Intheearlypost-dawnpeace,arustleofleaves
betrayslifeintheshadyforest.Isitasambar
deeroramonkey?Perhapsaporcupine?Then
aquartetofhoney-huedcreaturesslinkintothe
clearingbeforethethreesmallestbreakoto
tumble,nipandswipe:lioncubs,supervisedby
theirausteremother.
Thoughtheclassicimageofalionhasthis
magniicentpredatorstalkingtheEastAfrican
savannah,itsorientalcousinstillsurvivesinIndia- just.OncerangingfromTurkeyacrossnorthern
India,bytheearly20thcenturytheAsiaticlion
wasrestrictedtoGirForestinGujarat,north-west
India.Today,populationestimatesrangefrom
350 to650;certainly,theseendangeredfelines
aren’tnumerous.Butyouhaveaprettygood
chanceofspottingtheminthedrydeciduous
forests,scrubandgrasslandsofGirNationalPark,
hometomostofthesurvivinglions,alongside
boar,nilgai(bluebull),chital,junglecatsand
leopards,plusdiversebirdspeciessuchas
theorientalmagpie-robinandAsianparadise
lycatcher.Watchforthemalelion’smane,slightly
lessexpansivethanitsAfricanequivalent,andthe
characteristicfoldofskinalongitsbelly.
Toptips:Aprilisaswelteringmonthtovisit,but
goodforlionsightings,particularlywhenthe
sunstartstorise.AlsovisittheLittleRannof
Kutchtospotwildass,andVelavadartoadmire
spiral-hornedblackbuckandvariedbirdlife.
Alsotry:OkavangoDelta,Botswana;South
LuangwaNationalPark,Zambia;KrugerNational
Parkandadjacentreserves,SouthAfrica;Hwange
NationalPark,Zimbabwe.117
WHEN?
TraveltoIndia
betweenOctober
andMarchtoavoid
themonsoonandthe
worstoftheheat.Theclassic:EncountertheMarshPrideintheMasaiMaraNatureReserve,Kenya
Thealternative:TrackAsiaticlionsinGirNationalPark,Gujarat,India
Naturepl
ALTERNATIVE SECRET WILDLIFE EXPERIENCES
wanderlust.co.uk October 2019 105