Gujarat is popularly known to inhabit Asiatic lions exclusively at the Gir Forests and there’s good news. The numbers of these majestic lions have increased exponentially.
The population of these creatures, who were once on the verge of getting extinct have risen by 29%. This news was announced by PM Modi who also mentioned how geographically their distribution area was also up by 36%.
The PM further added how this increase in numbers was a collective effort of of community participation, emphasis on technology and wildlife healthcare.
According to the State Forest Department, the population is 674 including males, females and cubs. During 2015, the baseline was 523 lions, a 27% increase from the estimation of 2010. Moreover, the distribution of the lions expanded from 22,000 sq. km in 2015 to 30,000 sq. km in 2020.
Twitter lauded this amazing news.
According to the State Forest Department, the population estimation of Asiatic Lions is conducted at an interval of five years. It conducted an exercise familiarly called ‘Poonam Avlokan’ in order to develop an understanding of the current population status and distribution.
The population of these majestic creatures have been rising steadily over the last 20 years. In 2005, India counted 359 Asiatic lions, in 2010, the population rose to 411 lions. Then 523 in 2015 and finally 674 this year.