Asiatic lions Panthera leo persica, once confined to the 1,883 km2 Gir Protected Area in Gujarat, India, have in the past 2 decades colonized the adjacent Girnar forest, coastal scrub and agro-pastoral areas covering c. 10,000 km2. In May 2008 the Government of Gujarat declared 180 km2 of the sacred Girnar forests a Wildlife Sanctuary. We obtained data on location, age, gender and group composition of lions in Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary from opportunistic sightings during March–May 2008 and from systematic surveys in April 2008 (six surveys of 3–4 days each), totalling 81 lions on 40 occasions. Of the 81 sightings 43% were in the recruitment age group. Adult sex ratio was 0.87 males : 1 female. In the systematic survey we made 26 sightings of nine individuals, identified from their vibrissae patterns and permanent body markings, and used these for population estimation using a capture–recapture analysis. The population estimate using the best fit null model Mo was 10 ± SE 1.2 giving an adult lion density of 5.6 ± SE 0.7 per 100 km2. Population viability analysis emphasized the importance of immigrants for the persistence of this small population. One immigrant in 2 years reduced the probability of extinction by 16%. Conservation of the habitat matrix to the south-east of the Sanctuary, used as a corridor for movement between Girnar and Gir, by declaring it an eco-sensitive zone would facilitate the long-term survival of the Girnar lion population.

Approximately 300 Asiatic lions Panthera leo persica are confined to the 1,883 km2 Gir forests in Gujarat, western India. To establish a second home for the Asiatic lion in its former range, Kuno Wildlife Division (1,280 km2, with a core 345 km2 Sanctuary) has been identified in Madhya Pradesh. To assess whether the Sanctuary has sufficient wild ungulates to support a population of lions 17 transects totaling 461 km were surveyed over an area of 280 km2 in early 2005. The density of potential ungulate prey was 13 animals km−2. There are also c. 2,500 feral cattle, left behind by translocated villagers; the cattle are considered to be buffer prey in case droughts adversely affect the populations of wild ungulates. Control of poaching, moving of two villages, grassland management and building a rubble wall around the Division to keep out livestock would lead to a substantial rise in the population of ungulates (to c. 20 animals km−2) by the end of 2007. This density would support the first group of five lions (three females and two males) due to be reintroduced in the beginning of 2008. Even if all the three females raise cubs there will be sufficient wild prey by the end of 2009 to support the males, females and cubs.