In a rare and amazing sight, a pride of 14 lions, including lionesses and cubs, was captured on camera crossing a road in Gujarat, near the Gir National Park. The footage was recorded at night in Amreli district.
The video went viral captivating social media users with its display of nature’s beauty. It showed the majestic lions moving together in the darkness, a sight rarely witnessed.
Parimal Nathwani, the Director of Corporate Affairs at Reliance Industries Limited, shared the remarkable video.
The sighting highlights the rich biodiversity and conservation efforts in Gujarat, particularly in and around the Gir National Park, which is renowned as the last remaining natural habitat of the Asiatic lion.
In August 2017, a pride of 10 to 12 lions was seen on CCTV camera, roaming freely in a village in Amreli district at night. In villages and residential areas bordering the Gir National Park, it is common to see wild animals entering areas of human habitation.
Rise in number
The number of Asiatic lions in Gir forests has gone up from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020, according to a report released by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in 2020. It was less than 200 in the late 1960s, according to the Gujarat tourism website.
The big cats are now distributed in nine districts in Gujarat: Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Botad, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot and Surendranagar.
This region, which covers an area of 30,000 sq km, is called the “Asiatic Lion Landscape”.
A total of 239 lions, including 126 cubs, died in Gujarat in the last two years, and 29 of these fatalities were due to unnatural causes, Forest Minister Mulubhai Bera told the state assembly earlier this month.
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