Gir Forest Reserve to be Expanded to cope with growing Lions Population.

December 2007. There are roughly 359 Asiatic Lions living in Gir forest today. However the conservation success over the last 50 years means that there are now more lions than there is room in Gir. Many of the Lions have been straying outside the sanctuary due to the population pressure, so the State and Central Government are planning to add 300 sq. km more area to the existing 1460 sq. km.

In the last two decades two regions have been added to the area of National Park, but there is now urgent need for a further expansion. There have also been plans made to create a second reserve, which would help protect the still severely endangered lions from outbreaks of disease, but these plans seems to have stalled at the moment.

Courtesy of the Wildlife Conservation Trust of India