SC allows translocation of some Gir Lions to Madhya Pradesh

New Delhi, 15 April 2013

The Supreme Court today directed the Centre to translocate some wild lions from Gujarat’s Gir forest to Kuno Palpur sanctuary in the neighboring state of Madhya Pradesh within the next six months. The top court felt the lions should have a second home especially if an epidemic or fires wipe out the endangered species from one location. An expert committee will take decision on the number of lions to be translocated between the two states.

The Gujarat government was opposed to moving the lions to another state saying Madhya Pradesh failed to protect its tigers in Panna sanctuary and the lions from the Gir forest may meet the same fate. The Madhya Pradesh government has claimed that it is equipped with all the necessary infrastructure, expertise and environment for translocating the lions to its own sanctuary.

In reaction to today’s SC verdict on shifting of lions, the Gujarat government today said that the verdict will be studied first, before commenting on it or taking any action.

Author’s remarks

-The Supreme Court has given such verdict for good of lions, but whether lions will adopt a new atmosphere in Kuno is a big question. After translocations, lions may survive, or may not survive. There’s no guarantee that lions will adopt Kuno as their new home. Punjab had tried a lion safari project with zoo lions, but all lions died one-by-one!

-The decision is welcomed by wild-life lovers, because population of lions in Gir area is increasing, against which the jungle area remains same or even getting narrower. The Gujarat government had announced four locations for alternate settlements of lions, two of them were Hingolgadh and Bardo hills where shifting actually never kicked off! The government has however shifted some lions to Rampara vidi in Rajkot district. The Rampara project has been successful, and new births of lion cubs have taken place there.

-Shall shifting of lions to Madhya Pradesh impact Gir’s tourist arrivals, and over-all charm of exclusivity? Well at least during the initial years, it is likely that Kuno sanctuary will not be opened for public.Look at the Rampara vidi project in Rajkot district, where any outsider is not allowed to enter inside the fenced area where lions are kept. Madhya Pradesh govt will also need to ban outsiders in Kuno sanctuary to avoid any disturbance to newly shifted lions, and for overall success of its lion project. The primary motive of SC verdict is to provide alternate place to Asiatic Lions for safety. The motive is to conserve the breed of Asiatic Lions. In such case tourism would not be the main cause at Kuno. Suppose if Lion project is successful in Kuno in initial years, even then, with a few lions shifted from Gujarat, the sanctuary will not have same charm as Gir. India has several tiger sanctuaries and all of them attract tourists in large number. One more sanctuary of lions will not affect tourist arrivals at Gir much. The history will continue to make a point that these lions at Kuno were originally brought from Gir in Gujarat.

Backdrop:

The Union Ministry for Environment and the Wildlife Board had come out with the relocation proposal on the ground the lions population could diminish in the event of an epidemic outbreak as witnessed somewhere in 1994.

Terming the proposal as “ill-conceived and vague”, Gujarat had cited a variety of reasons to insist that Kuno tiger reserve was not suitable for translocation of lions for various reasons.

The reasons cited were: presence of tigers in the same reserve area would not be conducive to the habitat of lions, eco-climate being different from Gir, inadequate prey base, faulty projection in prey base growth; logistics and strain involved in transporting the lions to such a long distance.

The Gujarat government had in its affidavit had said the Centre was seeking to translocate the lion sanctuary despite the fact that the state had given adequate technical views and facts backed with sufficient evidence to the National Wildlife Board and the Environment Ministry against the proposal.Any artificial tinkering with the complex natural ecosystem and socio-cultural traditions that supports conservation of Asiatic lion in the Gir region, that too against the will and opinion of the local people, can never be a remedy unless and until the facts of its evolution and conservation in this region are fully understood. The project proposal for translocation of lions from Gir to Kuno is one such proposal of artificial tinkering without fully understanding the conservation success at the Gir region.

The government had warned that relocating the lions from the Gir sanctuary in Gujarat was fraught with “irreparable damage to the sociology of lions” and asserted that Madhya Pradesh cannot manage the relocation as it had failed to protect its own tiger sanctuary.Already, their (Madhya Pradesh’s) tigers are dying. It would be highly improper to shift the lions to Kuno reserve. The Gujarat government had further argued that the people of the state take pride in the lions sanctuary and any attempt to translocate the animals to the Kuna reserve against the will of people of Gujarat will cause irreparable damage to their conservation and cultural ethos.

Also read: 3 lion cubs born at Rampara Vidi, foresters jubilant

A silent project at Rampara bringing more success

Gir lions relocated at Rampara vidi are doing well initially

Gujarat State Wildlife Board opposes relocation of Gir lions to Kuno