Indian Lions Moving out of Gir Sanctuary

It has been reported from India that at least 6 lions have recently left The Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary and relocated themselves some 50 miles to the Amreli region. There have been increasing reports of lions, sometimes in prides, roaming outside the boundaries of Gir Forest.

As the lion population in Gir grows, coupled with increasing encroachment into the park iteslf, it is inevitable that the lions will succumb to that pressure, and start to wander outside the sanctuary.

New Habitat Required
The pressue on Gir heightens the need for new habitat to be designated for the Asiatic lions.

There are roughly 359 Asiatic Lions living in Gir forest today. However the conservation success over the last 50 years means that there are now more lions than there is room in Gir. Many of the Lions have been straying outside the sanctuary due to the population pressure, so the State and Central Government are planning to add 300 sq. km more area to the existing 1460 sq. km.

In last two decades two regions have been added to the area of National Park, but there is now urgent need for a further expansion. There have also been plans made to create a second reserve, which would help protect the still severely endangered lions from outbreaks of disease, but these plans seems to have stalled at the moment.