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India is the last home for several endangered species of flora and fauna and several enthusiasts regularly visit India only to get a glimpse of these species. One such threatened specie found in India is the Asiatic Lion. The Asiatic lion, which was once seen across the Asian continent, is now found only in the forests of Gir National Park in the western region of India. The Pride of Gir The Gir National Park, India is situated in the western state of Gujarat and covers an area of 1412.13 sq.kms. Due to extensive game hunting, the Asiatic lions were almost vanished from India. However, then Nawab of the erstwhile princely state of Junagadh realized the threat the lions faced and initiated massive conservation efforts. The Gir National Park came into existence in 1965 and since then has been the last refuge for the royal Asiatic lions. Today, the park is home to almost 359 Asiatic lions. Gir is fortunate to have as many as seven perennial rivers that flow through the forest. Gir does not have very dense forest and mainly consists of dry deciduous, thorny and scrub types of vegetation with teak being a major plant present in the forest. Apart from the Asiatic lions, the other major wildlife of Gir National Park, India includes a healthy population of leopards, wild cats, hyenas, desert cat and ratel. Gir is considered as one of the best places to sight the shy and elusive leopard. Gir provides a great treat for the birdwatchers as it consists of about 300 species of birds. There are about 37 species of reptiles found in the park. One of the major features of Gir is the Interpretation zone created in Devalia. The prime reason for the creation of Devalia is to reduce the tourism pressure on Gir as well as encourage ecotourism. Since the Gir National Park does not constitute of the demarcation of tourism zone and core zone, it is necessary to curb disturbances extensively. The Devalia zone is a small are, which comprises of a few lions along with some herbivores. This allows the tourists to observe the behavior of the lions without disturbing the forest. Gir National Park, India is the last home for the Asiatic lions and hence has great significance in the country.
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