THIS IS GIR

CONSERVATION EFFORTS AND THE SUPPORT OF LOCAL RESIDENTS HAVE LED TO A STEADY GROWTH OF THE LION POPULATION

- NANDINI OZA

It was a chilly winter morning and strong winds were expected. As I hopped into an open jeep and trundled into the woods, I was anxious, curious and excited. After all, it is not often that you have a date with the king of the jungle.

Earlier, the manager of the Asiatic Lion Lodge in Sasan Gir, where I was put up, suggested that we do not bathe before the safari. I did not listen. Much later, when I was literally out in the cold, I realised he had a point. Thankfully, I had listened to the instructions about woollen wear and the need for covering our heads and ears. We left the lodge at the crack of dawn. It was a 6kmdrive to Sinh Sadan, from where the journey into the wild would begin. The manager of the lodge completed the formalities at Sinh Sadan on our behalf and an open jeep arrived. I called shotgun and gleefully claimed the seat. The jeep held half a dozen people, including a forest guard, Ghanshyam Baria.

The driver, a local resident, drove slowly on one of the 13 designated safari routes. We had chosen the first safari of the day, the best time to spot lions. The Gir National Park offers three safaris, two in the morning and one late in the afternoon. As the jeep trudged on, Baria softly asked us to look to the left. “A lioness and two cubs,” he said. We did not see them immediately, but then the first rays of sun illuminated the deciduous forest and them. The cubs were playing, but the lioness was evidently unhappy with the call of the crows.