There is good news for wildlife enthusiasts. The estimated population of Asiatic lions in Gujarat has increased to 891 against 674 five years ago.
Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday released the figures of the Lion Census conducted earlier this month.
In the cenusus conducted in June 2020, the big cat population in the state was estimated at 674.
The 16th Asiatic lion census, a four-day exercise, was conducted from May 10 to 13 in two phases, covering an area of 35,000 square kilometres across 11 districts.
While a preliminary census was conducted on May 10 and 11, the final population count was done on May 12 and 13 with the help of 3,000 volunteers, including regional, zonal and sub-zonal officers, enumerators, assistant enumerators and inspectors, according to an official release.
The exercise covered 58 talukas.
Parimal Nathwani, Rajya Sabha MP and wildlife enthusiast, congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Patel for their unwavering cmmitment to Gir lion conservation.
He further said that the figures are a testament to their visionary leadership and Project Lion’s success.
The 11 districts where lions are found are Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Morbi, Surendranagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Amreli, Porbandar and Botad.
Asiatic lions, a sub-species, are only found in the Gir national park and surrounding districts in Gujarat and thus Gir is also known as the only abode of this magestic big cat.
According to officials, the census was conducted through a more accurate method called ‘direct beat verification’, which provides 100 percent accuracy with almost zero margin of error due to statistical analysis and ease of implementation.
With the increasing population, the spread of this big cat has also expanded. The lions were earlier confined to the Gir National Park in Junagadh and Amreli districts, but now they have spread to 11 districts, said an official.
Jaipal Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, was quoted saying that as many as 384 lions were counted in Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary and 507 were found outside its limits.
The areas outside Gir where lions were spotted included sanctuaries like Pania, Mitiyala, Girnar and Barda. Some animals were seen in non-forested areas and coastal areas too. Seventeen lions were counted in Barda sanctuary, 15 km from Porbandar.
The survey area was divided into eight regions, 32 zones and 112 sub-zones.
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