Politicians insist running a coalition government can be a tough task. But in gir, the Lion kings have been running their version of ‘coalition government’ for a long time. Gir – the last adobe of Asiatic lions – thrives on numerous prides thriving on tie-ups. In the kamleshwar Dam site area, two lions have established their supremacy over a huge pride and an even bigger territory. “Usually one lion rules the group and other just play a supporting role, but here the two lions rule a group of 28 members including females, sub adults and adults,” said the officer.
Sandeep Kumar, deputy conservator of forest head quarter says,” This coalition is only to safeguard their territory against outside attack”. The bonding between these tow lions is so strong that they mate with the same lioness without ant element of jealousy.
“When one lion is mating, the other is constantly on the move, guarding the territory and after four or five days, the second lion takes over and the first guards the territory. We are studying the unique mating behavior,” Kumar said.
Gir forest officials say that apart from this group, there are several prides in gir Sanctuary that have two rulers. Additional principal conservator of forest, H.S. Singh, says in Africa too one can find in-stances where two lions have ruled a pride. There have been instances where there are three to five males in the group. But in all these cases, one of the lions is always supreme and the others play supporting roles.
“These lions pair up to save their own territory against invasion of nomadic lions or other sub-adult lions. They team up whenever there is an attack and provide protection to the pride. Usually, after capturing the territory, the strong one would become the king of the area, while the other would be supporting him”, said G.A. Patel, former principal chief conservator of forests. He said that the lion population in Gir was increasing because of the conservation efforts and this practice of grouping.
Courtesy:- The Times Of India.
