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PM Modi lauds conservation efforts to improve lion population in Gujarat
The Gujarat Forest department said last June that the Asiatic Lion population in Gir national park has increased by 29% in the past five years — from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the conservation efforts in Gujarat to increase the population of lions in recent years.
“The lion is majestic and courageous. India is proud to be home to the Asiatic Lion. On World Lion Day, I convey my greetings to all those passionate about lion conservation. It would make you happy that the last few years have seen a steady increase in India’s lion population,” PM Modi tweeted on Tuesday. “When I was serving as Gujarat CM, I had the opportunity to work towards ensuring safe and secure habitats for the Gir Lions. A number of initiatives were taken which involved local communities and global best practices to ensure habitats are safe and tourism also gets a boost.”
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The Gujarat Forest department said last June that the Asiatic Lion population in Gir national park has increased by 29% in the past five years — from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020. The department also said the distribution area of lions in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, where Gir is situated, has increased by 36% from 22,000 sqkm in 2015 to 30,000 sqkm.
The forest department conducted an exercise in which 1,400 forest guards of 13 divisions were asked to spot lions and report their presence. Based on their reports, the population was estimated. The exercise was called Poonam Avlokan (because it was conducted on full moon night).
The Centre hasn’t conducted any census of lions in Gujarat. “We plan to soon start Project Lion which will ensure conservation gaps are addressed,” said a senior environment ministry official who did not wish to be named. He, however, did not comment on whether lions from Gujarat will be translocated to Madhya Pradesh. There was a plan to translocate lions from Gir to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno Palpur wildlife reserve which has been pending since the 90s.
“Project Lion will involve the conservation of lions and their habitat in a holistic manner. There will be a focus on conflict mitigation and technology for management. Reintroduction... we have to see what are the possibilities. Last year, only some financial measures were announced but this project is new and long term,” Soumitra Dasgupta, additional director general (wildlife) had said last year.
“Conservation of lions in and around Gir has been a tremendous success. It has staved off extinction which seemed imminent more than a 100 years ago. Even conservation successes need careful long-term monitoring and management. In the case of lions, the single most important conservation action that is needed is the implementation of the Supreme Court mandated translocation to establish a second free-ranging population of lions in Kuno,” said Ravi Chellam, conservation scientist, CEO, Metastring Foundation and member Biodiversity Collaborative.
