Gujarat identifies new lion translocation site near Porbandar

Gujarat has identified Barda wildlife sanctuary, near Porbandar as the potential second home for the Asiatic lions, the Union environment ministry informed the Lok Sabha on Monday, though experts outside the government cast doubts on the coastal forest’s potential as a translocation site.

“Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat has been identified and assessed by the Wildlife Institute of India as a potential site where a population of 40 adult and sub-adult lions can be accommodated in the larger landscape of Barda-Alech hills and coastal forests through natural dispersal,” Ashwini Kumar Choubey, the minister of state for environment said a written question responding to Congress leader D K Suresh.

Having a second home for the Asiatic lions outside Gir is considered one of India’s environmental priorities as it would lower the chances of large-scale death among the lion population due to infection.

But for three decades, a political controversy surrounded such an environmental priority with Gujarat refusing to share its pride of lions with other states.

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Even though the Supreme Court in 2013 ordered translocation of Asiatic lions to Kuno Palpur sanctuary in central India, no such shifting took place. Instead, the Madhya Pradesh reserve is being used as the home for African cheetahs.

Choubey, in his reply, said an expert committee recommended facilitation of natural dispersal of lions and the modalities for establishment of lion population in newly identified sites in Gujarat.

Following such recommendations, the ministry provides financial assistance to Gujarat for lion conservation activities including for habitat improvement, water management, grassland development and prey augmentation, arguing that such activities would facilitate the natural dispersal of lions beyond the Gir landscape.

The experts, however, criticise such a plan. “The Barda Wildlife Sanctuary is less than 200 sq km in area and is too small to host a viable population of lions. Moreover, as a crow flies, it is barely 100 km from Gir Forest and hence not geographically isolated from Gir to be able to effectively mitigate conservation risks to the lion population," Ravi Chellam, CEO of Metastring Foundation and one of India's foremost experts on lions told DH.

The minister also informed that in the last 10 years (between 2013-14 and 2022-23) 240 lions died in Gir, but did not clarify how many deaths were natural and how many involved human hands.