India's Asiatic Lion Population Rises by 27% in 5 Years - Tiger Population up by 30% in 3 Years

[IrbiS]

There was talk of re-introducing Cheetah

 

[Mr.Nair]

Don't mind these tigers are not counted

 

[Hindustani78]

Announce Asiatic lion as India's national animal. Lion is used in many ancient Indian deities and myths. Many ancient Indian structures have lions. Indian national emblem uses lion.
For gods sake leave Royal Bengal Tiger for Bangladesh.

You are out of senses.

The Asiatic lion also known as babbar sher in hindi. The only place in the wild where this species is found is in the Gir Forest in Kathiawar of Gujarat, India.

The Asiatic lion is one of the five major big cats found in India, the others being the Bengal tiger, the Indian leopard, the
snow leopard and leopard. They prey mainly on cattle,deer, pig and other herbivore by making a short, high–speed charge upto 80km per hour.
•
The Asiatic lions once ranged from the Mediterranean to the northeastern parts of the Indian subcontinent

 

[Skull and Bones]

There was talk of re-introducing Cheetah

What reintroducing? There are cheetahs in Indian forests in considerable number.

 

[IrbiS]

What reintroducing? There are cheetahs in Indian forests in considerable number.

Those my friend are pardus

 

[scorpionx]

This is excellent to know but news from Sundarban is disappointing and heart breaking. Rising sea level, massive deforestation will probably wipe out the remaining Bengal tigers within 50/60 years.

 

[HariPrasad]

India's Asiatic lion population rising
Census finds 27% increase in number of endangered lions found in their only habitat in the world – the Gir forest of Gujarat​

Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), are the smaller cousins of African lions. Above, a lioness with her cubs, in Gir Interpretation Zone or Devalia safari park, in Gir forest in Gujarat, India. Photograph: Matthias Graben/Corbis​

Wildlife experts have welcomed census figures showing India’s population of endangered Asiatic lions has increased in the last five years in the western state of Gujarat.

Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel said officials counted 523 lions, up 27% from the last census conducted in 2010 in Gir sanctuary, the last habitat for the big cats globally.

The census was conducted over five days earlier this month in the 20,000 sqkm (7,700 sq m) sanctuary and surrounding forest lands.

“There are 109 male lions, 201 females and 213 cubs in the Gir sanctuary and nearby forest areas of Junagadh district,” Patel said on Sunday.

Officials have said the experts conducting the census used a combination of direct sightings, photographs and GPS tracking technology to document each lion and avoid double counting.

About 2,500 people, including wildlife experts from India’s top universities, participated in the counting process.

The last census in 2010 showed 411 lions, up from 359 in 2005.

WWF India director Diwakar Sharma welcomed the numbers but said the larger population posed challenges for managing their habitat and conflict with humans.

“This is good news on the conservation front but bigger populations in bigger areas increases the challenge of managing land, human and animal conflict,” he told AFP.

“There (also) has to be some other place far away from Gir (for lions) so that in a time of catastrophe, we don’t lose the population.”

The Gujarat government is fighting a Supreme Court ruling in 2013 for some of the lions to be moved to a wildlife sanctuary in a neighbouring state to ensure their long-term survival in case of disease.

The cats are a subspecies of lion which are slightly smaller than their African cousins and have a fold of skin along their bellies. They are a major attraction for tourists to Gujarat.

India faces intense international scrutiny over its conservation efforts because it is home to many endangered species, including tigers.

Conservation efforts were hailed in January after 2,226 tigers were spotted in a country-wide census, a 30% increase in the population from 2010.

Authorities across Asia are waging a major battle against poachers, who often sell tiger body parts to the lucrative traditional Chinese medicine market, as well as other man-made problems such as habitat loss.

Source:- India's Asiatic lion population rising | Environment | The Guardian
India's tiger population increases by 30% in past three years; country now has 2,226 tigers - The Times of India

Yes in Gir.

Gir is a small area with too many lions. it is the time to shift some lions to Kanha or somewhere else.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...to-tribespeople/article7199779.ece?ref=tpnews

The community-based eco-tourism now being practised at the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve with the active involvement of 234 members of six tribal settlements within the reserve has become a model to emulate in tiger conservation, said B.N. Anjan Kumar, deputy director of the reserve.

In an interaction with The Hindu , he said the initiative was launched six years ago. The reserve, which shares its borders with Tamil Nadu’s Anamalai Tiger Reserve, was able to make rapid strides in initiatives relating to eco-tourism as well effective forest management through the involvement of tribals, who earlier found it tough to live in a forest environment cut off from the world outside.

The tribespeople, who were forced to sell their cattle and forgo other means of livelihood after the sanctuary attained a tiger reserve status, are now employed as tourist guides, forest watchers and helping hands for eco-tourism initiatives. They are paid salary by the Parambikulam Tiger Foundation.

Endemic flora varieties

“The Parambikulam Tiger Reserve has many firsts to its credit, made possible through participation of tribespeople. Being a most protected forest area, the reserve has nearly five endemic flora varieties. It had 29 direct sightings of tigers,” he said. Ever since Joint Forest and Participatory Management was introduced, there have been no incidents of poaching in the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve. Also, there had been no incident of forest fire. It is now ‘the first domestic cattle-free protected forest area.’

Tribespeople have become part of the Social Tiger Protection Force and are effectively combating forest and wildlife-related offences. There are seven eco-development committees serving the restricted and regulated eco-tourism needs and looking after the livelihood of tribal people. There are 13 eco-tourism packages oprated by the department through tribal people. Plastic waste has reduced drastically and the remaining waste is recycled and made into key chains, embedded with PTR-related images and slogans. They are sold as souvenir to tourists. Tourism activities are regulated in such a way as to not cause disturbance to wildlife. Entry of private vehicles to the reserve has been banned.

Four new 18-seater vehicles have been bought to take tourists around the reserve.

Farming activities

Referring to the farming activity in Poopara hamlet, Mr.Anjan Kumar said banana cultivation earlier had led to man–animal conflict. Now, with inputs from Forest Department, they have switched over to ginger, coffee, pepper and turmeric cultivation. Organic certification and good prices have benefited them, he added. In order to address alcoholism prevalent among the local community, the Excise Department would soon start a de-addiction centre in Parambikulam, , which is otherwise a no-liquor zone. An ambulance was sanctioned for the local community by A K Antony, MP, from his local area development fund for meeting immediate medical needs.

 

[Gibbs]

What reintroducing? There are cheetahs in Indian forests in considerable number.

Asiatic Cheetah's a re extinct in India.. The only remaining wild Asiatic Cheetah's are found in Iran

 

[Skull and Bones]

Asiatic Cheetah's a re extinct in India.. The only remaining wild Asiatic Cheetah's are found in Iran

Sorry, I got confused between leopard and cheetah.

 

[Manindra]

Announce Asiatic lion as India's national animal. Lion is used in many ancient Indian deities and myths. Many ancient Indian structures have lions. Indian national emblem uses lion.
For gods sake leave Royal Bengal Tiger for Bangladesh.

Tiger Stronk.........

 

[Bitter Melon]

My state has 27.83 % forest area and that too rain forest like amazon.

Almost 50% of Kerala has green cover, both urban and forest area. If you see the ariel view of cities of Kerala, they seem to be virtually forests with some buildings popping out here and there

 

[kadamba-warrior]

We actually should transfer them to wildlife sanctuaries across India so as to ensure their growth as well as long term survival - over the years the Gir sanctuary has become overpopulated - now the growth is happening outside the protected area in what are essentially human-dominated landscapes which is pretty risky.

And now the bad news... Overcrowding in Gir lion population is a 'time-bomb' for conservationists | Daily Mail Online
Asiatic lions face danger in 'overcrowded' Gir, some of them need relocation : West, News - India Today

EXACTLY!

THIS is one aspect of Mr.Modi that I hate the most! This man, who claims to be a nationalist that puts India above everything else, cockblocked every attempt to shift some of the lions from overcrowded forests in Gujarat to MP on flimsiest of pretexts.

This relocation would have had absolutely no impact on the lion population in Gir, but would have provided some sort of a backup if there were to be some disease like anthrax to which the lions very susceptible. If these lions were ever to be wiped out from Gir Forest for some reason, Mr.Modi will have to take the blame single-handedly for killing an entire species of magnificent Asiatic lions from the wild!

I have been following this issue for sometime now and I really had hoped that Modi would change his mind once he moves to Delhi to be the Prime Minister of India, but alas!

No sign of Gir transfer, MP seeks to shift zoo lions to Kuno - The Times of India

Actually a lot of people just do that. Townies from colleges and schools go for a day of planting trees and then forget all about it.

True! I remember in my school they used to plant trees in the spot every year!

Announce Asiatic lion as India's national animal. Lion is used in many ancient Indian deities and myths. Many ancient Indian structures have lions. Indian national emblem uses lion.
For gods sake leave Royal Bengal Tiger for Bangladesh.

The only thing 'Bengali' about the Royal Bengal Tiger is the name the Britishers gave to ALL the tigers found in the Subcontinent. Even then Bengali is not exclusive to Bangladeshis!

And an interesting fact is that the tigers found in Sunderbans (both in Bangladesh and in India) are relatively smaller in size compared to tigers elsewhere in other forests of Central/South and North India/Nepal - perhaps an adaptation to the harsh living conditions on the marshy swamps.

Royal Bengal Tigers are found in about half a dozen countries in the subcontinent with a vast majority in India. Another aspect about Tigers, unlike Lions in India, is that they are found in almost all regions of India - Himalayan foothills of North and North East, deserts of West, plains of Central India, marshy swamps of Sunderbans and jungles of Southern India!

So no, Tigers will continue to be National Animal of India.

 

[Hindustani78]

Tiger Stronk.........

Tigers are having religious importance in India . List is too long.

Lord Ayyappa (Sabarimalai in Kerala, India) rides a tiger.

HAZRAT ABDUL REHMAN SHAH urf SAILANI SHAH popularly known as a SAILANI BABA , hazrat's mazhar is located at BULDANA Dist of MAHARASHTRA

 

[Manindra]

Tigers are having religious importance in India . List is too long.

Lord Ayyappa (Sabarimalai in Kerala, India) rides a tiger.

HAZRAT ABDUL REHMAN SHAH urf SAILANI SHAH popularly known as a SAILANI BABA , hazrat's mazhar is located at BULDANA Dist of MAHARASHTRA

And don't forget most of the world's Bengal Tiger population resided in India.