Overview
- Officials in Sasan Gir said Thursday that the 2025 estimate counts 891 Asiatic lions in the Greater Gir landscape, about 32% higher than in 2020.
- Gujarat leaders reported that lions now range across 11 districts, with about 24 settled in the Barda Sanctuary after natural dispersal.
- Construction has begun on a National Research Centre for Wildlife in Junagadh to expand national capacity for wildlife research.
- After a lone tiger was recorded in the Ratanmahal range, the forest department plans a targeted census in mid-June to check for more tigers in the Gujarat–Madhya Pradesh corridor.
- Gujarat is building a cheetah conservation breeding centre in Kutch with Rs 14.70 crore cleared under early works, while the Centre’s Rs 2,000 crore Project Lion backs protection measures that officials say also bolster local livelihoods.