Latest news with #16thAsiaticLionPopulationEstimation
India Today
14-05-2025
- General
- India Today
From Diu to Ahmedabad rural belt, why lion census may spring surprises
From the rural talukas of Ahmedabad district to the island of Diu, the containers at Pipavav Port in Amreli district to the pilgrimage town of Devbhoomi Dwarka, the Asiatic Lion census, which concluded in Gujarat on May 13, has expanded its range by 5,000 sq km from the last enumeration in 2020, when the large carnivore's spread was across 30,000 sq 16th Asiatic Lion Population Estimation, carried out over four days by some 3,000 trained volunteers and regional, zonal and sub-zonal officers, added two more districts—Devbhoomi Dwarka and Jamnagar—but it's noteworthy that two talukas of Ahmedabad district, Dhandhuka and Dholka, are also likely to find a mention in this census as a few lions have been spotted there over the past five not far?A senior forest officer said a pride of lions had made Botad district, abutting Ahmedabad, their home. 'One odd lion ventured towards Dholka-Dhandhuka in 2022 but returned. As the pride expands, the lions are expected to expand their territory. It is a matter of time,' the officer noted.A lion pride's territory can typically range between 20 sq km and 500 sq km, depending on factors such as landscape, size of the pride, and availability of water and prey base. Dholka-Dhandhuka talukas share borders with Sanand and Bavla, industrial areas attracting international investment in the automobile sector, semiconductors and lately even space technology. Dominated by farmland, industrial sheds, posh weekend homes and golf courses, these peri-urban areas surrounding the urban metropolis of Ahmedabad offer no forest cover or natural prey base for the the prides The forest department's effort is to divert these prides towards the Velavadar National Park in Surendranagar district, roughly 145 km away. The park has abundant blackbucks and is a protected forest. However, Surendranagar has not been mentioned in the census exercise the other hand, lions have crossed coastal marshlands and were spotted on the beaches of Diu last year. Forest officials confirmed the Union territory's debut in the 2025 census. The presence of lions in Diu is a completely new challenge as the region lacks forest cover or prey base to organically support the on the state's north-western front, lions have reached Jamnagar district and the adjacent Devboomi Dwarka, where at least one pride is believed to have marked a few village farmlands as territory, again devoid of protected forests and prey base. In the newly conquered areas without prey base, livestock ends up as lion meal, leading to human-animal Saurashtra peninsula is the only place in Gujarat where the Asiatic Lion is found in the wild. The census data, which will reveal the location and numbers of lion prides, their corridors and habitat status, is expected to help shape conservation strategies and development policies for the entire region. The first such lion count in Gujarat goes back to to the census in 2020, Gujarat had 674 lions, their population increasing by roughly a fourth every five years over the past three decades. This time, the rising lion numbers are expected to range between 850 and 900, spread over entire Saurashtra, also called the Greater Gir area or the Lion Landscape.A 'green list' released this March by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global environmental entity, has placed African Lions and Asiatic Lions in the 'largely depleted' category. This means human impacts are preventing lions from being fully ecologically functional across their Asiatic Lions also face threats from epidemics and natural disasters, which impacts by way of their population being restricted to one landscape as well as genetic bottleneck from to India Today Magazine
India Today
23-04-2025
- General
- India Today
Why Gujarat's Asiatic lion census is a big deal really
Gujarat's 16th Asiatic Lion Population Estimation, covering an expanse of 35,000 sq km across 58 talukas in 11 districts from May 10 to 13, comes at a critical juncture as the state's lion population continues to grow, bringing both triumphs in conservation and escalating challenges in human-wildlife coexistence. This edition of the five-yearly lion census first conducted in 1936 will integrate closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance for the first time with traditional direct sighting methods. The Direct Beat Verification (DBV) method, also known as the block count method and used since 2000, will be used, on the historical data of lion movements, the census area is divided into the basic counting units—beats inside the forests, and clusters of three to 10 villages outside. Approximately 3,000 trained volunteers, along with regional, zonal and sub-zonal officers, will be involved in the exercise. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), too, is expected to participate, leveraging its expertise in wildlife censuses. Details such as the direction of the lion's movement, gender, age, identification marks, GPS location and group composition will also be technology will be used to verify the findings, the primary data will be collected by the time-tested DBV method. Gujarat's forest department has claimed in a statement that the methodology ensures 100 per cent accuracy due to ease of statistical analysis and implementation. This method has been used in forests, grasslands, coastal areas and revenue lands for over three area to be studied is divided into regional, zonal and sub-zonal units. The volunteers include officers, enumerators, assistant enumerators and observers, who will be provided with designated forms and maps to record details such as observation time, movement direction, gender, age, identification marks, GPS location and group composition, the statement explained. Simultaneously, high-resolution cameras and camera traps will be used for individual lion identification. Some lions are fitted with radio collars to track their location and group movements. The e-GujForest app will facilitate real-time data entry, including GPS locations and photos. GIS software will be used to map survey areas, track lion movements, distribution patterns and habitat usage, the statement lion population has increased at a steady rate of 25-30 per cent every five years over the past three decades. In 2020, the population recorded a 28.87 per cent jump to 674 from 523 in 2015. Informal estimates based on anecdotal observations have indicated the population already hovers around 800 now. While the government's conservation efforts have resulted in a steady increase of the lion population, the fact that these species are wholly contained in the Saurashtra peninsula has presented several challenges that do not have a conclusive resolution. Lion habitat has been steadily reducing under pressure from the rising demand on land use for human habitation, farmland transportation and industrial infrastructure. The carrying capacity of the five wildlife sanctuaries in the region was exhausted 15 years ago. Interpreting data from the last census, the lion population outside forested areas grew by 97 per cent between 2015 and 2020, while there was a three per cent decline within forested the large carnivores spill out of the forests, stories of prides roaming the concrete streets in towns and villages, crossing high-speed highways and falling prey to speeding trains have been commonplace. The newly claimed territories lack the necessary prey base, resulting in further conflict with human habitations. Government data reveals that incidents of lions killing domestic animals in Gujarat's Gir forest have steadily increased, reaching a peak of 4,385 in 2023-24. This is despite an increase in prey animals in the Gir forest over the past six the rising challenges, the census is keenly expected to throw light through concrete data on where and how the Asiatic lions are expanding their territory. This will help shape development plans for the region and wildlife conservation strategies for years to come. Subscribe to India Today Magazine
