Ahmedabad

After the devastating floods in the Gir forest area of last month which killed at least 10 Asiatic lions in their sole abode situated in Sarurashtra region of Gujarat, there is yet another good news for the wildlife lovers with confirmed reports of four more lioness being pregnant following the birth of 11 cubs recently,

DFO of Girnar range Mr. Raj Sandeep today said the forest officials have identified four pregnant lioness in the jungle area around Girnar. “The period of gestation for a lioness is 110 days and it normally gives birth to two to three cubs at a time. So we should expect the addition of at least eight more new members in the lion families of Gir,’ he said adding there were a total of 34 big cats including 14 cubs in the vicinity of Girnar alone.

Eleven cubs were born of four other lionesses in an area near Shasan Gir last month. They were noticed last week.

The total number of the big cats was estimated at 523 during the recent lion census held in and around Gir forest in May this year. The wildlife lovers all over the world were overjoyed with the results as it was a good rise in the numbers from 411 of last census of 2010.

But the flash floods caused by heavy rain in the jungle area, spread over 1400 square kilometer in Junagarh, Amreli, Gir-Somnath and Bhavnagar districts, last month shocked them with the tragic death of at least 10 big cats who were washed away.

The forests, a major tourist attraction in the state, is kept closed for four months during monsoon every year in the view of it being mating season for lions and many other wild animals.

Deputy conservator of forest and in-charge of Gir forests Sandeep Kumar said that the total estimated number of new born cubs all over the jungle would be announced officially after its opening in mid October.

– DeshGujarat