Because the solar rises over the Arabian Sea, waves roll in throughout the sands of Gujarat’s Saurashtra coast. Amongst early morning fishermen and seabirds, an sudden determine sometimes emerges — not a seaside stray canine, not a vacationer, however a lion. Its large paws press deep into the moist sand earlier than it disappears into the close by scrub.

This scene is not any tall story. It’s a fast-changing actuality in Gujarat, the place a rising variety of the state’s jungle royals — the Asiatic lions — are making the shoreline their residence.

As soon as discovered solely within the dense forests of Gir, these lions have begun to assert new floor. The most recent census in 2025 data 891 Asiatic lions throughout India, together with 134 dwelling alongside the coast — 25 on the south-western stretch, 94 on the south-eastern, and 15 close to Bhavnagar.

It’s not nearly wandering. Many lions have began to settle in these coastal belts, thriving in habitats as soon as thought unsuitable for them.

In 2023, Indian Forest Officer Parveen Kaswan shared a video of a lion strolling calmly alongside a seaside — a sight that caught the web’s creativeness however mirrored what locals had already begun seeing first-hand.

When #Narnia appears to be like actual. A lion king captured having fun with tides of Arabian Sea on Gujarat coast. Courtesy: CCF, Junagadh. pic.twitter.com/tE9mTIPHuL

— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) October 1, 2023

Roaring past Gir 

Nonetheless, this shift didn’t occur in a single day. The primary lion close to the shoreline was recorded in 1995. By 2020,100 lions have been dwelling close to the shore. Simply 5 years later, that quantity has risen by 34% — clear proof that the coast is now not a passing cease, however a brand new frontier.

The state’s general lion inhabitants tells a fair greater story of restoration — from barely 10 lions in 1913 to almost 9 hundred at the moment. For a species that when teetered on extinction, this progress marks a century-long comeback.

The 2025 census additionally highlights that lions are more and more transferring past protected forests, with 507 now dwelling exterior core sanctuaries in comparison with 384 inside. This enlargement into non-forest landscapes — farms, scrublands, and now seashores — factors to a formidable adaptability formed by a long time of safety and coexistence efforts.

In November 2022, researchers from Gujarat’s forest division launched findings from the primary research of coastal Asiatic lions. Between 2019 and 2021, researchers fitted 10 lions with GPS radio collars to watch their motion patterns.

Whereas lions in Gir usually cowl a median residence vary of 33.8 sq km, their coastal cousins roam a lot additional — 171.8 sq km on common. Apparently, feminine lions in these areas are proving to be the true wanderers: grownup females have been recorded protecting 214.8 sq km, in comparison with 193.9 sq km for males. 

On the identical time, new sanctuaries close to the coast are rising as steady habitats. The Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, positioned simply 15 km from the ocean, now homes 17 lions, together with breeding females. Conservationists take into account it a promising “second residence” for the species — an indication that coastal habitats are turning from transitional zones into everlasting territories.

Why are lions transferring towards the coast?

1. Area in Gir is operating out: Gir Nationwide Park and adjoining reserves are nearing their carrying capability. Younger males, unable to seek out house throughout the core, transfer out searching for new territories — and the coast provides a frontier with fewer rivals.

2. The coast provides meals and luxury: Many coastal areas nonetheless supply enough prey — similar to wild boars and blue bulls (nilgai) — in addition to appropriate habitat options like scrub, bushes, and agricultural edges that lions can adapt to. 

“The lions on the Gujarat coast are usually not solely getting an satisfactory prey base but additionally have a temperature that fits them. The ocean breeze retains the warmth in verify,” defined  HS Singh, Nationwide Board for Wildlife member.

3. Land shortage and encroachment: With landscapes evolving and human presence spreading, lions are discovering new methods to adapt. Coastal areas, although completely different from their conventional forest properties, are providing recent floor and alternative for enlargement. 

Successful story with sharp edges

Whereas the enlargement is a conservation milestone, it additionally brings challenges:

Human-lion battle: As lions stray into unprotected zones, they generally prey on livestock, prompting retaliatory measures from farmers. 

Hazards exterior protected areas: Open wells, practice traces, and busy roads pose dangers for lions that roam past forest safety. With out authorized shelter, rescue and monitoring grow to be harder.

Counting them precisely isn’t straightforward: Consultants notice that cubs and nomadic teams typically go undercounted. In open landscapes just like the coast, monitoring actions is way extra complicated than contained in the forest.

Trying ahead

The presence of lions on Gujarat’s seashores tells a narrative of survival and adaptation — a century of safety that has allowed the species to reclaim house and thrive.

But it surely additionally alerts a brand new chapter that may take a look at how properly folks and wildlife can coexist when their worlds overlap.

Going ahead, the problem lies not solely in retaining numbers rising however in guaranteeing security — for the lions and for the communities dwelling alongside them.
Which means strengthening rapid-response groups, securing open wells, and dealing with native herders and fishers whose lands now share this new frontier.

If dealt with with care, the sight of a lion’s paw print within the sand may sooner or later symbolise not intrusion, however resilience — proof that coexistence by the ocean is feasible.

Sources:

‘Dangerous information in good? Lion depend up 32% at 891, however 57% off protected forests’: by Jumana Shah for India At present, Printed on 21 Might 2025.

‘Gujarat: The bizarre lion sightings on India’s seashores’: by Roxy Gagdekar Chhara for BBC, Printed on 11 July 2022.

‘Gujarat’s Gir lions are loving coastal life like true seaside infants, with inhabitants leaping from 10 in 2015 to 134 in simply 10 years’: by The Financial Occasions, Printed on 29 September 2025.

‘Asiatic lion census raises Gujarat forest dept’s anxiousness as they transfer in unprotected zones’: by Gujarat Samachar, Printed on 7 April 2025.