic research about the Asiatic Lion.
-1939 hectares area of Gir sanctuary will be released and 2141 hectare forest area will be added.
-Gujarat government will celebrate Jeevdaya week to celebrate Paryushan, a Jain festival.
Source: http://deshgujarat.com/2009/07/05/gujarat-govt-transfers-345-hectares-forest-land-to-industries/
Royal snub for the Gir lion.
DNA
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 9:16 IST
Ahmedabad: For the second consecutive year, the Union budget has left Asiatic lions in the lurch. Gujarat's demand for funds from the Central government for the lions' conservation has gone unheeded. On the other hand, over the past one year, Rs650 crore have been allotted for conservation of tigers.
The Gujarat government had sought Rs 60 crore for rehabilitation of 100 Maldharis from their habitat inside the sanctuary area in Gir forest in 2007 and Rs 20 crore in 2008. In its latest request, Gujarat had demanded Rs 10 crore. Rs50 crore was reserved in the Union budget as a one-time grant for tiger conservation in 2008-09 budget.
Principal conservator of forest (wildlife) Pradip Khanna said the state requires funds for lion conservation, to acquire land in the area surrounding the Gir sanctuary for the increasing lion population and gene-pool diversification.
However, the environmentalists in Gujarat are celebrating the Centre's National Action Plan on Climate Change. "Though it came about two years late, it is heartening that the plan has finally been put in place. It is depressing that the need for environment courts has not been mentioned in the budget altogether. We hope it would be addressed soon," said Mahesh Pandya, an environment activist.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_royal-snub-for-the-gir-lion_1271793
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 9:16 IST
Ahmedabad: For the second consecutive year, the Union budget has left Asiatic lions in the lurch. Gujarat's demand for funds from the Central government for the lions' conservation has gone unheeded. On the other hand, over the past one year, Rs650 crore have been allotted for conservation of tigers.
The Gujarat government had sought Rs 60 crore for rehabilitation of 100 Maldharis from their habitat inside the sanctuary area in Gir forest in 2007 and Rs 20 crore in 2008. In its latest request, Gujarat had demanded Rs 10 crore. Rs50 crore was reserved in the Union budget as a one-time grant for tiger conservation in 2008-09 budget.
Principal conservator of forest (wildlife) Pradip Khanna said the state requires funds for lion conservation, to acquire land in the area surrounding the Gir sanctuary for the increasing lion population and gene-pool diversification.
However, the environmentalists in Gujarat are celebrating the Centre's National Action Plan on Climate Change. "Though it came about two years late, it is heartening that the plan has finally been put in place. It is depressing that the need for environment courts has not been mentioned in the budget altogether. We hope it would be addressed soon," said Mahesh Pandya, an environment activist.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_royal-snub-for-the-gir-lion_1271793
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Incessant downpour floods Junagadh, 10 inch rain recorded in Sutrapada.
Sibte Husain Bukhari Posted: Thursday , Jun 25, 2009 at 0028 hrs IST
Junagadh:
Torrential downpour coupled with strong winds in the last 24 hours threw normal life out of gear in the district on Wednesday, with a few places recording 10 inches rainfall. In Una and Kodinar talukas, four persons were injured when lightning struck them. The condition of one of them is said to be critical.
The depression formed over the Arabian Sea off the Veraval coast has, meanwhile, weakened and danger signals hoisted at various ports have been removed. According to port officials, a fishing boat registered with the Saiyed Rajpara Port capsized in the sea. All the six crew members onboard were rescued.
According to district flood control room, Sutrapada taluka recorded the heaviest rainfall at 255 mm. It was followed by Mangarol 225 mm, Veraval 212 mm, Kodinar 120 mm, Keshod 111 mm, Talala and Manawadar 75 mm each, Maliya 71 mm, Vanthali and Una 60 mm each, Mendarada 55 mm, Visavadar 45 mm, Bhesan 43 mm and Junagadh city 41 mm rainfall.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Incessant-downpour-floods-Junagadh--10-inch-rain-recorded-in-Sutrapada/480905
Junagadh:
Torrential downpour coupled with strong winds in the last 24 hours threw normal life out of gear in the district on Wednesday, with a few places recording 10 inches rainfall. In Una and Kodinar talukas, four persons were injured when lightning struck them. The condition of one of them is said to be critical.
The depression formed over the Arabian Sea off the Veraval coast has, meanwhile, weakened and danger signals hoisted at various ports have been removed. According to port officials, a fishing boat registered with the Saiyed Rajpara Port capsized in the sea. All the six crew members onboard were rescued.
According to district flood control room, Sutrapada taluka recorded the heaviest rainfall at 255 mm. It was followed by Mangarol 225 mm, Veraval 212 mm, Kodinar 120 mm, Keshod 111 mm, Talala and Manawadar 75 mm each, Maliya 71 mm, Vanthali and Una 60 mm each, Mendarada 55 mm, Visavadar 45 mm, Bhesan 43 mm and Junagadh city 41 mm rainfall.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Incessant-downpour-floods-Junagadh--10-inch-rain-recorded-in-Sutrapada/480905
Scope of a second home for Gir lions remains mired.
New Delhi (IANS): India's Asiatic lions are the most vulnerable of all the big cats as they live in a single area in Gujarat, making them prone to diseases as well as other threats, and yet calls for creating a second home by the scientific community have been repeatedly ignored, say experts.
The sprawling Gir National Park in western India is home to some 350 Asiatic lions, the last refuge for these cats. In the past, the lions had roamed in almost the entire Central Asia.
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), a leading scientific organisation, recommended the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh for setting up a second home for the Gir lions.
But the Gujarat government rejected the proposal, saying it lacks scientific backing and security.
Experts believe Kuno in central India is part of the lion's historical home range.
Gujarat says if Madhya Pradesh cannot protect their tigers, how can they protect the lions.
Supreme Court lawyer Ritwick Dutta, who has taken up the case filed by the Biodiversity Conservation Trust of India, a Delhi-based NGO, in the Supreme Court for transfer of the lions, told IANS: "If the issue is not resolved, there would be a huge economic loss."
"The 24 villages that were inside the Kuno reserve have been resettled elsewhere to make room for the Gir lions and an estimated Rs.15 crore has been spent on the project," said Mr. Dutta.
However, with the recent admission by the Madhya Pradesh government that there are no tigers left in the Panna reserve, it might just assure the Gujarat government of its case.
But Faiyaz Khudsar, a wildlife biologist who heads the NGO and has worked in Kuno for the lion relocation programme, says, "Wild animals confined to a single area can spell death knell to their long-term survival, and this has been proved by science."
"Some years ago in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, at least 25 per cent of the African lion population there was wiped out due to the canine distemper disease, (a fatal viral disease) and the rest of the lions fell sick. This shows how a single epidemic can wipe out the entire lion population in the park," said Mr. Khudsar.
The Serengeti Park, a Unesco World Heritage site, is spread across more than 14,000 sq km, whereas Gir has an area of just over 1,000 sq km. Despite the sprawling size of Serengeti, the African lions fell to the onslaught of the viral disease, he maintains.
Besides, inbreeding over a period of time can render a population confined to a single area genetically weak, as they don't get the chance to mate with stronger partners from other geographical areas, making them more prone to diseases, he said.
Gir lions are also threatened by poaching, man-animal conflict and accidents. Many lions have died recently after falling into the wells created to provide water for flora and fauna of the park.
"If Gujarat says that there is a security issue in Kuno, then why are the lions straying out of Gir. Some of the lions are even reaching Daman and Diu," said Mr. Khudsar.
"The only solution left is to create different populations in different areas. The geographical barriers might help the lions evolve stronger genes in the near future that would ensure their long-term survival," he explains.
Source: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200906220982.htm
The sprawling Gir National Park in western India is home to some 350 Asiatic lions, the last refuge for these cats. In the past, the lions had roamed in almost the entire Central Asia.
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), a leading scientific organisation, recommended the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh for setting up a second home for the Gir lions.
But the Gujarat government rejected the proposal, saying it lacks scientific backing and security.
Experts believe Kuno in central India is part of the lion's historical home range.
Gujarat says if Madhya Pradesh cannot protect their tigers, how can they protect the lions.
Supreme Court lawyer Ritwick Dutta, who has taken up the case filed by the Biodiversity Conservation Trust of India, a Delhi-based NGO, in the Supreme Court for transfer of the lions, told IANS: "If the issue is not resolved, there would be a huge economic loss."
"The 24 villages that were inside the Kuno reserve have been resettled elsewhere to make room for the Gir lions and an estimated Rs.15 crore has been spent on the project," said Mr. Dutta.
However, with the recent admission by the Madhya Pradesh government that there are no tigers left in the Panna reserve, it might just assure the Gujarat government of its case.
But Faiyaz Khudsar, a wildlife biologist who heads the NGO and has worked in Kuno for the lion relocation programme, says, "Wild animals confined to a single area can spell death knell to their long-term survival, and this has been proved by science."
"Some years ago in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, at least 25 per cent of the African lion population there was wiped out due to the canine distemper disease, (a fatal viral disease) and the rest of the lions fell sick. This shows how a single epidemic can wipe out the entire lion population in the park," said Mr. Khudsar.
The Serengeti Park, a Unesco World Heritage site, is spread across more than 14,000 sq km, whereas Gir has an area of just over 1,000 sq km. Despite the sprawling size of Serengeti, the African lions fell to the onslaught of the viral disease, he maintains.
Besides, inbreeding over a period of time can render a population confined to a single area genetically weak, as they don't get the chance to mate with stronger partners from other geographical areas, making them more prone to diseases, he said.
Gir lions are also threatened by poaching, man-animal conflict and accidents. Many lions have died recently after falling into the wells created to provide water for flora and fauna of the park.
"If Gujarat says that there is a security issue in Kuno, then why are the lions straying out of Gir. Some of the lions are even reaching Daman and Diu," said Mr. Khudsar.
"The only solution left is to create different populations in different areas. The geographical barriers might help the lions evolve stronger genes in the near future that would ensure their long-term survival," he explains.
Source: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200906220982.htm
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