Where Is The Gir Wildlife Sanctuary?

The Gir Wildlife sanctuary is an area of thorn forest in Gujarat, a state of India that is close to Pakistan. The reserve covers 1 400 square kilometres and was set up mainly to preserve the last wild population of Asiatic lions. Lions are usually associated with the African savannahs but they once were found all over southern Asia.

Asiatic lions do still manage to survive in the Gir sanctuary, where they prey on wild boards, deer, antelopes an the herds of domestic livestock that graze there. The lions catch most of their prey in the evening and early morning and then rest during the heat of the day under the shade of a tree.

One of the largest wild animals that the lions will bring down is the nilgai, a type of ruminant herbivore. A full sized male can weight 270 kg, so this is quite a task, even for a fully grown male lion.