Qualla: Gir National Park

Gir National Park: Introduction

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tejas Mairal, CC BY-SA 4.0. By the end of the 19th century, roughly a dozen Asiatic lions remained on the entire planet. All of them lived in one forest, on one peninsula, in the private hunting grounds of one man - the Nawab of Junagadh. That forest was Gir. Today it covers 1,410 square kilometers of dry deciduous woodland in Gujarat's Saurashtra region, and the lions number over 650 -- the 2020 census recorded 674, with the population continuing to grow. It is the only place in Asia where Asiatic lions survive in the wild, making Gir not just a national park but an ark - the thin margin between a species and its extinction.

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Image: Tejas Mairal | CC BY-SA 4.0

Gir National Park: From Hunting Ground to Sanctuary

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0. The irony of Gir's survival is that it was saved by the same institution that nearly destroyed it. In the 19th century, rulers of Indian princely states routinely invited British colonists for hunting expeditions, and the Asiatic lion population plummeted. When British viceroys f...

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Image: Bernard Gagnon | CC BY-SA 3.0

Gir National Park: Counting Lions

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit CC BY-SA 3.0. Every five years, Gir conducts a census of its lions - a logistical operation involving roughly a thousand forest officials, experts, and volunteers. The trajectory tells a story of slow recovery. In 1900, the population stood at an estimated 100. A 1936 census recorded 289. The ...

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Image: CC BY-SA 3.0

Gir National Park: A Forest of Teak and Teeth

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Shandilya 1903, CC BY-SA 4.0. Gir is classified as "very dry teak forest" - the largest dry deciduous forest in western India, where teak grows mixed with scrub and savannah grasslands the locals call vidis. Botanical surveys have recorded over 500 plant species. But the wildlife extends far beyond lions. Ind...

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Image: Shandilya 1903 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Gir National Park: The Threats That Remain

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vyom25, CC BY-SA 4.0. Recovery has not meant safety. Lions are still occasionally poached or poisoned in retaliation for attacking livestock. The park faces cyclones, drought, and forest fires as recurring natural threats. Human pressures compound the problem: overgrazing by cattle, encroachment on pa...

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Image: Vyom25 | CC BY-SA 4.0