Gir National Park Closed For Tourists This Monsoon

Gir National Park, the only home to Asiatic lions, will remain closed for tourists during the monsoon season owing to the breeding of wild cats and conservation efforts being undertaken at the sanctuary, forest officials said.

“Its (Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary) closing is being done to provide some privacy to wild animals like lions, leopards and birds like peacocks etc during their mating season as the four months of monsoon period are considered the best for their breeding season,” divisional forest officer, Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, Sandeep Kumar said.

The Gir sanctuary, located at Sasan in Junagadh district, Gujarat, India is only home to pure Asiatic lions and attracts a large number of Indian as well as foreign tourists.

“Since we supervise the conservation efforts, we want to prevent any disturbance in the conservation activities, which could also be caused by the tourists. So we close the sanctuary,” Kumar said, adding that the park would be closed from June 16 and will reopen only in October after the monsoon season is over.

As per the 2010 census, the total number of lions in Gir sanctuary has risen to 411 from 359 in 2005. With a total area of 1,412 sq km (about 258 sq km for the national park and 1153 sq km for the sanctuary), the park is considered as safe haven for the lions and other species.

“It is also a natural habitat for leopards and antelopes like sambar, spotted deer, blue bull, black buck, and wild boar, jackal, hyena, langoors, porcupine, bear and crocodiles and over 250 species of birds,” Kumar said.

The officer also added that the roads in the park are kachcha and get damaged during monsoon. They need to be repaired before allowing tourists to visit (the park) after its closure period is over, he said.

“Not only that we have to monitor the movement of wild animals during rains and in case of heavy rain in the area, we have to chalk out a rescue plan and taking them to safer places,” added Kumar.

In addition, if big cats fall sick, we have to make arrangements for their treatment and that is why the closure of the park during monsoon season is required, he said.

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Asiatic Lions For Mysore Zoo

A pair of lions from Junagadh's Sakkarbaug Zoo will be given to Mysore Zoo in exchange for other animals, said forest department officials, adding that all technical and administrative formalities in this regard have been completed. The exchange, to take place soon, between the two zoos comes in the wake of a request made in this connection a few months ago to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi by legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble.

According to V J Rana, director of forest department-managed Sakkarbaug Zoo, a pair of  Asiatic lions will be given to Mysore Zoo in exchange for birds and some mammals. "Mysore Zoo will give us Indian bison, common marmoset, giant squirrel, Lady Amhrest pheasant, Kalij pheasant and green pheasant. The exchange of the animal and bird species will take place in the last week of January 2011," Rana said.

"A new facility to accommodate the birds and the mammal is being made at the zoo. They will be on public display from February 2011," he added. Zoo officials said, till now about 170 lions have been given to other zoos in India and abroad as part of exchange programmes.

The Sakkarbaug Zoo has over 1,000 different species of animals including a cheetah, which was brought from Singapore in exchange for an Asiatic lion. There are four cheetahs in the zoo, of which two are males and two females.

Chilly Weather In Gir India And Other Parts Of Gujarat

Gir, Kutch and the north Gujarat region are in the grip of a cold wave as the temperature has dropped from its normal level by 4 degrees celsius. The meteorological department has forecast that the weather pattern will continue for the next 24 hours.

According to the India Meteorological Department, in the past 24 hours in Rajkot, the minimum temperature was reported to be 8.9 degrees celsius, which was 4 degrees celsius below the normal level. According to IMD, for the next two days, the minimum temperature will be 8 degrees celsius in Saurashtra.

The mercury level dropped to 3.3 degrees celsius in Naliya, 12.3 degrees celsius in Deesa and -1.6 degrees celsius in Mount Abu on Friday. The decline in the temperature brought chilly weather conditions in most parts of the region. "As mercury levels dropped, the white salty crust of the desert sprawling over hundreds of miles on the border of Kutch and Pakistan became unbearably cold during the night," said a forest official deployed at Radhanpur in Patan district.

While the clearing up of the sky at noon provided some relief from the weather conditions, most parts of the region faced intense cold with chilly winds blowing during morning and night.

According to IMD, "Chilly winds from northern belts have brought in extremely cold conditions, thereby dipping the mercury levels." However, the cold wave is normal in the first and second week of December and the present weather conditions may prevail for another week or so, it added.

Meanwhile, the adverse weather conditions affected normal life, especially the vulnerable areas of the town including Modasa, Malpur, Idar, Prantij and Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha district.

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Gir Wildlife Sanctuary Roads To Be Closed During Nights

Entry of vehicles in transit through the streets Gir National Park, the last place of residence and Asiatic lions, it is forbidden at night, a move that will help protect the wildlife area. To move the Gujarat Forest Department to provide relief from much-needed wild Gir about 10 main roads through the sanctuary. This step reduces the risk of animals belonging to the wheels of vehicles and save them from noise.

The Forest Department took this step to ensure the safety of lions and other animals in the wildlife reserve. Previously, some cases of injury to animals have been reported due to traffic accidents in the Gir forest area, Principal Secretary, Forests and Environment SK Nanda said.

"This season is coming the new lion cubs at the moment and it is very important that they receive at least one night in peace"

"Only in case of emergency, allowing the movement of vehicles of forest protected areas at night"

As the latest study by the State Department of Forests in 2010, already has a population of 411 Asiatic lions in addition to other Lions.

The protected area within the sanctuary is about 900 square kilometers, but the lions are also commonly found roaming the nearby villages of Gir India.

Source : News