Wildlife Package

Tourists flock Gir Lion Sanctuary (Junagadh, Gujarat) on opening day of season

Dekho dekho kaun aaya? Sher dekhne India Aaya! The first day of the opening of the Gir sanctuary (Junagadh, Gujarat)  saw a historic rise in the number of people from the length and breadth of the country thronging the Gir National Park (Sasan Gir, Junagadh, Gujarat) to have a dekho at the king of Jungle – the Asiatic lion.

As many as 1,785 people visited Gir (Junagadh, Gujarat) – double the number last year – on the day the park was opened for visitors post monsoon on Wednesday. On October 16^th last year, when the sanctuary reopened, about 935 people had visited the park.

Abdul Kadir, a businessman from Kolkata came all the way to spend Eid holiday with the Asiatic Lion. He spotted six lioness and cubs in the Kardi in Gir Sanctuary (Junagadh, Gujarat). “I booked online and would have gone back happy had I spotted even one lion’.

Officials said the major attraction among tourists were the five cubs who are in lodged Devalia Interpretation (Sasan Gir, Junagadh, Gujarat) zone. It was during the wildlife celebrations that the forest department had named the male cubs as Shardul, Yuvraj and Vanraj, while the female cubs will be identified as Heer and Mallika.

Another tourist, Mahendra Gard, said, “We had relatives from Kerala who had come to visit Dwarka and Somnath. We decided to visit Gir first and were lucky to sight two lionesses. It was a great experience to see a lion in the green as the forest is still lush because of the extended monsoon.”
Local guide Hitesh Solanki said that he has never seen such a rush in his 13- year- long stint here. According to conservator of forest, R.L. Meena, the Amitabh Bachchan campaign had played a major role in increasing the tourist flow.

Courtesy:- Times of India

Foreigners take lion’s share in Gir’s (Sasan Gir, Junagadh, Gujarat) festive season e-booking

Till Friday 500 tourists from Abroad made bookings, against 398 Indians

It is as if foreign nationals were waiting for the best chance to book their tryst with Asiatic lions. Even since online bookings began on October 3, over 900 booking have been done and of these 502 were foreign nationals or from overseas.

Officials said that of the 900 bookings till Friday evening, only 398 are for Indian nationals and of theses, over 60% are from outside Gujarat. Officials said that the maximum bookings from within the state were for November 4 to November 8 – New Year to Labh Pancham – when business establishments are closed.

Officials said the forest department had launched online booking service precisely in order to facilitate foreigners and those coming from outside Gujarat for a visit to Sasan Gir (Junagadh, Gujarat). The department has launched the online facility and also facilitated payment by credit or debit card for visits to the Gir Interpretation Zones at Sasan and Devaliya (Gujarat). The Sanctuary reopens on October 15.

Courtesy:- Times of India 

Lioness Laxmi’s lucky five in Zoo

Three Year Old Mother in Gir (Junagadh, Gujarat, India) has Given birth to a Record litter, all the cubs are healthy 

Five seems to be the lucky number for Laxmi. This three year old lioness in Gir (Junagadh, Gujarat, India) has given birth to a litter of five. Interestingly, Laxmi herself was one of a litter of five born to lioness named Shyama.

At her age, Laxmi should usually be learning the tricks of hunting, but she is already a mother and playing the role with tremendous ease. She is taking good care of the cubs and is protecting them from all kinds of threats of jungle life.

On May 17, 2013, Laxmi gave birth to five cubs in Gir Interpretation Zone at Devaliya (Sasan Gir, Junagadh, Gujarat, India). The cubs are now 75 days old and weigh between 3.5 and 4 kg. The cubs have begun to supplement the mother’s milk with meat as they have already developed teeth. “This is a remarkable feat as normally a lioness gives birth to 2 to 3 cubs and it is rather rare for all the cubs to survive. Laxmi deserves praise for her mothering skills well proved by the thriving brood,” said a forest officer.

Gujarat’s chief wildlife warden C.N. Pandey said, “Laxmi has inherited good genes. She was born on May 3, 2010, at Sakarbaug Zoo, Junagadh (Gujarat, India) to lion Daksh and lioness Shyama. However, her mother Shyama could raise only three of them. The rest died in their infancy. Laxmi has been able to achieve a record”.

“A lioness can feed only four cubs at a time. But Laxmi has been able to work around this biological limitation. 

This example illustrate that Asiatic lions are genetically strong and competent,” said Pandey. “The forest department continues to play a leading role in biodiversity conservation through dedicated management and support to nature with skill care. It is crucial that each and every individual of an endangered species is protected with proper skills and capability”.

“Birth to five cubs in a litter is extremely rare,” an official of the department said.

“We were not sure if Laxmi would be able to raise all five cubs. But she was to make a record in the known history of Asiatic Lion management. Laxmi, supported by the forest department staff, she has been able to ensure that all of her survive,” the official said.

Courtesy:- Times of India

Gujarat readies to clone its Lions

Sets up DNA Banks to preserve and improve Gene pool

Like humans, Asiatic Lions now have a gene bank with a cloning facility. In collaboration with the Gujarat State Bio-Technology Mission (GSBTM), the forest department has already collected 80 strains of DNA of the Asiatic lion.

The DNA banking of lions will not only be useful for further diseases and management related issues, but will also help to have healthy lion genes. An exclusive “Institute of Wildlife Genomics and DNA Banking” will be set up by the end of this year.

Akshaykumar Saxena, the GSBTM Director, says, “The institute is a joint collaboration of the forest department and the GSBTM, and will come up in Gandhinagar(Gujarat). We are already working on the project”.

The institute will help the department to overcome fears that the genes of the lions are deteriorating, as the institute will have a data bank of genes of different types of lions in Gir Region (Gujarat, India). Having lineage data will help the wildlife experts evaluate breeding stress and diseases susceptibility, say officials. The DNA bank will also have embryo transfer technology to supplement highly endangered species.

An official says, “The institute will help identify the cats with the best genes, which will be introduced at the gene pool centre set up at Sakarbaugh Zoo (Junagadh, Gujarat, India) and Rampara Virdi (Rajkot, Gujarat, India).

Once the institute is fully operational, various studies related to diseases and other management aspects of lions will be taken up. The genetic material stored in these banks will be used to increase genetic diversity. Material from DNA banks can be used to infuse small populations with new genetic material, increasing their chances of survival. Another goal of DNA banks is to increase the population size.

In 1999, at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered species a domestic house cat gave birth to an African wildcat kitten that had been frozen as an embryo in a DNA bank. This was the first example of inter species birth. In 2000, the Center produced test-tube Caracal cats from sperm that had been stored in their DNA bank.

Officials say that the GSBTM is also in the process of collecting samples of cubs born at Rampara virdi (Rajkot, Gujarat, India) to study their genes. The GSBTM also plans to carry out a study of the Pestes Des Petits Ruminants Virus (PPRV).
Courtesy:- Times of India

Translocation animals outside home turf is high risk :- IUCN

New Guidelines May Hinder MP’s Lion Shifting Plan

The latest guidelines of the International Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on translocation of wildlife could prove to be a major roadblock for Madhya Pradesh’s lion dreams. The world’s oldest and most trusted global environment organization says shifting animals outside their indigenous range “is high risk”.

The guidelines, issued on July 12, warn, “There is a high risk of failure if the species originate from environments markedly different to the destination area. The risk is accentuated by the fact that the animals may be poorly adapted to the destination area”.

Gujarat has resisted Madhya Pradesh’s demand for Gir Lions for the past decade. The Supreme Court (Indian) had ordered translocation of lions to the Kuno Palpur sanctuary in its Aril 12 order after which Gujarat has filed a review petition.

Under the guidelines, shifting lions out of Gujarat would be classified as ‘assisted colonization where the species translocated is outside the indigenous range. The guidelines specify, “Translocations of organisms outside of their indigenous range are considered to be especially high risk given the numerous examples of species released outside their indigenous ranges subsequently becoming invasive, often with massively adverse impacts.”

IUCN cautions that suck translocation should be taken up only in cases where the risk is low and that the idea should be abandoned if there is any doubt. “If extinction of the species in the proposed destination area occurred long ago, or if conservation introductions are being considered for the first time, local communities may not develop a contact with a new species new to them, and hence may oppose the move. In such cases, special effort to counter such attitudes should be made well in advance of any release,” the guidelines said.

TOI has regularly reported on how both licensed and unlicensed guns are commonplace in villages around Kuno with the government making no effort to sensitize the people about lion translocation. Besides, in the early 1900s, African lions had been introduced here but the local populace had hunted them out of existence within a year.

The new guidelines say, “Multiple parties involved in most translocations have their own mandates, priorities and agendas, unless these are aligned through effective facilitation and leadership, unproductive conflict may fatally undermine translocation implementation or success.”   

Courtesy:- Times Of India 

48 lesser floricans counted at Black Buck National Park

Velavadar Grassland is an Ideal Habitat for their Breeding

The forest department has counted 48 lesser floricans, the critically endangered smallest bustards od the world. In Velavadar Blackbuck National Park (BNP) in Bhavnagar district. The counting was done on Saturday and Sunday.

According to assistant conservator of forests, BNP, D.P. Baghela, of the 48, 44 were males and four were females. Forest officials said BNP is the only grassland in north western Indian that has observed a steady population of lesser florican. Last year, 54 were counted here.

“This year we first spotted lesser floricans in first week of July. This grassland provides an ideal habitat for lesser floricans for breeding during monsoon and started leaving before winter,” Vaghela added.

Lesser florican is endemic to the Indian subcontinent and list under Schedule 1 species under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

“Degradation of grasslands in Gondal, Rajkot and Jamnagar earlier attracted lesser floricans. But they are seldom seemed here. Velavadar National Park is the only grassland in north western Indian where floricans are reported in good number, largely due to better grassland management and protection,” he said.Forest officials said earlier, lesser floricans were found in many parts of the region, but now these birds are found at very few places in the state.

Two years ago, researcher G.S. Bharadwaj of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) carried out a study on lesser floricans from across the country. They study observed that most of the potential florican habitat in the state were converted into cotton fields where large quantities of pesticides are being used, the greatest threat to floricans here.

“Lesser florican is best known for the leaping breeding displays by males during the monsoon,” an official said.




Courtesy:- Times Of India.