Four hundred and eleven and counting

Monday, February 17, 2014

Sasan Gir National Park, Gujarat, India

There are 411 lions in Gir today. That's all. In all of Asia, the king of the jungle, who roamed all over Asia is now on his last legs. In one remote corner of Gujarat, in Gir, is all that is left of the once mighty Asiatic lion.

411 is considered a massive success

That's the way to live

. It had come down to 10 (yes 10) in British times due to insane hunting. Now the forest authorities are ruthless in conservation – so ruthless that it is heartening to see. The park is some 1400 square kilometres, but only about 200 sq kilometres is open for visitors. The rest is absolutely no human interference territory. Park rangers patrol 24/7. Visitors are limited to set trails only and numbers are strictly limited. Only 30 passes are issued for each session of game rides and there are only three a day.

Gir is a dry forest. Sighting is difficult and a matter of luck, although it’s still better than trying to catch a glimpse of the tiger. The Asian lion dos not live in huge prides unlike his African cousin. Its usually just two or three lionesses to a pride. The lion does not live with the lionesses, but protects them in his territory. Unlike the African lion, who is a lazy bum, the Asian lion hunts for himself and does not depend on his harem for food. Both lions and lionesses hunt mostly alone and their main prey here is deer.

I set out at the crack of dawn, when it was still pitch dark. It was bitingly cold - after all winter has still not gone away. Within ten minutes of the drive, there he was right on the side of the trail sitting peacefully. He let out a few roars, a few bellows, just to show who is the master. As I posted previously, I didn’t click a photo, but actually what I miss is not the photo , but the recording of the sounds. The cold air, the darkness, the bellowing of the lion, the alarm calls of the deer – enough to make your hair rise and stand. For the rest of the drive, I saw nothing, but that didn’t matter.

This was a completely different experience to sighting lions in the Serengeti or the Masai Mara. Firstly, this is forest and not a savannah. Lions are so plentiful in the Masai Mara that on the second day you are actually bored of lions ! Not so here. The sighting has to be "earned" and you have to be lucky – probably a lesson in life itself, for after all, something is treasured only when it is earned and not when it is had easily.

Thank you Sher Khan. You made the moment special.

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Comments

Viji
2014-02-17

I can fully understand the silence that engulfs when a lion or tiger is in the vicinity. Had been to the Corbett park a few years back. Inside the forest we spotted fresh marks of a tiger(that is what the guide said) -there was one single deer some distance away and it almost seemed to sense the danger and gave out a noise -spine chilling - no special effects of a movie to match that single soulful cry, before it ran away. We never saw the tiger but this picture is still vivid in memory. I think that was a looooong comment. But nature in its beauty and majesty is an awesome sight that remains with you.

Sandhya Sriram
2014-02-17

Wow - what a beautiful narrative. You should seriously try fiction someday Ramesh.

And thank you for all the pics :-)

Asha Balakrishnan
2014-02-18

Wow! Epic moments!!

and your recordings reminded me of a similar experience at Farahabad although we could only sight pug marks. We too set out early in the morning to sight in batches.

Vincy Joseph
2014-02-18

Wow that timing is fantastic - 10 minutes straight you get to see the Sher Khan. The Sher Khan who didnt give an appearence to Big B, days together that too...

and thank you so much for the pictures. you got to view through the lens more often without pressure from your readers :-)

Vincy Joseph
2014-02-18

and Ramesh liked all the titles of the pictures. When i was young and during the hard-copy-photo age, I used to write a title behind every photograph that i had. It was my favourite past time.

Vinod
2014-02-18

Aww! No words..

indigoite
2014-02-18

@Viji - Wow. I've never been to Corbett. Some day, some day .....

@Sandhya - That you milady !! I won't let that get into my head :)

@ Asha - Yes - that's always the best time. Pre dawn and when its ccccccoooollldd !

@Vincy - Honoured at the allusion ma'am - this flattery is going straight to my head :) Oh you did that - did you ?? Help me with some of the titles - you are way better.

C N Ram
2014-02-22

Hey Ramesh, you did it! Several years back we went to Corbett and came back after sighting a monkey, a lizard and an unidentifiable bird in that order (unidentifiable by us I mean). Maybe we chose the wrong season (Dec) or were plain unlucky. There were some tourists from Singapore who managed to sight one and they were raving...

Your photos are great and the narrative, very crisp and entertaining. Keep it up!!!

indigoite
2014-02-23

@Ram - Oh the tiger is a far more difficult animal to see. Lions are not as people shy as tigers. And you saw a lizard. Wow !!! :):)

Hey - thanks for visiting and commenting.

neeleshshanbhag
2014-03-03

Good Snaps Sir, really Breath taking.... all this in your own car or safari ??

indigoite
2014-03-06

@ Neelesh - Oh ; no way you can go into the forest in a car. All from a jeep.

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