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Report
Western India: Endangered lion population soars
DW (English)
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12/23/2024
Conservation efforts have been so successful in the Indian state of Gujarat that numbers of endangered Asiatic lions are now almost out of control.
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00:00
Chyutabai is actually a cattle herder by trade, but it's been weeks since he last brought
00:07
his animals to pasture. He's too afraid, after a lioness attacked him while they were grazing.
00:15
She grabbed me with her claws on my back and my thigh.
00:23
We are in Saurashtra, a region in the heart of Gujarat in Western India. This is the last
00:29
remaining habitat of Asiatic lions. For nearly 60 years, the lions have been living around
00:35
Gir National Park on more than 1,400 sq km of land set up to protect them. During India's
00:43
colonial era, the number of lions plummeted due to excessive hunting and poaching. Since
00:49
then, the population has made a strong recovery. Experts estimate that there are now 900 Asiatic
00:55
lions living in this area. Wildlife biologist Dr. Meena Venkataraman has been studying the
01:06
animals here for more than 20 years. She estimates that around half of the population has long
01:11
since spread beyond the boundaries of the national park.
01:15
Here, what happens is, so you have a home range of two groups. When the space is less,
01:23
they could slide over each other and there's a lot of overlap in the home range. Even that
01:30
has happened and I recorded that during my study. And there is a point beyond which,
01:36
you know, there is a need for lions to disperse out and find new territories.
01:44
But the population in rural areas has also increased in recent years. That's led to a
01:49
greater need for farmland. Villages are expanding. And even more lions from the national park
01:55
also live in the area. A unique coexistence has developed between predators and people.
02:04
We probably have three, four generations of lions that have, you know, lived or born in
02:09
these so-called satellite habitats. Yes, they have adapted to that life. Their social, you
02:16
know, the organization, their grouping patterns change and what their diet also depends on,
02:24
you know, where they are and what is easily available. Probably more of livestock depredation,
02:31
but yes, they have adapted.
02:34
Local residents are learning to live alongside the lions. There is a sense of caution because
02:39
in recent years, lions have repeatedly attacked people. Ramesh Chauhan is a social worker
02:46
who studied the coexistence between people and lions for his doctoral thesis. He says
02:52
that the lions were here first and so people must learn to live with them. He regularly
02:57
visits villages and talks to residents about how to behave if they encounter a lion.
03:05
If a farmer goes out to the fields and encounters a lion on the way, we tell them not to panic.
03:11
Instead, they should just stand completely still and let the lions walk past peacefully.
03:16
This is how we show respect to the animal and in turn gain its trust.
03:26
We meet people in Gujarat's Amreli district near the coast. It's about 150 kilometers
03:31
from Giru National Park. The lions have now reached as far as here. The first ones arrived
03:37
10 years ago.
03:39
The Shetrunji river flows through here and the lions are very active all along it. They
03:48
live there. But there is hardly any human-animal conflict here. People live their lives as
03:53
usual and the lions move around freely.
03:58
For the lions, however, this coexistence is not without danger. Time and again the
04:03
big cats are killed in train accidents or are injured on electric fences.
04:12
In September 2024, the Ministry of Forestry proposes establishing eco-sensitive zones
04:18
around the Giru National Park. The idea is to create a 10 km buffer zone functioning
04:23
as a transition area for the animals with minimal human activity.
04:29
A key problem is that the lions are finding less and less food. There is hardly any natural
04:34
wild prey near residential areas, leaving only people's livestock and dogs. A risky
04:40
development for the lions warns Ravi Chellam, one of the earliest researchers into the Asiatic
04:46
lions of Giru.
04:48
We are exposing the species to great risks. And this came to roost in 2018 when an outbreak
04:56
of disease resulted in at least officially 40 or 60 lions dying in a matter of days.
05:02
But my information is more than 100 lions died then and lions continue to die due to
05:08
diseases. And with lions living outside being exposed to dogs, dead cattle and other carcasses,
05:14
the chances of them catching diseases only increase. While lions might seem friendly,
05:20
while lions might allow close approach, while lions in general don't attack people, this
05:27
should in no way allow us to underestimate what a lion is. It is a wild, large cat. A
05:35
big male can weigh 200 kilos plus. It has its teeth, it has its claws, it can put it
05:42
to use.
05:44
The scientists' research findings were enough to convince the Indian Supreme Court
05:48
in 2013 to order the state of Gujarat to relocate some lions in an attempt to protect the species
05:54
in the long run. However, the relocation has not yet happened and in the meantime, humans
06:00
and lions are learning to share a habitat.
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