Herbivores census completed in Gir forest

The 2013 census to assess the number of herbivores in the natural habitat of the Gir National Park and Sanctuary in Gujarat was conducted by state forest department, a senior officer said today.
Deputy Conservator of Forest (Gir) Sandeep Kumar told PTI that the two-day exercise covered eight categories including spotted deer, sambar, blue bull, four-horned antelope, Indian gazelles, wild boar, langoor, and peacock.
"The census was completed last night and collected data is being analysed before announcing the exact figure of herbivores", Kumar said.
The census 2012 had pegged the number of herbivores in Gir National Park and Sanctuary, which is home to more than 411 Asiatic lions, at 69,000, he said.

This annual exercise is conducted to get an idea of the prey base and monitoring of the habitat of herbivores in Gir forest, he said.
The officer said that 19 teams of officials were put on the job and they carried out the exercise by identifying as many divisions in the protected forest spread over 1412 sqkm.