Gir National Park

History & Overview

The last refuge in the world of the Asiatic Lion – the only subspecies of the Lion after the African Lion which one can see in the wild.

The semi-arid forests of Western India are home to around 400 lions, staggeringly up to this number from around 10 individuals which survived 100 years ago.The forests are dry deciduous Teak forests, with scrub and grasslands which are perfect habitat for these magnificient creatures.Here, the Lion hunts mainly Deer, Wild Boar and Nilgai. There are several instances of Lions going after livestock – yet there seem to be no retaliatory killings, such is the regard for the lions which the local villagers have.

However, when the Lions venture into towns, there are several cases of largely ignorant persons who take advantage of the Lions docile attitude towards man.

This is an iconic species and we hope that they will be able to spread out and reclaim some of their lost grounds in Central India. They were once found in Eastern Europe in Turkey, the Middle East and large parts of Central Asia.