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India's Asiatic Lion Population Rises by 27% in 5 Years - Tiger Population up by 30% in 3 Years

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I
Pakistan's forest cover is wrongly given. It is now less than 3% of their land area. They have been logging their forests intensely to cover up for fuel, electricity shortage.

Already the forest area is very less, why no strict regulation to protect at least the existing one !

Pakistan's forest cover is wrongly given. It is now less than 3% of their land area. They have been logging their forests intensely to cover up for fuel, electricity shortage.

So they are approaching the status of saudi as far as forest area % is concerned
 
I


Already the forest area is very less, why no strict regulation to protect at least the existing one !



So they are approaching the status of saudi as far as forest area % is concerned

Don't you know how Pakistani and Indian bureaucracy works
 
India's Asiatic lion population rising
Census finds 27% increase in number of endangered lions found in their only habitat in the world – the Gir forest of Gujarat
8afcfd18-ee09-406a-808c-6bdda54a7274-2060x1236.jpeg

Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), are the smaller cousins of African lions. Above, a lioness with her cubs, in Gir Interpretation Zone or Devalia safari park, in Gir forest in Gujarat, India. Photograph: Matthias Graben/Corbis

Wildlife experts have welcomed census figures showing India’s population of endangered Asiatic lions has increased in the last five years in the western state of Gujarat.

Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel said officials counted 523 lions, up 27% from the last census conducted in 2010 in Gir sanctuary, the last habitat for the big cats globally.

The census was conducted over five days earlier this month in the 20,000 sqkm (7,700 sq m) sanctuary and surrounding forest lands.

“There are 109 male lions, 201 females and 213 cubs in the Gir sanctuary and nearby forest areas of Junagadh district,” Patel said on Sunday.

Officials have said the experts conducting the census used a combination of direct sightings, photographs and GPS tracking technology to document each lion and avoid double counting.

About 2,500 people, including wildlife experts from India’s top universities, participated in the counting process.

The last census in 2010 showed 411 lions, up from 359 in 2005.

WWF India director Diwakar Sharma welcomed the numbers but said the larger population posed challenges for managing their habitat and conflict with humans.

“This is good news on the conservation front but bigger populations in bigger areas increases the challenge of managing land, human and animal conflict,” he told AFP.

“There (also) has to be some other place far away from Gir (for lions) so that in a time of catastrophe, we don’t lose the population.”

The Gujarat government is fighting a Supreme Court ruling in 2013 for some of the lions to be moved to a wildlife sanctuary in a neighbouring state to ensure their long-term survival in case of disease.

The cats are a subspecies of lion which are slightly smaller than their African cousins and have a fold of skin along their bellies. They are a major attraction for tourists to Gujarat.

India faces intense international scrutiny over its conservation efforts because it is home to many endangered species, including tigers.

Conservation efforts were hailed in January after 2,226 tigers were spotted in a country-wide census, a 30% increase in the population from 2010.

Authorities across Asia are waging a major battle against poachers, who often sell tiger body parts to the lucrative traditional Chinese medicine market, as well as other man-made problems such as habitat loss.

Source:- India's Asiatic lion population rising | Environment | The Guardian
India's tiger population increases by 30% in past three years; country now has 2,226 tigers - The Times of India
Wonderful & exciting news. Hope it only gets better & big cat's number only multiplies each year. It's really worrying to see solitary living cats like leopards are finding short space within their habitat & having to drift away towards human settlements! Hope Modi's new land bill takes care off not just farmers... but wild animals interests too!
 
India's Asiatic lion population rising
Census finds 27% increase in number of endangered lions found in their only habitat in the world – the Gir forest of Gujarat
8afcfd18-ee09-406a-808c-6bdda54a7274-2060x1236.jpeg

Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), are the smaller cousins of African lions. Above, a lioness with her cubs, in Gir Interpretation Zone or Devalia safari park, in Gir forest in Gujarat, India. Photograph: Matthias Graben/Corbis

Wildlife experts have welcomed census figures showing India’s population of endangered Asiatic lions has increased in the last five years in the western state of Gujarat.

Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel said officials counted 523 lions, up 27% from the last census conducted in 2010 in Gir sanctuary, the last habitat for the big cats globally.

The census was conducted over five days earlier this month in the 20,000 sqkm (7,700 sq m) sanctuary and surrounding forest lands.

“There are 109 male lions, 201 females and 213 cubs in the Gir sanctuary and nearby forest areas of Junagadh district,” Patel said on Sunday.

Officials have said the experts conducting the census used a combination of direct sightings, photographs and GPS tracking technology to document each lion and avoid double counting.

About 2,500 people, including wildlife experts from India’s top universities, participated in the counting process.

The last census in 2010 showed 411 lions, up from 359 in 2005.

WWF India director Diwakar Sharma welcomed the numbers but said the larger population posed challenges for managing their habitat and conflict with humans.

“This is good news on the conservation front but bigger populations in bigger areas increases the challenge of managing land, human and animal conflict,” he told AFP.

“There (also) has to be some other place far away from Gir (for lions) so that in a time of catastrophe, we don’t lose the population.”

The Gujarat government is fighting a Supreme Court ruling in 2013 for some of the lions to be moved to a wildlife sanctuary in a neighbouring state to ensure their long-term survival in case of disease.

The cats are a subspecies of lion which are slightly smaller than their African cousins and have a fold of skin along their bellies. They are a major attraction for tourists to Gujarat.

India faces intense international scrutiny over its conservation efforts because it is home to many endangered species, including tigers.

Conservation efforts were hailed in January after 2,226 tigers were spotted in a country-wide census, a 30% increase in the population from 2010.

Authorities across Asia are waging a major battle against poachers, who often sell tiger body parts to the lucrative traditional Chinese medicine market, as well as other man-made problems such as habitat loss.

Source:- India's Asiatic lion population rising | Environment | The Guardian
India's tiger population increases by 30% in past three years; country now has 2,226 tigers - The Times of India
Absolutely fantastic news! A few years ago there were some real horror numbers being quoted for big cats in India and it looked like they were headed for extinction.


The GoI (past and present) deserve a lot of credit for this, I am aware that the forestry officials/rangers have been MASSIVELY upgraded in the past few years and have drastically cut poaching instances.



Keep up the good work India, build on this and make tomorrow even better!
 
Announce Asiatic lion as India's national animal. Lion is used in many ancient Indian deities and myths. Many ancient Indian structures have lions. Indian national emblem uses lion.
For gods sake leave Royal Bengal Tiger for Bangladesh.
 

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