Sasan Gir, Asiatic Lions Pt2

Mon 05/01/2009 23:30

You come to Sasan Gir to see the Lions of India & I did!  I saw 4 Lions; target was 5 so I have to throw in a Leopard to make up the numbers.
What a trip,  4 lions, 1 leopard + Jackals, crocodiles, deer & antelope, eagles, vultures, owls, not to mention a myriad of other birds.
Not quite sure what I expected, the debates I had been reading in the UK were about the overflowing numbers of lions in the area causing concern over the direct conflict with the local community and its livestock, therefore in need of relocation to avoid further conflicts with humans. Based on that, I almost imagined I would see one every time I looked for one, in the parks, down by the river, in the fields. They turned out to be far more elusive than I thought.
When I saw the Leopard I was even rather nonchalant, “not a lion” & “I can see those in Sri Lanka”. Only later as the spotting became thin did I realise just how lucky I was to spot the Leopard, especially as it was outside the park, a surreal sighting as there was a family on a motorbike Asian style; husband, wife & 2 kids on the bike, passing us on the road with a toot as we stared at the Leopard 50ft from us all!
It was not long before I spotted my first lion, day after the ‘nature drive’ outside the park area I booked a safari into the Sasan Gir National Park, after about an hour on safari I spotted my first Indian Lion, the first one was a single female crossing our path; we saw it in the bushes ambling towards us, there were 3 of us in the vehicle, me, Steve (luck Maguire) & Aniken, all 3 of us took a deep intake of breath at the  excitement of spotting our first Indian lion.
The lions proved to be extremely relaxed at our presence; the guide even invited us to get down from the vehicle in order that we could photograph it from a closer, better position?! This I had been told about, the getting close, on the ground, in the excitement you follow the guide & forget the guide is a government, forestry department, wildlife employee so he is the boss. Lucky Maguire was a little more excited than anyone else, his excuse being he had a smaller zoom than me or Aniken, so he got ahead of us all, hence a photo of a guy in a camouflaged yellow sweat shirt in some of my photos! We then followed it down the road, it showed no concern or fear of us, and it looked over its shoulder on occasion, as if to say “do you have to follow me?”  Or “you still here?” After the excitement of the first safari the next three trips  were barren of  lions although very  interesting  the diversity of the other animals endemic to the park and local area, was also the first time I had been in a teak tree forest, the natural habitat of the remaining Indian Lions.
I reality it was not long before I saw the next lions, three lions in one day, I had gone out to the managed ‘safari park’ at …….. having not seen a line in any of my last trips the target of 5 was looking overly generous; I may have to bulk up the photos with some not so wild lions. The safari park turned out to be an expensive ‘zoo tour’ even local Indian tourists were telling me not to bother & I could see why, 30 seater buses with darkened windows tour the park every 30 mins at a cost of $30 for foreigners, same cost as 3 of us sharing a jeep into the park for real!?
I decided to skip it along with 3 other foreigners there; instead we grouped together for a spontaneous trip into the National Park. Our luck unfolded in a wonderful way, 3 Lions in the one trip! First was a single female again; this time she roamed deeper in the teak forest, not that deterred us or out guide, out we get again, on this occasion she moved towards us, behind the camera you want to capture that movement no matter how small, its only when you look over the edge of the camera that you realise just how close she is! As the advice goes- question - “what to do if a lion approaches?”  Answer – “You reach behind & throw the pile of sh*t at it, what if there is no sh*t? If a lion is coming towards you there will be!
3rd spot and the last was the most memorable, just taking the slow ride out after seeing the lioness when a pair are just off on our right as we come around a bend, again they are not worried (this may be their down fall at some time in the future, not being scared of humans?!) We were so close we did not need to get down but given the size of the male that stared right at or through me – I had no desire to move from my firmly rooted position in an open ‘gypsy’ (Suzuki jeep) 30ft away! What a beast, ragged looking face, had been in a few scrapes, king of the jungle with no debate! Elated!!
14 days in Sasan
8 Trips into park – 4 Lions over 2 visits in, 3 separate sightings.
2 Nature trips around park - 1 Leopard
1 guided walk in Forest – 0

Steve ‘spotter’ Jones
Sasan Gir
Gujarat
India