Asiatic Lion Pride Moving to the Beaches of India as Sightings of Footprints Increase

As more people report seeing tracks on India's beaches, an Asiatic lion pride is on the move.

Meena Venkataraman, a wildlife expert from Gujarat, noticed several paw prints on the sand early one morning.

The tracks belonged to an Asiatic lion, who reigned supreme over both the shore and the bush.

Asiatic Lion

The Asiatic lion, which was formerly common throughout Mesopotamia, Persia, and the Indian subcontinent, was on the verge of extinction in the early 1900s as a result of habitat loss and killing, but a Gujarat nawab saved it.

Currently, the state serves as the Asiatic lion's sole habitat.

The Gir forest and its neighboring protected areas are home to the majority of the approximately 700 animals counted in 2020, but many have been migrating to coastal areas.

The number of lions living along Gujarat's coast increased from f20 to 104 between 2010 and 2020, and according to forest officials in Gujarat, coastal habitats are now the most important satellite habitats that the lions utilize.

Lions on the Beach

According to Venkataraman, chief consultant at Carnivore Conservation and Research, finding lions in coastal areas is not unique; in Namibia, lions have adapted to living on the beach, where they hunt seals.

However, in India, it is unusual.

Researchers from Gujarat's forest department published the first report on coastal Asiatic lions' findings in November 2022.

They observed 10 lions equipped with GPS radio collars between 2019 and 2021.

According to Mohan Ram, deputy conservator of forests in Gir and study lead author, one question they sought to address was what types of habitats the coastal lions were exploiting.

The study by Ram and several other scientists was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

According to Venkataraman, a study participant, the results were unexpected.

She claims that Prosopis plants along Gujarat's western beaches serve as a haven for Asiatic lions.

These ecosystems are extremely dense and prickly.

The lion is thought to be a more "open area" animal, thus she added that it is unique.

Lions are using saltpan habitats and mangroves around the eastern beaches.

Namibia's Coastal Lions

The researchers also contrasted the traits of Gir's lions with those of the dispersing lions.

The researchers also discovered that the house ranges were unusually diverse, says Venkataraman.

The region that an animal typically roams was larger for lions living in coastal habitats than for those residing in the Gir protected areas.

The "link lions" -- those that live in the transitional zones between forested and coastal regions-were discovered to have even broader home ranges, she claimed.

Unlike the coastal lions in Namibia, those in Gujarat do not hunt marine life, but with time, Venkataraman speculates, they may grow to like scavenging dead fish.

According to the Times of India, they often eat wild boar, nilgai, and stray cattle, although in 2020 there had been reports of a lion dining on a turtle.

According to Ram, forest officials are researching the coastal lions' feeding and hunting routines.

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Asiatic Lions Moving to Gujarat

According to Kausik Banerjee, a wildlife expert who was not involved in the study, the relocation of lions to Gujarat's coast is not new and is more of a recolonization of their former territory.

However, as their numbers increase, the predators' presence on the beach also suggests a bigger issue with a lack of available area.

According to Banerjee, the Gir Protected Area's biological carrying limit for lions was long before reached.

A second habitat for Asiatic lions is being planned for Gujarat's Barda wildlife reserve, which is around 60 miles from Gir.

The idea to move some of the lions to the neighboring state of Madhya Pradesh is also being reevaluated by the Indian government.

The relocation was mandated by the Indian Supreme Court in 2013, but some experts claim it was never carried out because Gujarat was unwilling to give up the lions it was so proud of.

Human-Lion Conflict

According to Banerjee, there have been intermittent incidents of lions attacking people, but as lions venture outside of protected regions, there is increased concern about human-lion conflict.

They occasionally kill livestock as well, but when they do, farmers are compensated, The Guardian reported.

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