Gir in India's Gujarat state is home to Asiatic
lions and has seen 256 lions dying in the past five years.
Experts say their population is at risk with the big
cats making new homes in human settlements.
Once widespread in Gujarat, the lion population
shrank to a mere dozen in the early 20th Century, mainly due to hunting and
drought.
But Nawab Mahabat Khanji of then Junagadh state, an
animal lover who kept 300 dogs as pets, banned lion hunting, and was able to
preserve the big cat.
However, in the last century as the lion population
started soaring, the 1,400 sq km (540 sq miles) Gir sanctuary in Junagadh state
began to be too small for the animals.
Today, lions are found across the 20,000 sq km area
of the Saurashtra region - which includes Junagadh and 10 other districts - and
are routinely spotted on private farms and near village homes.
Environmentalist Takhubhai Sansur says in the last
three months alone, about 20 lions have been run over by speeding trucks and
trains.
"Lion numbers have increased, but the challenge
is their safety. About 40% of the total lion population now lives outside the
forest area. Open wells and live wires on farms, poachers and passing trains
and trucks have turned this region into a death field for the Asiatic
lion," he says.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) had in 2000 added the Asiatic lion to the list of critically endangered
species.
In 2005, when the lion population started swelling
and crossed 250, it was removed from the list. Gujarat government's last lion
census in 2010 pegs their numbers at 411.
Gir forest official Sandeep Kumar does not see the
many deaths as a major threat to the species.
"Only 20% are accidental deaths, which is a
cause for concern but the situation is under control.
Lions are territorial
animals and they live in prides. They are moving out as a male needs an area of
50 sq km and a female needs 26 sq km."
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