The just-concluded 13th Asiatic Lion census in Gir Sanctuary has revealed an increase in their numbers. Shubhlakshmi Shukla, the only reporter to tag along with the hundreds of officials and volunteers who conducted the exercise, reports
Gandhinagar: The 2010 census has found 74 lions in the revenue areas of Amreli, Bhavnagar and Junagadh.
Forest department officials said that the figure could have gone up to about 85-90 as those in the revenue area around Sasan were included in the count for Gir National Park. They said the state government is in process of developing new sanctuaries, including the Barda Dungar in Porbandar.
The Gir forest, the last surviving home of Asiatic lions in the subcontinent, has finally brought some cheer to wildlife conservationists. According to the 2010 lion population estimate, there are 411 lions, an increase of 52 over the last count in 2005.
The announcement was made by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar on Sunday.
Ahmedabad: The delectable Kesar mango may soon be property of Junagadh farmers and come with a quality control tag. Junagadh Agriculture University and Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation (GAIC) Ltd have applied for geographical indication (GI) status for Kesar mango grown in Junagadh, just like Darjeeling tea and basmati rice.
Ahmedabad/Junagadh: Forest department caged two leopards from Veraval in Junagadh and Rajula in Amreli in past 48 hours. One of the big cats died of heat. The big cat that died was a female caught in Savani village near Veraval on Wednesday morning.
On the eve of census of the Asiatic lion population in Gir forest beginning later this week, the State wildlife officials are confident that the new, modern methods adopted this time would reduce the margin of counting errors.
Ahmedabad: The next time you visit Junagadh, and find a person of African origin telling you about Panthera Leo Persica (Asiatic lion), do not be surprised. Gujarat government is training some 20 youths of the African Siddi tribe, settled in Gir forest, to speak English and become tour guides.
Rajkot: In a bizarre incident in a village in Kodinar taluka of Junagadh district, a leopard was cemented inside a concrete slab for last 20 days. It was discovered on Tuesday when it managed to break a brick. A major operation was carried out to rescue it.
Rajkot: A day after a lion was axed to death, a decomposed carcass of an Asiatic lion was found in Junagadh on Tuesday. The postmortem report, however, stated the big cat died of old age a fortnight ago.
