There is good news for wildlife lovers that in the last five years the population of lions also known as the King of Jungle had increases from 411 in 2010 to 523 in 2015.
The Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in the western state of Gujarat, India is known all over the world as the last home of the Asiatic Lion (Panther Leo Persica). This is the only place in the world where these creatures are now found and also considered as the most important protected areas in Asia to protect and support this species.
According to the latest census of 2015 the population of lions has incress up 27% from the last census which was conducted in 2010. This censes was conducted in the total area of 1412 km² of the sanctuary and the surrounding forest lands.
Mr. Anandiben Patel, the chief minister of Gujarat said that our lions are world famous and considered the pride of Gujarat. We are ensuring the conservation and also created environment in which its population is growing.
There was a press conference conducted in Sasan (the head office of Gir National Park in Junagadh). Mr. Anandiben Patel declares the results of 14th lion census 2015.
“There are 109 male lions, 201 females and 213 cubs in the Gir sanctuary and nearby forest areas of Junagadh district,” said Mr. Anandiben Patel. In 2010 census these numbers were 97 male lions, 162 females and 152 cubs respectively.
“Enumerators recorded unique identification marks like scars on the face, the shape of ears, tuft of hair on tail, color, and belly folds. Using all this information with location details we removed overlapping and reached the final count,” said Mr Pandey.
Present number of lion sight in different states are-
| Place | Number of lions |
| Junagadh | 268 |
| Gir-Somnath district | 44 |
| Amreli | 174 |
| Bhavnagar | 37 |
According to a survey, 50 lions die annually due to a variety of threats. The major cause of death are Habitat loss Prey loss, Poaching, Human-lion conflict, Inbreeding, Disease etc.
Once around 1907 the population of lions in India was decimated to just 13 individuals. The major reason of these decrees was hunting. But in 1975 the government of India ban over hunting.
The Government of Gujarat conduct a conservation project to increases the population of Lion naming “The Gir conservation project”. As a result the species was awarded protection and the population raised a slow, but promising.
The government of Gujarat discussing about the Gir lions for years and said that the Gir lions are “pride of the state” and also the “family members” so they could not be separated with us.”
The Supreme Court rejected the Gujarat government’s emotional appeal and ordered to move Asiatic lions from Gir forest in Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh within six months for the best interest of species.
