Asiatic Lion - Status

Status

The Gir Forest National Park of western India has about 411 lions (as of April 2011) which live in a 1,412 km2 (545 sq mi) sanctuary covered with scrub and open deciduous forest habitats. The population in 1907 was believed to consist of only 13 lions when the Nawab of Junagadh gave them complete protection. This figure, however, is highly controversial because the first census of lions in the Gir that was conducted in 1936 yielded a result of 234 animals.

Until about 150 to 200 years ago, the Bengal tiger, along with the Indian leopard, shared most of their habitat, where the Asiatic lion was found in large parts of west and central India along with the Asiatic Cheetah, now extirpated from India. However, Asiatic cheetahs preferred open grasslands, and the Asiatic lions preferred open forests interspersed with grasslands, which is also home to tigers and leopards. At one time, the Bengal tiger and Asiatic lion might have competed with each other for food and territory.

These Indian big cats lost most of their open jungle and grassland habitat in India to the rising human population, which almost completely converted their entire habitat in the plains of India into farmland. They frequently became targets of local and British colonial hunters.

Lions are poisoned for attacking livestock. Some of the other major threats include floods, fires, and epidemics. Their restricted range makes them especially vulnerable.

Nearly 20,000 open wells dug by farmers in the area for irrigation have also acted as traps, which led to many lions drowning. To counteract the problem, suggestions for walls around the wells, as well as the use of "drilled tube wells" have been made.

Farmers on the periphery of the Gir Forest frequently use crude and illegal electrical fences by powering them with high voltage overhead power lines. These are usually intended to protect their crops from nilgai, but lions and other wildlife are also killed.

Habitat decline in the Gir Forest may also be contributed to by the presence of nomadic herdsmen known as Maldharis. These communities are vegetarian and do not indulge in poaching, but with an average of 50 cattle (mainly "Gir cow") per family, overgrazing is a concern. The habitat destruction by the cattle and the firewood requirements of the populace reduces the natural prey base and endangers the lions. The lions are in turn forced by the lack of natural prey to shift to killing cattle, and in turn, are targeted by people. Many Maldharis have been relocated outside the park by the forestry to allow the lions a more natural surrounding and more natural prey.