Coastal lions mainly depend on wild prey, not domestic animals
Study on coastal Asiatic lions in Gujarat finds wild prey remains the dominant food source, challenging the assumption that lions outside Gir depend mainly on livestock.
- The study analysed lion scat from coastal districts and examined prey composition in the diet of Asiatic lions.
- Wild prey was the main dietary source for coastal lions, with nilgai and wild pigs providing most of the wild-prey biomass.
- Gujarat’s coastal landscape can support more than 100 Asiatic lions.
A peer-reviewed study on Asiatic lions in Gujarat’s coastal belt has challenged the assumption that lions living outside the Gir Protected Area depend mainly on domestic livestock. The finding matters for UPSC because it links wildlife ecology, coastal habitat management, and human-wildlife conflict in one current conservation issue.
What happened
The study, published in the journal Conservation, analysed 160 lion scat samples collected during March and April 2024 from coastal districts including Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli, Bhavnagar and Porbandar.
UPSC can frame Asiatic lions in coastal Gujarat as a wildlife-conservation question on how prey availability, habitat fragmentation, and coexistence with livestock shape the spread of Asiatic lions beyond the Gir Protected Area. The question can also test the role of coastal ecosystems in supporting large carnivores and the policy challenge of reducing livestock loss while protecting wild prey corridors.
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