Ahmedabad: Gujarat Forest Department,
with the help of 450 staff and other volunteers and 35
experts, will begin lions' census in Gir forest from April 22
to 27.
Last census of lions was undertaken in Gir forest in
2005 by the State Forest Department in which the count of
lions was 359.
In a press release, Principal Secretary, Environment
and Forest S K Nanda said that the entire Gir forest and
extended area has been divided into seven regions, 28 zones
and 100 sub-zones where lions have frequently been sighted.
Apart from Gir forest in Jugagadh district, lions
have been sighted in the extended areas of the forest in
Amreli and Bhavnagar districts, he said.
"Wildlife photographers will also be involved and they
will click the photos of lions as they are sighted," Nanda
said, adding that experts from the Wildlife Institute of
India, Dehradun will also be part of the exercise of counting
the lions.
Meanwhile, the Forest Department has imposed a ban on
the entry of tourists and visitors in the Gir forest for a
week from April 22.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 00:37