My Encounter With A Lioness at Gir Forest – Gujarat

A vacation in the forest is the best holiday I can ask for. The calmness of the jungle with musical sounds of chirping birds feels like a jewel in the crown. Coming from the hustle bustle of the city, forests give you a sense of peace and tranquility that is second to none. The safari is an adventure that keeps your heart racing in anticipation of a great sighting which for most is the tiger. The early morning scene of jeeps lining up feels like a 100 meter race to the entry gates of the national parks. The Gir forest is the only forest in Asia which is home to the Asiatic Lion.

For me, the forest is not only about the lions and tigers. Surely they are majestic and spotting them is iconic, but watching birds at work while building their nests is simply amazing. Pretty birds of different colours like the Indian Roller, kingfisher, egret, sunbird, golden oriole, woodpecker is a treat to the eyes. Another great thing to look out for is the monkeys jumping from tree to tree, working as a team with the deer, to warn the animals of the predator’s arrival. Peacocks are the showstoppers of the forest. Spreading their wings and showcasing their happiness while dancing away to glory is a sight to behold.

The Safari at Gir Forest

On the banks of the Hiren river we stayed at the Lion Safari Camp at Sasan Gir. The tents are quite large and ethnic for a very comfortable stay. We went for bird watching in the evening with a guide along the Hiren river. We spotted around 40 species of birds. On the opposite bank a crocodile was basking in the sun. Our heart was racing seeing this gigantic reptile. Our two hour nature walk was a wonderful experience.

Next Morning at 6 am we were off on a safari in Gir Forest. The drive in an open jeep to the gate of the forest is an adventure in itself. It was the last week of December and the chill in the air accompanied by the dry deciduous nature of the forest was very dusty. After a short wait for our guide to complete the formalities we began our hunt to spot the asiatic lions. Believe it or not in less than 5 minutes of our entry four majestic lionesses sat right in the middle of the road blocking our passage.

I was in complete awe of them. The aura and their personality, I felt a chill down my spine. The mix of calmness and the attitude that ‘I am the lord’ was quite stunning. It was still quite dark and our initial vision was just the sparkling green eyes of 4 lionesses. The bodies were barely visible. The sighting seemed like a horror movie. We stayed stationery for a while waiting for the early morning sun. After fifteen minutes the sun rays piercing through the dry trees creating hues of gold was a dream come true for photographers. Surrounded by a dozen jeeps of tourists the lionesses sat un perturbed by our presence. For once we were not the focus of attention and we were only focused and alert on this royal animal. It was almost 45 minutes that the lions had not moved and we were stationery at the same spot.

Then came my moment of glory. Sitting on the left side of the jeep I was busy taking photographs. A lioness got up and started walking towards me. I continued clicking away to capture the walk and the lioness continued to walk. In the next one minute, the lioness was so close to me that I could not take any more photographs. I sat still in the jeep while she came closer and closer to me and sniffed at my camera lens! I could see the fiery eyes and for three seconds our eyes met and that led to fear in mine. But at the same time I felt her calmness so it helped me stay calm and still. After about five minutes she walked behind the jeep and strolled off into the forest. I felt a sense of wow, numb and relief all at the same time.

We moved on. Just half a kilometre ahead we just could not believe our luck. Another great sighting. This time a male lion chilling under a tree. The mane was beautiful just looked like blow dried hair! Again, we halted for half an hour and the lion obliged as if posing for photographs. Then the unimaginable happened. He gave out a massive roar. It was so loud that people way back at our camp also heard it. I felt another chill down my spine. It seemed he was getting irritated with our presence. So the driver wisely decided to move on.

Moving on, we mainly spotted a few Deer and some birds. The rest of the safari was pretty dry and dusty. After almost 3 hours we headed back to the camp to narrate our safari experience to the tourists who were looking forward to their excursion the following day.

Wild life enthusiasts always have lovely experiences to narrate so rest of the evening was a nice gathering where beautiful wild life stories were exchanged around the bon fire with some barbecue. A lovely holiday with great memories of Sasan Gir.