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| Good morning Gir! |
THE Gir national park, India--the sole home of the pure Asiatic lions. A unique habitat that boasts of two mysterious cats, the lion and the leopard. The park is located in the Junagad and Amreli district of Gujarat.It has a total area of 1412 sq km and is just 45 kms from the sea coast. The only place where Asiatic lions are found in the world is the Gir national park. Once, these lions were found all over Asia. But now these majestic beasts are seen only in Gujarat. Unbelievably, at the beginning of the 20th century, only 15 of these wild creatures were left in the entire world due to hunting which was practiced as a sport then. This is a gist of what happened then...During the British raj, lions were hunted mercilessly by the British officers assisted by the obliging Nawabs and Maharajas. Every Maharaja was proud of the number of lions or tigers he killed during his lifetime. In the year 1899, the famine decreased the lion population so badly that Lord Curzon canceled his shoot in Gir where he had been invited by the Nawab for a 'Shikaar'. Lord Curzon also advised the ruler to protect the remaining lions. Today, there are more than 400 asiatic lions in Gir. Thanks to Lord Curzon who took the responsibility of saving these wild creatures from extinction!
 
The best period to visit Gir is between the months of November and June. Gir is a mixed deciduous type of forest. The visibility range is high and so, the lions, leopards, other mammals and a variety of birds become easier to spot.
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The journey begins from here....!
 
There is a railway track passing right through the buffer zone of the park. This has led to many accidents and has greatly disturbed the wildlife. There are morning and evening safaris at Gir. Tourists are taken into the forest in open jeeps and are accompanied by a guide and of course the driver. These people are experienced and have developed unparalleled skills of spotting any form of wildlife, let it be in the air or on the ground...no bird or animal is camouflaged from them! Its a remarkable experience--watching the wildlife and clicking photos, enjoying the pollution-free air, watching wild animals roam around in their natural habitat--enjoying every bit of freedom!
Now comes the main attraction of Gir--undoubtedly the Asiatic lion kings!!
            
His majestic fearless walk...
When I saw a lion.....
I had seen a lion before, but in the
zoo and ofcourse on television. The lion which I always wanted to see was the
one in the wild i.e. his natural habitat. The difference between seeing a lion
in the wild and in captivity can be compared to the difference between hell and
heaven! Just watch the lion 'Alex' in the movie 'Madagascar'...the difference
between captive and wild is simply spot on!
So it was my dream to watch a lion in the
wild and it came true this May when I got a chance to visit Gir national park.
I embarked upon my journey to Gir being completely optimistic about seeing a
lion. At first, I would have considered myself lucky even if got a distant
glimpse of the lion. But I'm a human...my wishes, desires, dreams,
expectations, anticipations kept on growing higher and higher. Its a human
tendancy. Now I wished to see a lion walking towards us, dreamt of watching
lionesses kill a deer or sambar, desired to see lion cubs at a stone's throw
away and what not! (even lion's mating!) I simply became more and more
greedy....not for money but for lions!!
The time for jungle safaris had arrived. It
was early in the morning, even before sunrise when entered the jungle keeping
our fingers crossed and hoping for the best! No sound other than the rattling of leaves
mixed with a varied chirping of birds, of wind rushing past our ears and
the jeep engine was heard. All senses of our bodies were simultaneously
alerted. Vision became crystal clear and ears became unusually sharp. All eyes in the jeep were scanning the forest floor for any movement out of the ordinary.
Not more than 45 mins later we saw 10-12 other jeeps huddled up at a spot. And then....we all instantly came to know that there must be lions somewhere around there. My brain seemed to freeze...I readied my camera and stood up...I guess that's due to the adrenalin rushing in my veins. Now, finally I saw...not just a lion but a pride of 8. WOW!! I got more than I ever had asked for! I just kept on clicking photos and starred at the pride like a petrified person. Time seemed to run at cheetah's pace. I knew naught how much time we were there....when asked later, I came to know that we spent around 45 mins just gazing at the pride...weird! it appeared to have been just 5-10 mins! Now it was the time to bid farewell to the pride...We departed from that spot most reluctantly...I returned back to the campsite like a victorious king, eager to tell everybody about our sighting! Waiting eagerly for the next evening safari!
This evening safari is still vivid in my memories and will be for the rest of my life. One more wish was fulfilled! My most amazing experience in the Gir forest. Just after half an hour or so after the safari started we came across 2 male lions sitting lazily in the shade of a tree. Not a care in the world! Then the rituals of photography took place in our mini bus. Expressions of awe seen on everyone's face. The lion's every move being followed by 20-25 eyes and lenses! It appeared like we all were the lion's puppets! After some time which elapsed quickly..God knows how! These two lions stood up on their spot. Now the excitement and thrill began to build up. Something was going to happen now...One of the two lions saw us..I don't know what made him do so but he began to walk fearlessly towards us. The other following him. I simply cant express how I felt at that very moment. All I remember is my eyes became watery, my camera seemed to click photos all by itself, brain froze, mouth opened in the expression of awe...it was like watching God walking towards us! I'm not exaggerating but this is how I felt. And then these lions walked past us so closely that if I would have stretched my hand out of the window then I could have gently caressed their manes!! The lions didn't seem to care even a bit. Like they wanted to show that we are the kings! royal, majestic, fearless! We saw them disappear into the thick undergrowth and this is how my dream came to reality!
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