"The lion is much bolder, more fearless of man and less cunning than the tiger and so is much more easily shot. This explains the disappearance of the noble animals from all its other Indian haunts whilst the tiger manages to maintain its numbers."

He was dead right. By 1893 estimates suggest that there were no more than 18 lions left. It is from this tiny pool that all the Asiatic lions alive today emerged. At the turn of the century, there was a terrible drought and the Asiatic lions took a beating.

Around that time, the Nawabs of the relatively small state of Junagadh came to the rescue of the cats. Aware that the lion was facing certain extinction, they stopped all shooting in the area long before India achieved Independence. As long ago as 1929, Nawab Sir Mahabat Khanji of Junagadh released a series of Gir lion postage stamps making the lion the first animal to be thus represented in Indian philately.

After years of sliding inexorably towards extinction, luck finally favoured the lions. When the British chose to partition India, the Nawab opted to take his tiny state to shikar-hungry Pakistan, where despite his best efforts he would have lost the battle to save the animals he lived to protect. But as the predominantly Hindu population objected to this plan, the Nawab was forced into exile. But he had already done his bit for the lion.

In the post-Independence years, when Jawaharlal Nehru -- egged on by conservationists such as K S Dharmakumarsinhji of Bhavnagar, and the indomitable Dr Salim Ali -- recognised the imminent threat to the lion, he threw the weight of his office behind the efforts to save the lion.

Eventually, on September 18, 1965 Gir was formally declared a Forest Reserve. What is now the central core was later declared a National Park in 1974. Then, in 1978, still more land was added to enhance the size and thus the security of this fast-shrinking habitat.

The fine bungalow at Sasan, where the forest rest house and the headquarters of the Gir Lion Sanctuary are located, was actually the place from where most lion hunts were launched. Today this is the nerve centre from where a protective umbrella is spread over an unique eco-system, that supports over 450 plant species, 32 mammals, 310 birds, 24 reptiles and over 2,000 insects.

History still communicates with visitors who enter the lion's domain at Gir. Several old temples, such as the Kankai Mata and Tulsi Shyam hot springs, harbour abandoned relics from bygone days. Pilgrims still visit these temples with the same fervour as they did hundreds of years ago.

Till recently there were 130 settlements of a unique clan of graziers called Maldharis who lived cheek by jowl with the lions together with their famous Gir cattle -- buffaloes and goats. They are an intrinsic part of the history of Gir and most naturalists through the ages have acknowledged that few people know the lions better than the Maldharis. In fact most elderly Maldharis will tell you that they used to look upon the lions as their protectors as roving gangs of bandits would give their habitations the go by, for fear of the lions. Over the years, however, the Maldhari community has had to suffer many hardships and their children most often opt for life away from the rigours of the forest.

Maldharis are also being offered incentives to move out of the Gir forest, closer to markets, but these efforts are hampered by the lack of fodder at alternative sites and a lack of unanimity within their own community about the advisability of moving. The fact is that areas around the nesses are now increasingly becoming deforested because of the changing lifestyles of the Maldharis. Thus such relocation may actually turn out to be critical to the survival of the cats.

One tragic consequence of the breakdown of the relationship between the lions and the Maldharis at one level, and the Forest Staff at another, is poisoning lions to retaliate for cattle kills. Perhaps the solution lies in the outward migration of these simple, and very charismatic people. In all probability a certain number of nesses could easily be supported by the habitat with little or no impact on the lions. In such a situation, however, it would be necessary to compensate owners for livestock that have been predated upon by the lions to prevent any chance of retaliation.

Gir owes its existence to the protection given to the lion. If not for the lions, the forest would have suffered the same fate as the surrounding areas, which have succumbed to a combination of the plough, axe and poachers guns and traps.

One very real benefit that Gir has been able to deliver to the thousands of people living downstream of the forest is that while the rest of Saurashtra suffers crippling droughts, these villagers find their wells generously recharged and their small water sources pure and full. Ironically, the spectre of drought is a constant threat to Gir itself as deforestation in the upper catchments of the rivers that pass through it, leads to water shortages. If such waterholes and rivers are not quickly regenerated, the lions will be forced to move to less protected areas, where they are vulnerable to poaching and where conflicts with humans is a tragic and forgone conclusion. During a particularly bad year in 1987 as many as 40 attacks on humans by lions were recorded, though generally, this figure is less than 10.

To contain the problem the forest department has advised the government of Gujarat to ensure that:
No human interference or cattle grazing are allowed within the core area. All vehicles passing through the reserve should be subjected to checkpoint inspections at five km intervals.

Special officers be allotted to look after particular prides.