India is home to over 45,000 species of plants and over 70,000 species of animals. However many of these species are on the verge of extinction and may not survive if constant efforts are not put to save them and their homes. Here’s an infographic from trodly that shows some of the animals that your kid […]
Food for Thought: Asiatic Lion
Asiatic Lion Asiatic Lions are only found in the Sasan Gir National Park and Sanctuary in Gujarat, India. They are top predators and the only wild cats in the world to live and hunt in a social group called pride. Although Asiatic lion prides are much smaller than African lion prides, the way they chase […]
Names for All: Gir Wild Lions get their own Unique Names
If you thought individual names were only for pet animals, you’re wrong! Forest officials – including the trackers and beat guards – of the Gir Forest National Park have a long standing tradition of giving the big cats in Asia’s only natural habitat of lions interesting and apt names based on their behavior in the […]
Indian Railways Take Measures to Reduce Lion Mortality on Tracks
The beautiful Gir forest of Gujarat remains the only abode of the majestic Asiatic Lion in the world. Hunted relentlessly and at risk of extinction, it was the Nawab of Junagadh who first afforded protection to the King of beasts in the early 1900s. Since then, owing to the combined efforts of the Government and […]
Whose Lion is it Anyway?
Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh continue to Tussle over Asiatic Lion Translocation The grown up fight for the big cat in India will not be over anytime soon it seems. In April 2013 the Supreme Court of India ordered the translocation of Asiatic Lions from Sasan Gir in Gujarat to Kuno wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh […]
Two Lions Killed by Train in Gujarat
TRAGIC: Gujarat, the land of the Gir Forest, the abode of the last few surviving members of the Asiatic lion; was witness to the death of two lionesses that were knocked down by a train on the Surendranagar Pipavav Port railway line. The lionesses were hit by the train between Dehra and Pasada villages in […]
Lion King Conquers New Territories: Doubles the Inhabited Areas
CONSERVATION: Four years ago the entire population of Asiatic Lions in India and the world was contained within 10,500 sq km in the state of Gujarat. But thanks to conservation efforts that have led to the gradual increase in the number of lions in the past few years, lion inhabited areas have doubled so much […]
12 Gir Lions to Get a New Home in Kuno
Palpur Kuno is finally set to get 12 lions in the first phase of a conservation project involving translocation of Asiatic lions from Gir in Gujarat to neighboring Kuno in Madhya Pradesh. Experts from the Wildlife Institute of India had long identified Kuno in Sheopur district as the ideal location for a second home for […]
Rise in Livestock Numbers Once again a Problem at Gir
When Sasan Gir National Park in Gujarat the last bastion of the Asiatic Lion was first recognized as a protected reserve in the 70s it was impertinent that the homes of the pastoral community living within the forest be shifted. Many such villages were thus moved further away from the core area. Over the years, the gradual increase in lion population proved that the decision to minimize human interference, helped protect a rare species. But now, some experts say that as the lions number increase, once again competing population of livestock and wild ungulates in and around Gir is overcrowding the area.
Asiatic Lions no more Critically Endangered
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has just demeaned the threatened status of the Asiatic Lion. Observing the healthy population of the animal in the wild, the organization has re-categorized the Asiatic lions in its Redlist of threatened species from Critically Endangered (CR) to Endangered (EN).
And then I saw a Lion at Gir!
What started as a casual lunch time conversation at work turned into an experience of a life-time.