Sakkarbaug Zoo Junagadh City News Samachar Gujarat India

After tiding over recent crisis of the illness of imported South African cheetahs, the forest department-run Sakkarbaug Zoo authorities in Junagadh City are now planning to welcome a pair of Hippopotamus.

Recently, much to the relief of wildlife lovers and zoo medico team, four cheetahs, which had fallen severely ill last month, were certified as fully recovered. The beasts, which were removed from public view after they had suffered infection, were put back for public view.

Sakkarbaug Zoo superintendent VJ Rana said, "The cheetahs have recovered and have been brought to the sections where visitors can see them since March 1." Sakkarbaug Zoo is the only zoo in country to own the world's fastest animal. The cheetahs were brought from Singapore under an animal exchange programme. The zoo is now planning to bring a female hippo from Kanpur Zoo under another animal exchange programme.

"We have already brought a male hippo and within the next fortnight will bring the female one to the zoo. In exchange, we have provided Kanpur Zoo with a tiger. The zoo is also going to house four pairs of foreign birds from Baroda Zoo in exchange of which we will give them a tiger, bear and Thamin deer," Rana added.

Asiatic Lions Junagadh City Sakkarbaug Zoo News Saurashtra Gujarat India

Lioness' honeymoon has authorities on tenterhooks.

It's a ‘tale' of two honeymoons.

One of a lioness that never happened for curious reasons and that of Dadra and Nagar Haveli (DNH) authorities, which is about to end.

The authorities had great hopes when they set up Vasna Lion Safari seven years ago on 60 acre of land at Vasona village in DNH. Now, they are caught on the horns of a dilemma.

Neither have they enough lions to call it a safari, nor can they close the highly ambitious project. Two Asiatic lions -- Kush, Dharma and two lionesses -- Sonal and Silky -- were brought to the safari from Gir with the hope that their numbers would increase through breeding.

However, the lions were unable to procreate and died. Lioness Silky, too, died, leaving Sonal alone in the wilderness, which have dashed the authorities plan of having a thriving safari.

The authorities, however, are not willing to give up that easily. "We have decided to bring one more lion from Junagadh City Sakkarbaug Zoo," assistant conservator of forests (wildlife), DNH, Dilipsinh Mangrola said.

"We have sent many requests to Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to grant permission to bring more Asiatic Lions from Junagadh to DNH. But there has been no positive response," said deputy conservator of forests, DNH B Chaudhry.

The authorities want to bring a lion to the safari at the earliest because of CZA guidelines, which say a lone animal is not allowed in a safari for public display.

Mangrola has suggested that in the mean time, Sonal be taken for mating with an Asiatic lion in Gir. If it happens, it will end the authorities honeymoon with the proposed safari, but will kick off a bright and long-awaited one for Sonal.

Sasan Gir National Park Forest Sanctuary Junagadh District News Gujarat India

1,500 trees face the chop in Gir forest.

The state government which has been fighting tooth and nail for the exclusive custody of the Asiatic lions in the Gir forest has ordered cutting of over 1,500 trees to make room for residential plots. The land which has to be cleared of the trees is a territory of a pride of 6-7 lions.

The land, which spans over seven-acres, is surrounded by the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary on three sides, in the Rupayatan forest area of Bhavnath taleti in Junagadh City. About 450 reserve and 1,100 non-reserve trees are likely to be chopped down next week to make space for the construction of new houses.

These houses are to be built there for families who will be displaced during the clearing of the area around the Bhavnath temple. The land was lying unused for nearly 40 years and was acquired very recently from the Rupayatan Trust.

The proposal has aroused the ire of environment activists, botanists and residents of the region who believe the project would lead to 'deforestation' and do immense harm to the lions' habitat. Moreover, cutting down trees, some of which are over 40 years old, would lead to irreparable loss for the flora and fauna of the area.

Retired agriculture scientist Professor Rasik Bhatt of Junagadh University says people were alarmed when the project was announced last month. "Because of the dense forest, lions rest there during summer," he said. "There is another, smaller plot that we asked the Collector to consider for construction of the houses. That would have ensured that the lions will not be disturbed and deforestation would not take place."

Junagadh collector Ashwini Kumar conceded that some trees will be cut but refused to specify how many. He also conceded that the area is 'frequented' by lions. He, however, insisted that the plot is ideal for rehabilitating the displaced families and that wildlife conservation cannot be done at the cost of human life.

Junagadh District News – Sasan Forest,Gir Sanctuary

Gir Sanctuary to be closed from June 16 to Oct 15.

Schools have reopened and people are trudging back to routine lives.

But, it's now the turn of Asiatic Lions of Gir to go on vacation as Gir sanctuary will be closed from June 16 to October 15 for visitors.

"According to Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, all sanctuaries and national parks are closed for visitors for a certain period," explained Conservator of Forests M M Sharma.

"Apart from the fact that jungle tracks are not conducive for vehicle travel in monsoon, the main reason for closure is that this period is mating season for lions," Sharma added.

Junagadh News – Cheetahs Care at Sakkar Baug Zoo

Sakkar Baug Zoo tries to play Cupid for cheetahs.

After hogging limelight for acquiring the earth’s fastest animal, Cheetah, from Singapore, officials at the Sakkar Baug Zoo in Junagadh have now got down to do more serious job of courtship between the two African pairs.

The zoo officials know it’s not an easy task given the fact that the male cheetahs, who live in groups, usually attack the females, which are solitary in nature and seldom show any reproductive behavior.

“Breeding cheetah is very challenging. But we will make this happen.

We will soon visit De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust is South Africa to get the training in breeding of the endangered species.

De Wildt has achieved remarkable success in increasing the population of the spotted big cat,” said V J Rana, director Sakkar Baug Zoo.

Breeding among predators have been made possible by the De Wildt after several experiments, which ended up in constructing a “lovers’ lane” along the female enclosures to allow easy access to the males, he said.

Junagadh District News – Gir Wildlife Sanctuary Sasan Gir

Asiatic Lions population in Bhavnagar increases to 25 from 14 in four years.

Within four years of the last census in 2005, further dispersion of Asiatic lions on a large- scale in areas of Bhavnagar district has been observed. From 14 in the last census, which was a record in itself, the number of lions in the green areas of the coastal belt is now 25.

The forest department has already considered declaring nearly 200 square kilometres in the district with green cover area as conserved forest for the lions. The district is located at least 100 km away from Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, the home of the Asiatic lion.

In the last census, 14 big cats had been found in and around Bhavnagar. Our recent estimate puts the number at 25,” said K Randhava, Deputy Conservator of Forest, Bhavnagar (Junagadh Circle).

The total number of lions in and around the sanctuary in the census was put at 359. Like Bhavnagar, dispersion has been observed towards Sutrapada (Junagadh district) and Barada (Porbandar district) in recent years. With the lion population on the rise, their further dispersion in search of more space and food has not been ruled out.

In grasslands and open areas of Palitana, Mahuva, Talaja, Gariyadhar, Ghogha and Vallabhipur, lions are being spotted frequently. “This is a stretch that runs adjacent to Gir East,” Randhava added.

The forest department believes that open grasslands and forest areas, where the nilgai is also found in large numbers, provide a suitable environment for lion habitat. Locals, especially farmers, are more than happy to adjust with the new visitors, as the presence of lions has controlled the nilgai population that poses a threat to the standing crops.