The translocation of the last existing Asiatic lions from the arid Saurashtra region of Gujarat to an alternative secure location to ensure the survival of the species continues to hang fire.

India has the privilege of having the largest number of big cat varieties in the world with all the tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards. Ironically, the cheetah's extinction coincided with India's independence. Of all these, the Asiatic lion is a large, predatory carnivore which once roamed in many parts of the sub-continent. The Asiatic lions ( Panthera leo persica ) historically ranged from Greece through Iran and right up to India with their dominant presence.

While all other big cats are loners, the lions move in groups called ‘prides'. It is an animal whose size, strength and nobility have earned it credentials with bygone emperors and kings. Over the years, the Asiatic lion has emerged as an important cultural and historical symbol for India and was promptly selected as the emblem of the Government of India. In 1973, the lion was dethroned and replaced by the tiger as the national animal. This downgrading act, however, marked the early stages of its decline and downfall.

Even though the number of lions has gone up to 411 in the 1,400-sq-km Gir National Park in Gujarat, the big cats are caught in a paradoxical situation with innumerable problems tugging on the their tails. Poaching, man–animal conflict, poisoning, flashfloods, drought, disease, inbreeding, victims of road and rail accidents and even excessive tourism is continuously contributing to the conservation controversy.

Presently the tiger has its back to the wall, the snow leopard is barely surviving in its snowy Himalayan abode and the leopard exists in scattered pockets. “All this is happening owing to heavy assaults on the habitats of big cats which are depleting fast due to ingress of massive human activities,” says B.C. Choudhry, a veteran scientist from Wildlife Institute of India.

The opponents and supporters of affirmative action cannot seem to arrive at a consensus for the languishing Asiatic lion in its last lap of battle for survival. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorised the Asiatic lion as "endangered” due to its trapped situation in the Gir sanctuary. In reality, the animals have spilled through the porous Gir national park and spread over the vast terrain of the arid Saurashtra in Gujarat. While some scientists claim it as the animals' bid to reclaim lost land, others vehemently oppose it by saying that they are dispersing because the capacity of Gir is over- saturated.

“The translocation issue has been languishing now for more than 20 years with crores of money spent on the project. The Wildlife Institute of India that started off the project in the early Nineties seems to have lost interest after its problems with the Sariska tiger translocation venture. Moreover, a false branding of the species, known more as the ‘Gir lion' than the ‘Asiatic lion' to the masses, has not helped in the cause to find a second home outside Gujarat. Now only the Supreme Court can resolve this tug of war once and for all when the Apex Court hears the case on July 2. A second viable population outside Gir National Park is a must for the species as now all the lions are precariously located in just one region. A disease outbreak or an epidemic can wipe out the entire population. For example, in 1994, eruption of canine distemper killed 30 per cent of Serengeti lions in Africa and infected 75 per cent of the species,” says Ananda Banerjee, Delhi-based conservation writer and author.

While the heat of the wild lions' translocation debate is rising, a lion safari park in Uttar Pradesh is being finalised at breakneck speed. Located in the Chambal ravines of Etawah district, approximately Rs. 35 crore has been earmarked for the scheme. The motive is double-pronged with conservation and leisure inbuilt into the project. Some scientists, however, allege that the move is only to bury the worry of the wild lions and introduce zoo bred animals into manmade safari park.