IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Trivedi, P.; Johnsingh, A.J.T.; Pandav, B. | |
| Walking with Pride | |
| 2009 Full Book | |
The endangered Asiatic Lion _Panthera leo persica_ - a flagship species synonymous with the Gir forest and Gujarat, faces a multitude of existing and potential threats including disease outbreak, poaching and conflict with local herders and agriculturists in its present home comprising of the Gir National Park (NP) and Wildlife Sanctuary. The Gir PA - an intact forest and savanna tract of about 1,500 km2 is of utmost importance for the long-term conservation of this subspecies. No assessment of the conservation status of the lion has been undertaken after recent incidences of poaching followed by preventive action of the State Forest Department. Besides, absence of a mechanism for regular (annual) and sustained, long-term monitoring of the lion population, its prey and their habitat is a major gap in lion conservation. Hence, we used a rapid assessment method by traversing the length of the Gir PA on foot while recording sightings and indirect evidences of lion, other large carnivores and their prey. Informal interviews, discussions and observations of the forest department field staff and local community members as well as various management practices and anthropogenic activities were also made to aid in the assessment. We used a continuous foot transect across the length of Gir PA to collect this data. The survey route (foot transect) beginning from Pipalwa and ending at Sasan spanned a length of about 110 km, a distance that was walked in seven days. We walked for 23 km inside the NP and 67 km inside the Sanctuary, while a 20 km stretch was along the southern edge of NP and Sanctuary. Of the total 12 ranges within Gir PA, our route passed through six. |
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