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Where is the lion’s share?
This year’s Union budget provides Rs650 crore for saving the 1,411 tigers in the country, but nothing for the world’s last 359 Asiatic lions, all of whom are taking cover in the jungles of Gir in Gujarat. Jumana Shah questions the injustice.....Jumana Shah There are only 359 Asiatic lions on earth and they all roam the wilds of Gir in Gujarat, desperate to shake off their endangered-species tag. But the Centre, which allocated over Rs650 crore this Union budget for the conservation of the 1,411 tigers (2008 census) spread all over the country, has no money for the lion.
It seems the resilience of the majestic animal is reason enough to cut off all critical support to it. Rs50 crore was set aside in the Union budget as a one-time grant for tiger conservation, but not a penny for the lion.
The 11th five-year plan also apportioned Rs600 crore for the tiger. But again, the lion, which belongs to the same family as the tiger but is far more threatened, got nothing!
The state’s forest officers have been complaining of the neglect for over a decade, but their appeals have fallen on deaf ears.
Principal conservator of forest (wildlife) Pradeep Khanna says a proposal to allocate Rs60 crore for the conservation of the lion was submitted to the central government around eight months ago, but there has been no response. Same is the case with another Rs20-crore proposal submitted at the beginning of this year.
“We are unable to understand why the central government is mum on lion conservation. We need funds for initiatives such as gene-pool diversification, effective habitat management, acquisition of land around Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and to upgrade monitoring systems,” Khanna says.
So, what is it that is depriving the state of central aid for the Gir lion?
Is it the political imbroglio over shifting a few prides of the Asiatic lion from the Gir sanctuary to Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh?
Former chief wildlife warden GA Patel, who has attended several meetings with different state governments, told DNA that Gujarat’s refusal to part with the lions could be affecting the Centre’s decision.
“It is clear that Gujarat is not going to transfer even a single lion to Madhya Pradesh and this has incensed the Union ministry of environment and forests,” Patel says.
“But it is sad that the Centre’s step-motherly treatment to the state continues even after the numerous poaching incidents last year. Moreover, the loss of habitat is a serious threat to the increasing population of the big cats.”
A retired forest official, who has worked on lion conservation for years, observes, “The Gir forest in Junagadh, Saurashtra, is the last abode of the Asiatic lion in the world.
While for tigers, the concern is their dwindling numbers due to rampant poaching, for lions, it is rapid erosion of habitat as their population expands.”
According to the last, 2005 census, there are 359 Asiatic lions in Gir, but experts say their population may have grown at least to 500 since. At least 200 of these new cats are believed to be staying outside the sanctuary.
Human-animal conflict is a prickly issue — Sometimes the big cats prey on livestock and damage crop by straying into farmlands. Other times, the animals fall prey to human traps such as open wells and electrified fences.
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Poachers are on the prowl.........Nikunj Soni. Ahmedabad
Cyclebhai, Motor Singh and Diesel Singh are not mechanics, but hardcore criminals, in fact, lion poachers.
The criminal investigation department (CID) reveals that poachers take on such strange names to conceal their identity. The kingpin of a gang of poachers nabbed by the department is Circus Singh.
In a letter to the superintendents of police of Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Amreli and IG of Junagadh, the CID has detailed the profile and modus operandi of Bawariyas and Baheliyas who are actively involved in poaching of lions. It has also alerted the police and forest officials in these coastal districts to keep track of persons having such weird names.
The letter states, “There are about 15,000 Baheliyas and Bawariyas wanted in some forest crime or the other.”
The Baheliyas hail from Samalkha in Panipat district of Haryana and the Bawariyas are from Katni in Madhya Pradesh.
The CID letter explains the modus operandi of the poachers.
“They come from Madhya Pradesh and Haryana and enter coastal districts such as Amreli, Junagadh and Bhavnagar on the pretext of selling traditional medicines and toys. They camp on the outskirts of towns and pitch tents by the roadside. The men go out in the forests during nights and poach lions, leopards and tigers.
The kills are then transported by women on trains and state transport buses to far off places and sold. The poachers are well-versed with the law, though they are illiterate.”
Surprisingly, the gang members are constantly in touch with each other through mobile phones. To escape police action, the women hide cash in their ghagras. They also hide cash and claws in fake plasters, the letter reveals.
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