1411 was less, you thought. What about 411?

What’s common between Goddess Durga, Emperor Ashoka, Lord Vishnu and the National Emblem of India? We know you know the answer. But what if you were told that in a country of 1.15 billion human beings, there are only 411 such left now?

Yes. We have only 411 Asiatic Lions left in the the whole of our country, that too in small pockets in the Gir forests of Gujarat. (- Data quoted from Gujarat Govt.’s 2010 report).

It’s strange, thinking about the lions and tigers in the middle of all this busy lives of us; somewhere it does not strike a cord.

May be that’s why most of us don’t even know that the much revered Asiatic Cheetah has already gone extinct locally in India. (Yes, the same Cheetah from the ad line ‘Cheeta bhi Peeta hai’ of Mountain Dew). Reports say that about 200-250 years ago, there were tens of thousands of Asiatic Lions, Bengal Tigers, Asiatic Cheetahs and Indian Leopards in the Jungles of India.

Now the Jungles themselves are fast diminishing. It’s analogous to a kingdom shrinking right in front of an emperor’s eyes; and it can do nothing than to perish along with it. Or maybe not.

The recent media campaign which saw people like Dhoni and companies like Aircel talking about the 1411 Bengal Tigers left in India did help the cause. Public awareness is the first axiom for any Government initiative. People were awed by the sheer dismalness of the figure of population. Funds were raised, NGOs came forward, conservation initiatives were strengthened. Reason? The common people knew that the issue is worthy enough to be a national concern.

In January 2008, the Government of India launched a dedicated anti-poaching force composed of experts from Indian police, forest officials and various other environmental agencies. Indian officials successfully started a project to reintroduce the tigers into the Sariska reserve. On similar lines, the forest department of Bangladesh together took the initiative of Sunderbans tiger project. The ‘Save the Tiger Fund’ and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service generously donated funds to support the initial phase of research that aimed to collect data on tiger ecology using telemetry, and study the tiger’s environment by assessing its habitat and prey.

Although small, save the tiger project has been a success. Now we need to bring the Lions in the center, too.

And the big question is, “How can we help?”

By spreading the information and knowledge about them. See an example of a relevant information:

“The biggest threat faced by the Gir National Park is the presence of Maldharis. These communities are vegetarian and do not indulge in poaching because they are basically pasturalists, with an average of 50 cattle  per family. So during grass-scarce seasons Maldharis, even from outside the sanctuary, bring their cattle into the park in the guise of selling them and take them away after the monsoon season. These people are legally entitled to live in the park but slowly the area around the nesses (small hamlets where Maldharis live) is becoming denuded of vegetation. The population of Maldharis, as well as their numbers of cattle, is increasing and some Maldharis have houses outside the forest but still keep their cattle inside the forest to get unlimited access to forage. One of the outcomes of this is that the natural population of the wild ungulates of the protected area, which forms the prey base of the Lions, has suffered. And when a hungry lion attacks these people or their cattle, they kill it/ hurt it fatally in self defense.”

We need to know such facts, and force the government to make sure it stops the malpractices going on. Only awareness can make it a national issue. 411 today, 0 tomorrow, if human greed is allowed to flow its natural way.

George Schaller wrote: ^{(Source: Wiki)}

"India has to decide whether it wants to keep the tiger or not. It has to decide if it is worthwhile to keep its National Symbol, its icon, representing wildlife. It has to decide if it wants to keep its natural heritage for future generations, a heritage more important than the cultural one, whether we speak of its temples, the Taj Mahal, or others, because once destroyed it cannot be replaced."

Doesn’t it feel as valid for the Asiatic Lions, too? Cheetah, gone. At least save the lions!

                    

Alok K.