A Government report released on Friday has among various conservation measures called for creation of a second home for the wild big cats other than the Gir forests in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region.
The Gujarat Government has been vehemently opposing for long parting its ‘Gir’s Pride’ with any other State —to be precise in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno wildlife sanctuary—for shifting the big cats and a case in this regard is also pending in the Supreme Court. The Vijay Rupani-led Gujarat Government has also rejected Wildlife Institute of India’s ‘Recovery and Conservation of Endangered Lions in Gujarat’ project, which was to be monitored by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Asiatic Lions are listed in the Schedule-I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, thereby according them the highest degree of protection.
The report, ‘Asiatic Lion Conservation Project’, which was released by Union Environment Minister Dr Harshvardhan on Friday also noted that the current rate of development-induced habitat fragmentation, loss of potential lion habitats owing to natural calamities triggered by climate change besides poaching and poisoning of prey carcasses plague the India’s majestic Asiatic lions conservation, which are presently confined in Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
While noting that the 2010 census which pegged the population at 411 showed a remarkable increase of 112 animals in the next five years and the lion population in the year 2015 stands 523 from four districts of Saurashtra, the report felt it was not enough.
“In spite of successful conservation efforts over last 4 decades, registering sustained increasing population trend, the Asiatic Lion is still critically endangered on account of its total population being only about 523+10, i.e. much less than desirable 500 breeding adults with demographically favorable male to female ratio.”
The report also enlisted various threats that exist in the region for the survival of the Asiatic lions. “With the current rate of development-induced habitat fragmentations in Saurashtra, only home to the country’s lions, there is an increasing risk for lion ‘patchy populations’ to gradually deteriorating into a meta population where “several patches might become spatially separated disjoint lion sub-populations”.
“Lion mortality due to anthropogenic pressures such as poaching, poisoning of prey carcasses etc and loss of potential lion habitats owing to natural calamities triggered by climate changes are likely to further exacerbate this situation,” it further said.
Despite a successful recovery, Asiatic lions exemplify all the typical impediments of carnivore conservation -such as a small population restricted to a single site and with reduced genetic diversity, long ranging and conflict with human interests… make Asiatic lions vulnerable to stochastic events such as epidemics and newly emerging diseases, the report added.
Further, co-evolved diseases, both endemic and epidemic, are known to have an effect on the hosts (lion) ecology.
Thus, monitoring of diseases and disease-causing agents in this endangered population has huge ecological and conservation implications. Recently over 23 predators had succumbed to Cannine distemper virus (CDV) in the region which had also evoked strong response from the Supreme Court and Gujarat High Court.
The ‘Asiatic Lion Conservation Project’, initially for a three year period with budget fund of Rs 97.84 crore (with the contributing ratio being 60:40 of Central and State share respectively) aims consolidating conservation of the Asiatic Lion and its associate biota in Saurashtra region.
The Project envisages a science-based management prescriptions with involvement of people alongside coordination with multi-sectoral agencies within the Gir Protected Area system.
The project activities are aimed at better management of the Lion habitat, disease control and veterinary care for overall conservation of the Asiatic Lion.
Currently, lions exist in Gir National Park and Sanctuary and its surroundings viz. Girnar Sanctuary, Mitiyala Sanctuary, Pania Sanctuary, South Eastern and Western coastal areas, Savarkundla, Liliya and adjoining areas of Amreli and Bhavnagar Districts.
