The Indian Board for Wild Life (IBWL) will meet on Monday to decide if a part of the Asiatic lion population in Gujarat’s Gir forests is to have a new home.
AHMEDABAD: The Indian Board for Wild Life (IBWL) will meet on Monday to decide if a part of the Asiatic lion population in Gujarat’s Gir forests is to have a new home. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will chair the meeting.
The controversial project, which is also the world’s first on such a large scale, aims to relocate several prides of lions to the Kuno Palpur sanctuary in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.
The Gir forests, home to the world’s last Asiatic lions, are spread across 1,400 sq km, making things a little cramped for the jungle kings who require a lot more space. This has lead to the lions straying out of the sanctuary. The need to find them more space has become more urgent with the recent spate of cattle attacks in nearby villages.
Gujarat, however, has been strongly opposing the move. It argues that Madhya Pradesh is ill-equipped to handle the lions, but Madhya Pradesh doesn’t want any advice. Not surprisingly, the matter has acquired political overtones.
“Scientifically, it’s quite necessary to shift some of the lions as soon as possible,” says Sanat Chavan, a retired principal chief conservator of forests and an expert on the Gir lions, “but not this way. We know that two earlier attempts to relocate the lions failed. The fact is lions can’t survive alongside tigers or without tolerant locals who do not mind their presence. Besides, Gujarat’s forest officials have safeguarded the lions all these decades, so why are they being excluded from the process?” But researchers and academicians working on the project disagree with the field experts. “Historically, lions and tigers have overlapped all over India,” says YV Jhala, head of the animal behaviour department at the Wildlife Institute of India and an IBWL member.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}