Gir Wildlife sanctuary is the land of lions which give a eerie feeling to the visitors that they are entering into someone else’s territory. The major attraction of Gir is that it is the only place housing wild lions, next only to Africa. Apart from lions, one can also take out time to explore wildlife at Gir that includes the birds, crocodiles and other wild animals.
In places like Gir, one cannot assure of being on their own in spite of mankind being advanced and ruling the world all over. The Maldhari tribes coexist with wild life at Gir. They survive by grazing their cattle in the forest and harvest a tiny portion of the land as and when required. A sizeable portion of their livestock is offered to the Lions as “prasad” as an exchange for letting to live in others’ homeland.
Teak wood trees comprise more than half of the forest land which is abundant with high ridges, valleys and grassland plateaus. River Hiran flows throughout the year which is the main source of water for all the evergreen trees in this forest.
Sambhar, Chaisingha, Chinkara are some of the deer specieis found in western part of Gir Wildlife Sanctuary. The Blackbuck, a protected species of antelope, which is regarded as endangered species also lives in Gir. But most of the population of Blackbucks are found in Velavadar National Park (near Bhavnagar). Wild cats of various species are seldom seen as they hide themselves in larger stone caves. But while on a safari ride organised by the Forest Department, if lucky, one can view numerous wild life habitats roaming freely.
Other wildlife in Gir includes the leopards, rusty spotted cat, wild boars, African hyena and hanuman langur monkeys. Some of the predator and birds in this forest can seldom be seen but often heard chirping from bushy tree tops.