Chital Fawn

Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India. It was established in 1...
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Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India. It was established in 1965, with a total area of 1,412 km2 (545 sq mi), of which 258 km2 (100 sq mi) is fully protected as national park and 1,153 km2 (445 sq mi) as wildlife sanctuary. It is part of the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.

In the 19th century, the rulers of Indian princely states used to invite the British colonists for hunting expeditions. At the end of the 19th century, only about a dozen Asiatic lions were left in India, all of them in the Gir Forest, which was part of the Nawab of Junagarh's private hunting grounds. Today, it is the only area in Asia where Asiatic lions occur and is considered one of the most important protected areas in Asia due to its supported species. The Gir ecosystem with its diverse flora and fauna is protected as a result of the efforts of the government forest department, wildlife activists and NGOs. However, faced with a drastic drop in the lion population in Gir, after British viceroys brought to his attention the plight of the lion in Asia, the sanctuary is the jewel of Gujarat's ecological resources.

There are now thought to be around 700 Asiatic lions in Gir.
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