The Asiatic lions residing in Gir are the pride of Gujarat. Of late, though, they have started moving to other areas like Amreli, Bhavnagar, and Chotila.
With only a few weeks left for the census of lions for the year 2025, it has been noted that the king of the jungle is now also being found outside the jungle.
According to the forest department officials, census of the lions is scheduled to take place from May 10 to May 13. It is presumed that the figure might reach to 900. The final census will be declared in June. Officials say that the lions have started making places other than Gir as their habitats. With this, the unofficial estimate could be between 1400 and 1500.
As per the census of the year 2020, the state had 674 lions. On the other hand, sources connected to the forest department assert that internal counting shows a consistent increase in the number of lions. In 2020, though officially the number of lions was 674, internal counts reported that there were around 1000 lions.
Forest officials check the population of lions every full moon day on a monthly basis. A lion cub under the age of one year is recorded as an observation.
Experts claim that the forest department is not much active in announcing the number of lion cubs. A reason could be the high rate of mortality among lion cubs. For instance, if 100 cubs are recorded during observation, only 50 percent are shown in the census.
In the meantime, there is a constant increase in the area of habitat of the lions. In 2015, they were spread across 22,000 square kilometres, which increased to 30,000 square kilometres in 2020. There has been a 36% increase in the habitat of lions in 5 years.
Recently, lions were seen in areas around the cities of Diu, Jetpur, and Rajkot. Moreover, videos showing lions roaming on the seashores of Somnath and Diu have also been viral.
Wildlife experts state that the population of lions is much higher than estimated. On the basis of the reports of the deaths of 165 lion cubs, and by applying standard population mortality rate of 10 to 15 percent, the total lion population could be between 1100 and 1650.