Indian wildlife- Lionesses, cubs at Gir

These two lionesses along with four cubs were sighted on the afternoon of Dec 28, 2009. Two cubs were frolicking in undergrowth at a distance (not in video) while two were with their mother. They can be seen leaving to join their siblings. The lionesses remained seated near the artificial waterhole taking no notice of our vehicle. Amazingly, they were unconcerned about even some forest guards, on foot and having nothing more than a stick with them, trying to ensure that cubs do not stray too far. These are wild lionesses in Gir national park, not the captive ones of nearby Devadia safari park. Gir national park is at present the only home of Asiatic lions. It has about 360 of them by last official count. The Asiatic lion went almost extinct in early 20th century but has since been revived. It is a remarkable conservation success story. So much so that now Gir, which is about 1400 sq km, is falling short for them. An alternative sanctuary has been made ready for the Asiatic lions at Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh. But Gujarat is refusing to part with some lions to populate that sanctuary since it does not want to lose its unique place as only home of the species. Translocating some lions to another place is must from conservation point of view specially since the present population is derived from just about a dozen individuals and is genetically similar. As interaction with humans and domestic animals grows around Gir, the risk of them contracting canine distemper or some other disease is real. In that case entire population of lions at Gir will be at risk putting at naught a century of conservation effort and threatening one of the most remarkable large predators of the planet.