The only abode of Asiatic lions — Gir Sanctuary has been thrown open for tourists from Friday after four months of closure by the Gujarat’s Forest & Environment Department.
The sanctuary was closed for public from June 15 in wake of monsoon season and mating season of wild animals in Gir forest. Besides, the access roads of the forest which spread over 1400 km also get muddy and slippery.
With the opening of the sanctuary, the quota of online booking of entry passes for visitors to the Gir lion Sanctuary was filled for the next four months. Booking from the ticket window at the sanctuary opens on a day-to-day basis.
The State Forest Department conducts lion safari for tourists in jeeps providing guides who know the locations of prides of lions resting in the shade of trees and shrubs. There are 523 lions in the sanctuary, according to the latest census conducted earlier this year.
The Sanctuary also has 300 leopards, making it one of the major big-cat concentrations in India. Sambar and spotted deer (chital), blue bull (nilgai), chousingha (the world’s only four-horned antelope), chinkara and wild boar thrive in Gir.
Jackal, striped hyena, jungle cat, rusty-spotted cat, langur, porcupine, black-naped Indian hare are among the other mammals of Gir. It has a large population of marsh crocodile or mugger, which is among the 40 species of reptiles and amphibians recorded in the sanctuary.
The Sanctuary is celebrating its golden jubilee this year. Apart from Gir another famous Wild Ass Sanctuary in little Rann of Kutch also opened for the visitors.