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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Gir India Foresters In Odour Free Uniforms

After 40 years, foresters in Gujarat are set to get a image makeover as they will be provided with newly-designed odour-free uniforms and more ergonomically-fitted apparel kits.

The new attire, designed by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), will first be introduced for the foresters manning the Gir National Park, the last abode of Asiatic Lions.

 

"A light khaki coloured uniform has been designed for the foresters which is odour-free due to an anti-microbial finish given to the garment for better comfort in summers," said Vishal Gupta, head of NIFT, Gandhinagar.

"The outfit comes with accessories like ankle guard for protection from snake bites, ruksack for keeping daily required utilities, besides suggestions for a pair of good trekking shoes," he said.

"The idea behind introducing new uniforms for rangers in Gir is to give a new look to our officers posted in a special area of the state," Principal Secretary, Forest and Environment, S K Nanda told PTI.

"The uniforms are part of a special package for them. It is expected to be introduced within a month or two," he said.

Earlier, foresters used to get uniforms as per the state government resolution (GR) on dress code of the forest department officials dating back to 1970, which is now likely to be amended.

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A Wondering Place Sasan Gir India

Desirability
Scraggly, brown, dry and thorny, is what Gir looks like. It is the last bastion of the Asiatic lion, is a beautiful but harsh, teak dominated habitat in the Junagadh district in Kathiawar, Gujarat. Far from the stereotypical vision most people have of forests in the tropics, Gir is anything but lush. It is nevertheless, one of India's most precious and vital biodiversity vaults. A semi-arid wilderness emblazoned by rust, beige and the occasional scarlet, when the flame of the forest and silk cotton trees are in bloom, Gir brings to mind visions of distant Africa, despite the fact that it lacks the extensive grasslands of the Masai Mara. Yet, something in these ecological circumstances proved to be just what the lions needed, for it is only here, in relatively small fragments of forests, supported by 'poor quality' teak, that one of the world's rarest large cats survive.

 

Once distributed across Asia Minor and Arabia, lions colonised India centuries ago. In the north they roamed as far as Saharanpur, Moradabad and Ludhiana, to the east in Bihar and south to the Narmada valley. But habitat destruction and vigorous hunting almost wiped the species off the face of the earth. The last lion to be killed in Gujarat was in 1870, but in Central India, where they were unprotected, they were hunted till 1884. Forced into this tiny, forested western corner of the country, around 300 lions now share their fragile home with villagers, cattle and India's robust industrial ambitions.

Environment

Located in southwest Saurashtra, the Gir forest extends across an area of 1,412 sq kms and is clothed by a combination of grassland, scrub and forests of teak that grow on lateritic soils. An aerial view reveals low undulating hills rising from a height of 225 to 648 m, almost fully encircled by agricultural fields. Naturalists and historians point out that what is left in Gir today, is the last remnant of native landscape within the Saurashtra peninsula.

As many as seven significant rivers pass through Gir: the Hiran, Saraswati, Datardi, Shingoda, Machhundri, Ghodavadi and Raval. The water from these rivers is key to the survival of the lions. This supply is also invariably the last source available to downstream human communities when their wells and streams run dry just prior to the arrival of the next life-giving rains.

Olden Times (History)

The lion has been venerated for millennia. More than 2,000 years ago Ashoka inscribed his edicts on pillars graced by the lion capital at Sarnath. Despite the fact that the tiger has replaced the lion as India's national animal, the lion remains the emblem of the Republic. The lion was always hunted, even in the days of the Moghuls. But when the British colonised the subcontinent, they brought with them sophisticated weapons, which, when combined with their limitless thirst for shikar, almost spelled doom for the species. Writing in 1949 M A Wynter-Blyth, a famous naturalist who had been asked by the Bombay Natural History Society to survey the lions, said:

"The lion is much bolder, more fearless of man and less cunning than the tiger and so is much more easily shot. This explains the disappearance of the noble animals from all its other Indian haunts whilst the tiger manages to maintain its numbers."

He was dead right. By 1893 estimates suggest that there were no more than 18 lions left. It is from this tiny pool that all the Asiatic lions alive today emerged. At the turn of the century, there was a terrible drought and the Asiatic lions took a beating.

Around that time, the Nawabs of the relatively small state of Junagadh came to the rescue of the cats. Aware that the lion was facing certain extinction, they stopped all shooting in the area long before India achieved Independence. As long ago as 1929, Nawab Sir Mahabat Khanji of Junagadh released a series of Gir lion postage stamps making the lion the first animal to be thus represented in Indian philately.

After years of sliding inexorably towards extinction, luck finally favoured the lions. When the British chose to partition India, the Nawab opted to take his tiny state to shikar-hungry Pakistan, where despite his best efforts he would have lost the battle to save the animals he lived to protect. But as the predominantly Hindu population objected to this plan, the Nawab was forced into exile. But he had already done his bit for the lion.

In the post-Independence years, when Jawaharlal Nehru -- egged on by conservationists such as K S Dharmakumarsinhji of Bhavnagar, and the indomitable Dr Salim Ali -- recognised the imminent threat to the lion, he threw the weight of his office behind the efforts to save the lion.

Eventually, on September 18, 1965 Gir was formally declared a Forest Reserve. What is now the central core was later declared a National Park in 1974. Then, in 1978, still more land was added to enhance the size and thus the security of this fast-shrinking habitat.

The fine bungalow at Sasan, where the forest rest house and the headquarters of the Gir Lion Sanctuary are located, was actually the place from where most lion hunts were launched. Today this is the nerve centre from where a protective umbrella is spread over an unique eco-system, that supports over 450 plant species, 32 mammals, 310 birds, 24 reptiles and over 2,000 insects.

History still communicates with visitors who enter the lion's domain at Gir. Several old temples, such as the Kankai Mata and Tulsi Shyam hot springs, harbour abandoned relics from bygone days. Pilgrims still visit these temples with the same fervour as they did hundreds of years ago.

50 Lionesses In The Gir Sanctuary Are Pregnant Expecting Cubs

The pride is set to grow; 50 lionesses in the Gir India sanctuary are pregnant and are expected to give birth early next year. The development has thrilled the state forest department, which has started monitoring these wild cats through GPS and has asked beat guards to be extra vigilant.

According to a census conducted earlier this year, there are 411 Asiatic lions in Gir, the last natural abode of such cats in the world. In 2005, when the previous count was held, this figure was 359.

“We are very happy that 50 lionesses are pregnant. Our efforts to limit the movement of vehicles during the mating period of lions have yielded results,” Principal Secretary to the Forest Department S K Nanda told Mirror. Restrictions on vehicular movement in and around the sanctuary would continue to be in place, he said.

“Vehicles will not be allowed to enter the gir forest. Outside the sanctuary, speed limits have been introduced,” Nanda said.

“During pregnancy, lionesses move slowly. We are tracking their movements through GPS. Beat guards are also keeping a watch.”

Expectant cats are likely to give birth in January and February. The survival rate of cubs, which are often killed by lions looking to mate with their partners again, is low.

However, this time forest officials feel more cubs will survive because for the past one year elder lionesses have been looking after young members of the pride.

“We have seen that old females protect cubs from adult males. In fact, the number of attacks on cubs by adult males has come down,” a Gir official said. The population of adult Asiatic lionesses in Gir is more than that of adult males. There are 162 adult females and 97 adult males.

This year’s census revealed that there are 77 cubs. Nearly 40 per cent of the lion population is young and this bodes well for the Asiatic beast’s future.

Last year, the state government announced a special package of Rs 40 crore for the region. Forest officials were provided more staff and better equipment to prevent unnatural deaths of the wild cats.

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Jambur Gir India "Siddi Si Baat"

In This Diwali festival, tourists visiting Gir forest in Junagadh will get a chance to take home designer souvenirs made by women of Siddi tribe, a distinctly Negroid-looking community that resides on the periphery of the Gir Forest. The State Tribal Development Department has roped in National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to train Siddi women in making lifestyle products like bags, clutches, jewellery and traditional Kutchi embroidery.

Associate Professor Panchami Mistry will conduct a four-month workshop at Hadmatiya village in Sasan Gir. Panchami says, “Siddi women are educated and can quickly grasp anything — a plus point for them. They are also very hard-working and want to earn good money for their family.

Since they are already good at making handicrafts, we have decided to train them in designing lifestyle products, which can be embellished with African and Gujarati artwork. Also, they would be trained in making bead and wooden jewellery. We will also sensitise and encourage these women to come up with their own ideas and designs in making such products.”

She adds, “During the initial stage of the project, we received an overwhelming from women who want to participate in this workshop as they wish to be self-employed rather than depend on the male members of the tribe.

The products, made by Siddi women (below), will feature African and Gujarati art
 
Around 150 women will be divided into three groups for the workshop. The products will range from handbags, clutches, pen stands, cushion covers, photo frames, toys and bead as well as wooden jewellery.”

To give a unique identity to these products, NIFT will promote the figurine of Gazala — daughter of one of the Siddi women — dressed in Gujarati or Siddi attire. This mascot will be available with all products and will also be the logo of the project.

“Gazala is a three-year-old girl from the tribe. She is very intelligent and naughty. She is the perfect mascot for us. The ‘Gazala’ logo will ensure that customers will immediately associate products with Siddi tribe. We want people to know about this ethnic tribe which has embraced Gujarati culture and tradition wholeheartedly,” said NIFT professor.

The Siddis are a tribal community, whose ancestors were brought by Arab merchants from Africa around 600 years ago to serve as soldiers or slaves under the Portuguese and British authorities, or as servants to the Nawabs. More than 22,000 Siddis live in 19 villages in Junagadh.

Jambur Gir India