Asiatic Lions are found only in Gir Forests of Gujarat. They have been marked as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of threatened species. The approximate population of the lions is between 300 - 400.
In Gir Sanctuary went for Jeep Safari in an open jeep and we could see some birds flying around. We spotted pride of Asiatic Lions in a small open area in the forest.
They are very similar to the African lion in physical size and appearance, though they are somewhat smaller. The height at the shoulders is approximately 3.5 ft The mane of the male lions is short, sparse and darker in color.
The fur ranges in color from ruddy tawny, heavily speckled with black, to sandy or buff-grey. They have a very unique longitudinal fold of skin that runs along their belly.
They live in prides, that include only two to five females each. The different jeeps in the Safari take different predefined routes inside the forest. We were one of the few lucky ones who could spot the lions in our route.
This sanctuary is located at a distance of 43 km of Somnath, 65 km of Junagadh. Established in 1965 it covers a total area of 545 sq miles out of which 100 sq miles is protected area. It is a deciduous forest interspersed with semi-evergreen and evergreen flora, grasslands and rocky hills.
It has lot of water bodies spread across all over the park. It is the only abode of Asiatic lions on the last count they were approximately 523 in numbers. It was once the hunting grounds of the Nawabs of Junagadh until it was declared as protected area in 1900 by Nawab Sir Muhammad Rasul Khanji Babi. Before being declared as protected area the count of lion had come down to as low as 20.
Apart from the lion other wild life found in this forest are leopard, deer, four horned antelope, Jackal, Striped Hyena, Jungle and Rusty-spotted cat, Langur, Porcupine, marsh crocodile.
The forest is known to have around 250 species of birds. Rare species such as Lesser Florican and the Sarus Crane are seen in the grasslands of the sanctuary.
We reached this place from Diu around 10 in the morning. We had to wait in the queue to get tickets for the jeep Safari to go around the forest. There are lot of online sites where one can book the safari, but it is difficult to identify the genuine sites. Hence we booked the tickets for safari in person. More on this soon.
A trip to Orissa state has been in the waiting for a long time now. And finally it happened over the last week. The week long tour of the state with the family is a memorable experience. We started from Bangalore on a Friday morning by flight to Bhubaneshwar the state capital.
On our landing at the new place, hot weather welcomed us. But when we stepped out of restaurant after lunch we were greeted by rain. So the entire trip we had a climate which was hot at times and rainy or cloudy otherwise. On day one, we visited Udaygiri and Khandgiri Jain heritage and then moved to Puri.
At Puri on day two, we visited famous Jaganath Temple among other places. The visit to the beach was enjoyed by the kids most. The we proceeded to biggest lake in India, Chilka Lake. We spent more than 3 hours in the lake which is known for migratory birds.
On day three we visited World famous Konark Temple. The Ancient World Heritage Site is beauty. Every corner of the temple speaks volumes. From Konark we moved to little known places such as Buddhist Site Kurma and ancient temple at Chaurasi.
On day four, we left Puri to Bhubaneshwar via Buddhist site Dahuli. At Bhuwaneshwar we visited world famous Lingaraj Temple and many other ancient temples. The old area of the city has many of these temples.
On day five, we left this city to Kendrapara our next destination which is close to Bhuddist triangle Udaygiri, Ratangiri and Lalitgiri. It was pretty late in the day, but we still managed to see all the places here.
On day six, we visited wildlife sanctuary Bhitarkanika. The place is famous for salt water crocodiles and migratory birds. We were lucky to spot at least few of them even in the off season. From this place we traveled back to Cuttack.
On day seven, we did the local site seeing at Cuttack covering temples, museum, fort. Then on our way back to Bhubaneshwar we visited the Nadankanan zoo.
On day eight, we were on train back to Bangalore. Thus the short trip of Orissa with family was memorable for all as it had something for everyone like heritage monuments, museum, temples, wildlife, lake, beaches, birds.
We shall soon explore these places in more detail.
At a distance of 24 kms from Khajuraho is Ken Gharial Sanctuary situated at the confluence of the Ken and the Khudar rivers. The river passes through areas which is rich in 3 varieties of stones like Bauxite, Granite and Lime. 
The Sanctuary gets its name from the Gharial, the very rare species of crocodiles. They are characterized by their exceedingly elongated and unbelievably slender snouts. Unfortunately we missed the Gharials as we were late in spite of reaching the place before 9:30 a.m. In the sanctuary they come out of the river and stay on the rocky river bed during early mornings usually.
One can also see here beautiful Raneh Water Falls.
There are several National Parks in Madhya Pradesh. Prominent among them are: Kanha National Park, Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhav National Park. Since it is required minimum 1 day time to enjoy the wildlife, landscape we had not planned our time for the park in this trip.
Madhav National Park established in 1958 is 156 sq. km in area. This park is open through out the year. The forest here is dry forest across the hilly region and flat grasslands around the lakes. The animals most seen in the park are Deer, nilgai, Sambar, Antelope, Blackbuck, Leopard, Langur. Apart from these there are other animals like Tiger, Heyna are also present here.
We got a glimpse of wildlife while boating in the lake on the edge of National Park. The above shot is taken while boat is moving.
Tiger is India's national animal. But sadly it is becoming endangered because, it is poached for its body parts to cater to an illegal market. Another reason is habitat loss due to depletion of forest cover due to interference of humans and encroachment of forest land by people causing fragmentation. Famous Bengal tiger is already declared as endangered species.
By conserving and saving tigers the entire wilderness of ecosystem is conserved. Conserving wilderness is important and crucial to maintain the life support system. Today approximately 1400 tigers are surviving in India. There are several Tiger Reserves in India but man's greed even crosses those boundaries. Please join Save our Tiger initiative.
Above snap of tiger is taken at Bannerghatta National Park. This park is at a distance of around 21 kms from Bangalore city.
