THE LAST WILDERNESS . Gir National Forest

Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat.

DAY 1

I was nervously anticipating my early morning drive and made sure all the gear was ready, specially the camera battery , you don't want to run put of power when you most need it. This was my normal routine every time I was planning to head into the mountains but this was special. This was a once in a lifetime trip and now I had the right tools for the job at hand.

Got up at 5:00 and was heading out the door when i saw the Jeep drive in. I was expecting some more people to come with me but apparently this was going to be a personalized tour of the Park, having forked out 200 Canadian for a single trip was I delighted. We First headed to the main office where I had to pay for the driver and the Guide and get all the permits sorted out so I could take my camera gear with me. After securing all the permits we headed out and the first thing the driver did was to stop for some Chai, only one place was open this early in the morning so they quickly had their Jolt of Chai and we were on our way to the Park Gate.

The Park Doors open at 6:00 sharp so we head to present all our permits to the Guard and wait .

It was still too dark to take any pictures when we started the but the early morning mist was refreshing to say the list, the last few days had been sweltering and all wildlife were probably enjoying this as much as I was.We got to see some wildlife but nothing too exciting , as soon as the Mist lifted the Jungle started to come alive and it was teaming with wildlife , you just needed an eye for it.

The first photograph I took was of a spotted owlet and they looked so cute , staring at me with the big eyes.

Moving on and we started seeing all the different types of deer in Gir, the Sambar deer , Spotted Deer, Blue Bull and the Langur monkeys which live in large groups with one Big male and a herum of females . Countless Birds also call the Gir a home, the Peacock being the king of them all.A beautiful bird for sure with the amazing plumage.

About an hour and a half into the drive and no sign of lions I was getting a little worried that we might not find any . I had been told by a few people that it was very hard to find these majestic beasts in the Park and not to be disappointed if i didn't get a chance to see them.

The Guide then received a call from a fellow guide in another Jeep that they had spotted a lioness with cubs on the Trail we were on and that we should hurry . The driver asked me to hang on tight and started driving fast , we got to the spot and were told we had just missed them, she had just taken the Cubs deeper into the forest. I was really disappointed that the one chance we had was lost. Just then the Guide asked the driver to stop the car and he was looking at the prints left behind by the Lioness and the cubs , he looked at me and told me he might know where she is taking them. The Driver started back up the trail and we stopped at a place where there was a small opening in the Forest, the driver looked at me and asked me to get ready , we waited for about 20 minutes and did he deliver ,got these amazing shots of the Lioness and Cubs Up close. She was beautiful and the Cubs where just too cute.We maybe got a minute with her but it had to be one of best experiences I had in India.

I was fortunate enough to see and Photograph the Indian Jackal out on his morning stroll .

Among the many species living here, the Asiatic lion is surely the most treasured of all and the Gir Forest National park is the only place in the world where these rare lions have survived. A breeding programme was set up and so far succeeded in bringing forward some 180 lions. An April 2016 count placed the number of lions at 523. Kudos to the Gujarati’s working hard to achieve this goal.

This is all possible because of the locals the Maldharis and there reverence for this majestic animal, they are a simple folk that live of the land and are cattle herders, they have known the importance of the lions to the ecosystem and have co-existed with them for 100's if not 1000's of years. An interesting point from a conservation stand point that I noted,

If the lions killed one of their cattle they would not retaliate against the lions and would take it as a blessing, this is coming from a group of people that understand coexistence and importance of the lions to the ecosystem. I am sure if this happened in North America, it would be a shoot to kill policy. Unfortunately this happens to the Wolves, Black and Grizzly bears way to often . I hope someday we can all coexist and share this planet with the all the residents like the Maldharis do.

The Park is also home to Leopards,which we had a glimpse of, they are a very shy animal and he did not hang around long enough .

More to Follow.................Can't wait to share the photos of the Majestic Lion.