The last kingdom of the Asian lion, in the Gir Forest, India

Mahendra Shekhva suddenly stopped the vehicle and backed it up about ten meters on October 18. He spotted marks on a tree. The man carefully examines the notched bark of a flamboyant tree. A wild beast has scratched its claws on this tree known for its spectacular orange-red flowers and for its medicinal and antibacterial properties. He looks for traces on the ground, the soggy earth is malleable. A group of deer frolics not far away in the tall grass. The monsoon, still active in mid-October, brought forth dense and fresh vegetation. It doesn’t take long in this breaking dawn to see what the naturalist is looking for. Two lions laze quietly on a red dirt path, a third on a carpet of grass, observed by around ten safari vehicles. “They are young, 3 years old at most, probably brothers, because lions do not stay together unless they are related. It’s the only feline to live in a clan,” murmurs the naturalist. Did they hunt? Not sure, the large carnivore does not need daily prey, it can devour 30 kilograms of meat in a single meal and be satisfied for several days. Mahendra Shekhva works in the Gir forest, located in Saurashtra, in Gujarat, in the far west of India, not far from Pakistan. This gigantic forest, populated mainly by teak and acacia trees, covered with scrubby jungle, meadows, hills, rivers and lakes, constitutes the last natural territory of the Asian lion. The Hiran River, in the Gir forest (India), in the heart of the lion’s territory, October 18, 2024. ARKO DATTO FOR “THE WORLD” Six hundred and seventy-four specimens, according to the last census of 2020, undoubtedly many more today today, live in the wild in the state of Gujarat alone. These statistics are a feat, because, in 1913, the species was on the verge of extinction, with only twenty wild animals, despite the protection provided from the 19th century by the nabobs of Junagadh who reigned over the region to save the emblematic animal, victim of hunting and deforestation. Their efforts were ruined by a famine in 1901, which pushed locals to hunt down the animal to survive. Financial and technological means The predator migrated from Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, then Asia, to reach the Indian subcontinent. Of all these host countries, only India has managed to stem the decline. The result is all the more remarkable given that many obstacles faced the conservatives: a very high population density, increasing urbanization and extensive agricultural practices. You have 78.46% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.



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