Census reveals that one in three lions live outside Gujarat sanctuaries

AHMEDABAD: One of every three lions in Gujarat's Saurashtra lives outside sanctuaries, the final count of the May 2015 lion census has revealed.

Of the total 523 lions in the region, 167 are currently living outside protected areas. Of them, 80 live in the Savarkundla, Lathi and Liliya areas of Amreli, making the district the best possible spot for chance encounters with the big cat. Forest department officials have reported the presence of 37 lions in Bhavnagar too. Prides of lion, once common in Bhavnagar, have again begun to be spotted here. According to experts, the shift suggests that lions are moving beyond sanctuaries in search of new areas. HS Singh, a member of the National Board for Wildlife and lion expert, said that with an increase in the overall population of lions, their numbers will definitely grow outside protected areas.

"Lions move out of protected areas in search of new territories. They are settling in areas like Amreli and Bhavnagar as they find abundance of wild ungulates. The diet of Asiatic lions outside sanctuaries comprise an even amount of wild ungulates and domestic cattle," said Singh.

In 2010, only 74 of 411 lions - or roughly 18% - were found living outside protected areas, as opposed to 31.9% in 2015. In absolute numbers, the strength of lions living outside sanctuaries went up by 126% between the two census exercises, forest officials said.

At the same time, according to the latest census data, there has only been an increase of 6% in the number of lions inside the Gir, Girnar, Mitiyala and Paniya sanctuaries.

Forest officials said a comparison of data from the two censuses shows that the highest rise in the number of lions for a given area was witnessed in Amreli (61%), followed by Junagadh and Gir Somnath districts.