The Maharajas who protected lions
You cannot kill even a small dog in a forest, without the permission of the king who owns the forest. In this week’s ‘Lighter Side’, we narrate stories of two Indian kings who took great care of the wild animals and forests. Also, our new podcast series on ‘India’s Wildlife’ is out. If you love tigers, elephants, rhinos and more - click the button below to get started!
More than a 100 years ago: One evening, a palace glittered in the lights of Bhavnagar (a small kingdom in Gujarat, India). The king - Maharaja Bhavsinhji sat with a group of his friends - princes and kings from neighbouring kingdoms. They were all to wake up early and go hunting in the forests of Bhavnagar, the next morning. One of the princes bravely looked at the Maharaja, as they sat in the dining room, and asked ‘Could I please kill one of your lions? In return, I will let you kill ten tigers in my forests, the next time you visit me.’
The Maharaja shook his head vigorously. He declared ‘not for a 100 tigers, would I let anyone shoot a single lion in my forests’. The prince nodded and respectfully went back to eating. He was somewhat disappointed, yet he had anticipated this answer from the Maharaja. One of his younger brothers, who was sitting next to him whispered to him “Why would anyone protect one lion for a hundred tigers? Is he mad?” The prince whispered “I think he is right. I’ll tell you about what’s happened to the lions here.” As the prince and his brother walked back to their rooms, he narrated the story of what had happened to the lions in neighbouring forests -
“More than 40 years ago, the nearby forests of Sihor had been cut down (under the British rule), to make for a large township. The lions that used to live there lost their land and had nowhere to go. The meandering lions were hunted easily and soon only a handful were left. They roamed from one forest to another in search of safety. This was when Maharaja Bhavsinhji noticed a few nomadic lions entering his thorny forests, in a place called Mitiyala. He knew that the Asiatic lions had become extinct in the rest of Asia, and the last few lived in the forests of Gujarat. He was seeing a handful of them, now sheltering in Mitiyala. He called his forest guards and asked them to keep an eye on the lions. What do you think? Was it right for me to ask if I could kill a lion?”
The young prince’s brother nodded his head slowly as he realised how precious the last few lions were, and wondered aloud ‘I hope he would let me kill an extra few leopards though!’
The next morning when all the other princes woke up and were getting ready to go for the hunt, Maharaja Bhavsinhji was taking his morning walk in his garden. His pugees (the men who tracked pugmarks in his forests) joined him on his walk. They gave him a detailed account of where leopards, tigers, blackbucks (deer) and wild boars had been spotted the previous night. The king chatted with them quickly and decided which part of the forests he should take his friends hunting. He also did a quick calculation of the number of animals that would be safe to hunt & kill. Most kings were careful to ensure that not too many of any one species were killed. The Maharaja soon joined the princes and announced to them all - the exact numbers of what they could kill and what they could not. Not all princes were happy with the limits, but well, they could ride their elephants into the forests and that too made for a great picnic!
Thus saved by this Maharaja, the handful of Asiatic lions of Gujarat managed to survive. They were hardly hunted during British rule, in the forests of Bhavnagar.
There was one more kingdom in the neighbourhood, where the lions had a good friend -
The Maharaja who was in tears, when he left his forests and India
If you look closely at the map below, you will see that very close to Bhavnagar, is another kingdom - called Junagadh. The Nawab (king) of this place was passionate about dogs. He had over 2000 dogs (yes! really!). He threw lavish birthday parties for his dogs and when puppies were born, the whole town would feast. This Nawab was fond of the wildlife in his forests as well. Just like his neighbour - Maharaja Bhavsinh, he too was protective of his lions. He knew that less than 20 lions were left in Asia.
No princes or kings or even British rulers could kill a single animal in the forests owned by the Nawab, without his permission. The villagers in the forests nearby were loyal to their king and also formed a layer of protection for the lions in this region. No poachers could as much as set a single foot into the forest, without their knowledge.
As the story goes, the Nawab protected his lions so well, that at the time of India’s independence the lions had grown in numbers in Junagadh as well. There were nearly 100 lions in Gujarat, by then. However, after India’s independence - this Nawab chose to go to Pakistan (India was divided into countries - India and Pakistan, and different kingdoms joined different countries). When his plane was flying over the forests he owned - the Gir forests - he looked out of the window and wept “Who will take care of my lions now!”
Gir sanctuary is the last refuge of Asiatic lions
Iran, the Arab countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan - have all lost their lions. With no king to protect them, they have been wiped out from these countries. The Asiatic lions cannot be found anywhere else in the world - except for the sanctuaries in Gujarat. We can safely let the Nawab of Junagadh and his descendants know that their lions continue to live happily and freely in the wild forests of Gujarat.
Back to hunting - do you think hunting from the top of an elephant is fun?
All the stories that I have read show that the kings sat on elephants, waited for the tigers to turn up scared in front of them. Then they picked up the guns next to them and shot them. Hardly sounds like an act of bravery to me!
A high-schooler from India (Shambhavi) explains how boring and dull hunting was during British rule. You should hear her narrate the hunting stories! Click on the button below to hear this conversation on hunting.
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