Atul Singh Nischal wants all Asiatic Lion lovers to know.....

Atul Singh Nischal is a active wildlife lover and strongly spreading awareness about benefits of translocating few Asiatic Lions to Kuno Wildlife Sancturay in Madhya Pradesh. Today I received following email from him which I would like to share some part of it with everybody.

Hello all of you interested in nature & wildlife and in saving the Asiatic Lions for our future generations and Mr. Kishore Kotecha of “Gir & Asiatic Lion Protection Society (GALPS)”, India (State of Gujarat) and Amit B. Jethava of “Gir Nature Youth Club”, India (State of Gujarat)

Mr. Kishore Kotecha, yes please post photos & Asiatic Lion/Gir/Kuno news regularly to the Group, also translate local Gujarati news and post to ASIATIC LION Group as well as on the Blog. You can always mention at the bottom of the news that it is also now posted on the ASIATIC LION Blog and give the address of the blog also mention it is there in the Links section of our Group. As you know both "Gir & Asiatic Lion Protection Society (GALPS)" website and the Blog has already been added in the “Links” section of the ASIATIC LION Group by me for the benefit of all of us.

It is also great news that you Mr. Amit B. Jethava, President, “Gir Nature Youth Club” have also joined the ASIATIC LION Group, now you can continue your efforts to save Gir Sanctuary & surrounding habitat and Asiatic Lions along with all of us and your input is always appreciated as it will also inform all of us of what is happening on the field in Asiatic Lion territory. You are welcome to also post photos & Asiatic Lion/Gir/Kuno news regularly to the Group, also translate local Gujarati news and post to ASIATIC LION Group as well. You and your club members are also close to Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding regions where wild Asiatic Lions live like the members of GALPS, I will request that both your teams become members of this group and treat this as your own group. All the members of "Gir Nature Youth Club" and "Gir & Asiatic Lion Protection Society (GALPS)" please coordinate together your efforts to save the Asiatic Lions and spread awareness about their precarious situation. I will also request all of you to make joint trips regularly over the years to both Gir Sanctuary in Gujarat State and Kuno Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh State and also Zoos around the country who have or will have Asiatic Lions to ensure their wellbeing. Of course we love all the other animals and the forest/wilderness too so lets all care for nature as a whole too.

Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in India, in the state of Madhya Pradesh is soon going to be the second home for wild Asiatic Lions (a geographically separated secure "second population" in a "second region" to guard against epidemics and natural calamities and who knows even War). All of us Wildlife & Asiatic Lion lovers should appreciate the efforts and sacrifice of the poor tribals from 24 villages who have already agreed and moved out of Kuno to make it an undisturbed second home for the re-introduction of wild free ranging Asiatic Lions. Thousands of Asiatic Lions lived in the State of Madhya Pradesh in India too and other parts as well along with Tigers before they were killed off by man like in other parts of Asia including in Iran and Europe where the Asiatic Lions once reigned not too long ago.

You all who are closer to Gir and Asiatic Lions should visit both Gir and Kuno and also post your trip photos and reports here on the group from time to time. Also appreciate the efforts of Madhya Pradesh Forest Department in preparing Kuno for Asiatic Lion re-introduction along with Gujarat Forest Department who is taking care of Gir where the only wild population of Asiatic Lions in the world is found presently. If you have any complains about any government employee or political party not doing enough for the Asiatic Lions and the protection of their habitat you can jointly lodge a complaint and let us all know too how it progresses. You can also write to Madhya Pradesh Forest Department and the Chief Minister to prepare Kuno properly for the Asiatic Lions and take urgent needed action so that it is ready to host Asiatic Lions sooner. Allocate funds in time to protect increasing wildlife population in Kuno against illegal poaching, help properly in rehabilitating tribals from villages who have agreed and moved out of the forest to make place for the Asiatic Lions. Inquire about what is the status of the prey population in Kuno and if any translocation of prey is being done to Kuno to supplement Asiatic Lion food base there. There are enough Nilgais and Wildboars in farmland all over the states in India that could be translocated to Kuno to help increase the prey base for Lions there. Prey translocation if needed can not be ignored. Though recent studies show that over the last decade or so the local prey base has already strengthened enough now to support a pride or two of translocated wild Asiatic Lions easily.

Unfortunately it seems the Indian State of Gujarat is still having difficulty in giving up its monopoly on the tourism revenues generated by wild Asiatic Lions which are only found in its bounds presently in the whole world. Gujarat is still opposing with all its might the re-introduction of wild free ranging Asiatic Lions to the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh, a program of the Central Government of India. You all can read about this tussle and the selfishness being shown by the State of Gujarat against sending any wild Asiatic Lions out of the State on the News pages of the website of “The Asiatic Lion Information Centre, The home of the European Asiatic Lion Breeding Programme” at: http://www.asiatic-lion.org/index.html

I know there is lot to be done but its good that all of us are coming together to build awareness to ensure the wellbeing of Asiatic Lions, their habitat and other animals that live there as well.

Let me also take this opportunity to thank Lisa ("Lisa C."wildview@mcn.org, zenzoolittle) to have helped us in forming this group and also thank Icer ("Annelisa Johnson" icer_01, icer@swiftdsl.com.au) and “Kishore Kotecha” (kotecha_kishore@yahoo.co.in, info@asiaticlion.org, info@royalenclave.com) for being moderators and helping with the management of our group.

Everybody is invited to post articles and photos about Asiatic Lions in their natural habitat or from Zoos around the world. General articles about Asiatic Lion history from around the world and about other animals with whom they share their habitats are also welcome.

Long live the Asiatic Lions and the wildernesses around Gir in Gujarat where they now live and Kuno forests where they shall rule again soon.

Also reminding you all once again there is a sister species to Asiatic Lions which shared much of its habitat all over Asia including in India, it’s the “Asiatic Cheetahs”. Now having gone recently extinct in India the very last 50 to 60 remain in Iran. You can also help in spreading awareness about them. As we speak now they are sprinting towards their “Final-Extinction”, please read about them and follow the research links in my following article on Asiatic Cheetah to help in saving them too from extinction: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asiatic_Cheetah&oldid=75407443

Best wishes

Atul Singh Nischal
atulsinghnischal@yahoo.com