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Shamsi was once more reminded of how vulnerable she and her family are on Friday, June 13 when Israeli missiles started to fall on Tehran.

The 34-year-old Afghan mother of two was working at her sewing job in north Tehran. She ran home to find her daughters, both five and seven, huddled beneath a table in horror as she ran to the office in a state of panic and fear.

Shamsi fled Afghanistan’s Taliban-ruled country last year, hoping that Iran would provide security. Now, undocumented and terrified, she finds herself caught in yet another dangerous situation – this time with no shelter, no status, and no way out.

For security reasons, Shamsi told Al Jazeera that although she had escaped the Taliban, bombs were still pouring down on her and that she had stayed inside. “We were here for safety, but we were unsure of our destination.”

Shamsi, a former activist in Afghanistan, and her husband, a former soldier in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan before the Taliban returned to power in 2021, fled to Iran on a temporary visa, fearful of reprisals from the Taliban over their work. However, they were unable to renew their visas because it required them to leave Iran and travel through Afghanistan, which is likely to be too dangerous.

Iran hasn’t had a pleasant life. Without legal residency, Shamsi has no protection at work, no bank account, and no access to aid. She claimed that Iranians and any other international organizations did not assist them.

It’s difficult to contact family or find information due to Iran’s internet blackouts.

“Without a driver’s licence, we can’t move around. Before Israel began bombing, she claimed that they were able to circumvent restrictions on where they could buy food before it became much harder to do so once the police began to inspect every intersection in Tehran.

About 750, 000 registered Afghans are among Iran’s 3.5 million refugees and people living in refugee-like conditions. But more than 2.6 million are undocumented individuals. Thousands of Afghans, including activists, journalists, former soldiers, and other vulnerable people, have entered Iran seeking refuge since the Taliban’s return to power and the US’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

During the 12-day conflict, many Afghans were repeatedly reminded of their extreme vulnerability: unprotected and unable to access emergency assistance or even reliable information during air raids because the internet was shut down for extended periods of time. The majority of these are undocumented.

While many fled Tehran for the north of Iran, Afghan refugees like Shamsi and her family had nowhere to go.

On June 22, an explosion shook her neighborhood, breaking the apartment’s windows. She said, “I was awake until 3 a.m., and then another explosion woke me up.”

An entire residential apartment was levelled near her building. In order to be prepared if something happens to our building, I prepared a bag with my children’s main items.

Qatar and the US brokered the ceasefire on June 23, which was a great relief, but Shamsi’s family is now almost without money. Her employer, who used to pay her in cash, has left the city and won’t answer her calls. She claimed that “he’s vanished.” He simply said, “You’re an Afghan migrant, get out, out, get out. “When I [previously] requested my unpaid wages.

Conflict costs in terms of human lives.

The 12-day conflict with Israel has sharply reawakened feelings of trauma and displacement for all Afghans trapped in Iran, including those who were forced to flee or those who stayed in their homes.

Furthermore, according to the Iranian health authorities, three Afghan migrants – identified as Hafiz Bostani, Abdulwali and Habibullah Jamshidi – were among the 610 people killed in the recent strikes.

In an Israeli strike on their construction site in Tehran’s Tehranpars neighborhood on June 18, 18-year-old Afghan laborer Abdulwali was killed and several others were hurt. Abdulwali left his studies in Afghanistan about six months ago to work in Iran to provide for his family, according to the victim’s father. In a video widely shared by Abdulwali’s friends, his colleagues at the construction site can be heard calling to him to leave the building as loud explosions echo in the background.

Since the Israeli strikes, there have been no more missing Afghans. Afghani resident of Takhar province in Afghanistan Akimi claimed to have been in Iran for four days without communication from three of his grandsons. “They were stuck inside a construction site in central Tehran with no food”, he said.

He explained that when they heard the sound of bombs, they retreated to the basement of the still-unfinished apartment building. The nearby shops were shut down, and their Iranian employers have since fled the city without paying their wages.

Even if they have survived, he added, they are undocumented. According to Hakimi, “if they get out, the police will deport them.”

From one danger zone to another

UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett urged all parties to ensure the safety of Afghan migrants in Iran during the conflict, citing immediate humanitarian measures and serious risks.

Laila Forugh Mohammadi, an activist from Afghanistan who currently resides outside the country, is using social media to spread awareness about Iran’s precarious situation. “People can’t move, can’t speak”, she said. The majority of them lack legal documentation, which puts them in danger of even being able to recover unpaid wages from frightened employers.

She also pointed out that there is no government organization supporting Afghans in the midst of the Iran-Israel conflict. “There’s no bureaucracy to process their situation. For the safety of our country’s citizens, we feared an increase in the violence between Iran and Israel, she said.

In the end, those who were able to leave Iran’s most hazardous areas largely did so with the aid of Afghan organizations.

The Afghan Women Activists ‘ Coordinating Body (AWACB), part of the European Organisation for Integration, helped hundreds of women – many of whom fled the Taliban because of their activist work – and their families to flee. They retreated to safer cities like Mashhad in the northeast of the nation from high-risk locations like Tehran, Isfahan, and Qom, which are sites of significant nuclear installations that Israel and the US both targeted. In addition, the group assisted in facilitating phone calls to Afghan families during Iran’s ongoing internet blackouts.

“Our capacity is limited. Before the ceasefire, Dr. Patoni Teichmann, the group’s founder, told Al Jazeera, “We can only support official members of AWACB.” Out of our current 450 members, 103 women have been evacuated, the majority of whom are Afghan women’s rights activists and protesters who gathered against the women’s education ban and fled Afghanistan.

I’m unable to return to the Taliban.

Despite the dangers and difficulties they might face there, some chose to return despite Iran’s recent plans to deport up to two million undocumented Afghans during the 12-day conflict.

World Vision Afghanistan reported that, throughout the 12-day war, approximately 7, 000 Afghans were crossing daily from Iran into Afghanistan via the Islam Qala border in Herat. According to field representative Mark Cal, “People are arriving with only the clothes on their backs.” They are “traumatized, perplexed, and returning to a nation that is still experiencing economic and social collapse.”

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has voiced grave concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation for Afghans in Iran, adding that it is monitoring reports that people are on the move within Iran and that some are leaving for neighbouring countries.

Tensions continue to rise even as Israeli strikes come to an end, and Afghan refugees are expected to emigrate from Iran.

There is, however, no place left for many.

Back in northern Tehran, Shamsi sits beside her daughter watching an Iranian news channel. She softly replies, “We came here for safety.” When asked what she would do if things get worse, Shamsi says, “I’ll stay here with my family.” I can’t go back to the Taliban”.

In response to rising hostility over a phone call with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, thousands of protesters have gathered in Thailand’s capital to demand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s resignation.

Demonstrators stormed the streets on Saturday, angered by a conversation on June 15 where Paetongtarn warned the current Cambodian Senate president, who still has a lot of influence in his country, to ignore “the other side,” including a resolute Thai army general who she said “just wants to look cool.”

One Cambodian soldier was killed last month in a border clash that the army commander was in charge of. Following an armed brawl in a contentious area, the man was killed on May 28.

The leaked phone call between Hun Sen and Paetongtarn was the catalyst for the protest on Saturday.

As they occupied parts of Bangkok’s central district’s streets near the Victory Monument, protesters carried national flags and signs. Speakers from across the country chanted their love for Thailand during a large stage set up at the monument in response to the country’s escalating border dispute.

According to Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, who is based in Bangkok, “It seems like this is going to be a pretty well-attended rally, definitely with a loud voice… Lots of speeches, lots of whistles, lots of noise, all of which are urging Prime Minister Paetongtarn to step down.” They claim that this exchange has undermined Thailand, undermined the military, and that it places her in a difficult position.

Many of the protest’s main figures were well-known Yellow Shirts members, whose clothing color indicates devotion to the Thai monarchy. They are close friends with Hun Sen, Paetongtarn’s father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who reportedly has a close relationship with him.

The issue then is who would take Paetongtarn’s place as prime minister, according to Cheng, according to the political scientists we’ve been speaking to about the past few days.

Hun Sen addresses supporters.

Hun Sen in Cambodia on Saturday made the promise to defend the country’s borders from foreign invaders and condemned what he called a Thai force’s attack on the country’s soil last month.

Hun Sen claimed that the Thai army’s engagement with Cambodian forces was against the law at a 74th anniversary celebration marking the establishment of his long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

Despite Cambodia’s goodwill in attempting to resolve the border issue, he claimed the skirmish inside Cambodian territory was a serious violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Cambodia’s poor country has experienced foreign invasion, war, genocide, isolation, and isolation, but it has now come out on top like other nations. We have no politics or hostile stance toward any nation, according to Hun Sen, who addressed thousands of party members at the gathering in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. We also need peace, friendship, cooperation, and development.

Territorial disputes between the nations have a long history. A 1962 International Court of Justice decision that granted Cambodia the disputed territory where the site of the famous Preah Vihear temple is still raging still piqued Thailand’s concern. In 2011 there were sporadic but serious clashes. When Yingluck became prime minister in 2013, the UN court’s decision was reaffirmed.

The scandal has caused Paetongtarn’s fragile coalition government to collapse, leaving her party’s main partner, the Bhumjaithai Party, without its assistance.

With 255 seats, just above the majority of the 500-seat house, Bhumjaithai’s departure gave way to the 10-party coalition.

The Constitutional Court and the country’s anticorruption agency are also conducting inquiries into Paetongtarn. Her actions could result in her being removed from office.

The Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s secretary-general, Sarote Phuengrampan, announced on Wednesday that his organization is looking into Paetongtarn for a serious ethical issue related to the Hun Sen phone call. He did not provide a potential decision-making timeline.

According to reports, the Constitutional Court has the authority to appoint Paetongtarn to his position while the investigation is pending, and it may make a decision as early as the following week. The prime minister stated on Tuesday that she is confident in her assertions and is prepared to provide evidence to back up her claim.

She said, “It was obvious from the phone call that I had nothing to gain from it, and I also didn’t harm the country.”

At the conclusion of two weeks, all-white outfits, lush green courts, strawberries and cream, and champion trophies that glitter.

As the Wimbledon Championships 2025 begin on Monday, players and fans are getting ready for a week of eager tennis action.

What you need to know about the tournament, from top players to peculiar quirks:

When will the Wimbledon 2025 finals begin?

The men’s and women’s singles first-round matches of the championships will take place on Monday, June 30. The Grand Slam men’s and women’s singles matches will take place on the following dates:

• From June 30 to July 7 in the first round
• July 8 and 9, quarterfinals
• Semifinals for women’s singles on July 10th.
• Semifinals for men’s singles on July 11th.
• Final women’s singles match on July 12th.
• Final men’s singles match on July 13th.

What is SW19 and where is Wimbledon played?

The All England Lawn Tennis and Club (AELTC), located southwest of London, in the United Kingdom, hosts the third and oldest tennis Grand Slam of the year, which is the only one that is played on grass.

The location’s postcode, SW19 5AG, has also been abbreviated to SW19.

The town is covered in purple and green hues during the two weeks of the main tournament matches, with tennis-themed merchandise available in stores, cafes, and restaurants.

Who will win Wimbledon in 2025 as favorite?

Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time champion, is favorite to defend his title following victories at this year’s French Open and Queen’s Club Championship, a London pre-Wimbledon competition that is regarded as a rehearsal for the Slam.

Jannik Sinner, the world’s number one, is still unworthy of the Wimbledon trophy, but his success has made him Spain’s main competitor in the last two years with victories at two of the last three Slams.

Aryna Sabalenka, the world no. 1, may not have reached a final, but she has dominated the women’s rankings since October 2024 and has competed in the Grand Slam finals three times. After losing in Roland-Garros, the Belarusian will be looking to add Wimbledon to her list of majors titles, which she won in 2024.

Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion and most successful grass-court player, has experienced a rapid rise in the women’s rankings over the past few weeks. Vandrusova won the title at the Berlin Open after defeating Madison Keys, Ons Jabeur, and Sabalenka. The 25-year-old will be the one to watch in 2025, despite the Czech player’s surprise victory at Wimbledon in 2023.

The top seeds are who?

Men’s:

1. Jannik Sinner
2. Carlos Alcaraz
3. Alexander Zverev
4. Jack Draper
5. Taylor Fritz
6. Novak Djokovic
7. Lorenzo Musetti
8. Holger Rune
9. Daniil Medvedev
10. Ben Shelton

Women’s:

1. Aryna Sabalenka
2. Coco Gauff
3. Jessica Pegula
4. Jasmine Paolini
5. Qinwen Zheng
6. Madison Keys
7. Mirra Andreeva
8. Iga Swiatek
9. Paula Badosa
10. Emma Navarro

Does Wimbledon have a dress code for both players and spectators?

Yes . When entering a game on the court, all players are required to wear white, not cream or off-white. A player’s caps, headbands, and wristbands must also be entirely white, along with white clothing and shoes. Additionally, male players must wear a completely white underwear. On practice courts, the organizers are more tolerant of colorful attire.

The spectators are encouraged to wear smart clothing while watching games on Court Number One or the Centre Court, despite the absence of a strict dress code.

A smart-dressed person must be present to watch a game from the Royal Box.

When celebrities and dignitaries descend on the courts in recent days, the championship is frequently regarded as an unofficial fashion showpiece.

What has changed since Wimbledon 2025?

The tournament has switched from on-court line judges to live electronic calling, similar to the US Open and Australian Open.

The 80 former officials, according to the organizers, will work as match assistants this year, with two on each court offering support to the umpire and providing backup if the electronic system fails.

What is “strawberries and cream” and why is Wimbledon renowned for it?

Wimbledon serves its visitors with a special delicacy called strawberries and cream, in stark contrast to the various fast food options available at international sports stadiums.

The SW19 specialty is a combination of juicy red British strawberries dipped in fresh cream, which is a true Wimbledon novelty.

During the course of the championship, the organisers claim that at least 7, 000 litres (1, 850 gallons) of cream and 28, 000 kg (62, 000lb) of strawberries, which were grown specifically for the tournament at a farm in Kent, are consumed.

Who has the most championships at Wimbledon?

Martina Navratilova, a legendary Czech tennis player, has won eight women’s singles titles and four mixed doubles titles between 1976 and 2003, an astounding total of 20 total.

Roger Federer of Switzerland, who is frequently regarded as the best men’s grass-court player, has won eight Wimbledon titles between 2003 and 2017.

How do I sign up for the Wimbledon 2025 line-up or to purchase tickets?

The Wimbledon public ballot, which is held in the final months of the year, is the most straightforward way for fans to purchase Wimbledon tickets.

Fans can join the infamous Wimbledon queue on the day of the tournament to purchase tickets for the two weeks of the competition.

The queue winds its way around Church Road and into the public parks directly opposite the venue, starting at the metal gates of the AELTC grounds.

Fans wait until late in the evening for entry to the tournament’s grounds, which can include tickets for one of the main show courts or entry to the tournament’s grounds. The long hours are spent watching the scores online or snoozing while in the queue, and snacks and drinks are shared.

The organizers claim that once the capacity limit is reached, entry is only possible as people leave. “Tickets are sold on a best available, one per person queuing basis, and are non-transferable,” the organizers claim.

What is the Wimbledon 2025 prize money?

In an effort to relieve players’ pressure to take a larger share of Grand Slam profits, the tournament’s prize money has increased by 7% to a record pot of $72.6 million.

A main draw spot will be worth at least $89, 683, up 10%, while the men’s and women’s singles titles will each receive $ 4.08m, an increase of more than 11 percent over the same period in 2024.

How can Wimbledon 2025 be followed live?

More than 220 countries around the world will receive satellite, terrestrial, and digital broadcasts of the tournament.

With its extensive live text and photo commentary stream, Al Jazeera Sport will be covering the men’s and women’s singles finals.

a day or so more advanced. twitter.com/0fyL0ntM0p

About 60 military commanders who were killed in Israeli attacks are being held in Iran for state funerals, with thousands attending the ceremony in Tehran’s capital.

The ceremony, which started at 8am (04:30 GMT) on Saturday, showed footage of people waving Iranian flags, wearing black, and holding images of the slain heads of the Revolutionary Guard, other top commanders, and nuclear scientists.

Coffins draped in Iranian flags and depicting portraits of the fallen commanders in uniform were seen in images from central Tehran.

Last weekend, the United States launched strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, joining its allies Israel’s 12-day battle with Iran.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, downplayed the US strikes, accusing Trump of “exaggerating events in unusual ways,” and rejecting US claims that Iran’s nuclear program had been delayed by decades. Both Israel and Iran made the claim that they had won.

As the crowds chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” the bodies of the Guard’s chief general, General Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard’s ballistic missile program, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and others were being driven on trucks along the capital’s Azadi Street.

On the opening day of the conflict, which Israel claimed was intended to end Iran’s nuclear program, Salami and Hajizadeh were both killed.

In addition to the deaths of Mohammad Bagheri, a major-general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a top nuclear scientist, were also at the forefront of Israeli attacks.

The ceremony on Saturday featured four women and four children, according to Iranian state television, which was the first public funeral for top commanders since the ceasefire.

To allow public servants to attend the ceremonies, authorities shut down government buildings.

Word war

The state funeral comes a day after Khamenei attacked US President Donald Trump for making the claim in a video that Iran has won the war on his Truth Social platform.

Trump added that he would not allow Israel, the US Armed Forces, or Hamenei to “terminate his life” and that he “EXACTLY knew where he (Khamenei) was sheltered.

He claimed to have been working on the possible lifting of Iranian sanctions in recent days, but Khamenei’s comments led him to drop that claim.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to Trump’s criticism of the situation on Saturday by saying, “President Trump should put the disrespectful and unacceptable tone toward Iran’s Supreme Leader aside.”

Araghchi’s comments were described as “a most anticipated reaction” to Trump’s social media posts, according to Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, who is based in Tehran.

While the majority of Iranians view him as primarily a religious leader, the Iranian government says that he is simply the head of state, not the military leader, as the constitution teaches.

In Shia political theology, Serdar also referred to Khamenei’s position as being a divine role above the surface.

We are aware that a sizable number of Shia seek his guidance, Serdar said, not just in Iran but all over the world. Anyone who is aware of this would be very cautious when criticizing him in public and especially when discrediting him for lying would be careful.

No plans for nuclear talks

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, was not immediately visible in the funeral broadcast.

Khamenei, who hasn’t made a public appearance since the war’s start, has in the past held funeral services over fallen commanders’ bodies before the ceremony’s public viewing, which later aired on state television.

Israel claimed that it had hit eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military installations during the 12 days leading up to the ceasefire, killing 11 nuclear scientists and 30 Iranian commanders.

More than 550 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel by Iran, the majority of which were intercepted, but those that passed through, according to Israeli figures, caused damage in many areas and resulted in the death of 28 people.

At least 627 civilians were killed in the Israeli-led attacks on Iran, according to Tehran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education.

Refugee children have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

Sameer tells Al Jazeera, “Scenes of those things that I witnessed had a very bad effect on me and still I remember it makes me angry.”

According to research conducted on children who are refugees, there are generally more emotional disorders than in non-refugee children.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was 23% (one in four) in refugee children, 16% (one in six), and 14% (one in 7) in depression, according to a study.

Trickey points out that trauma keeps you in a very high state of alert. And I believe that those without refugee status experience a persistent fear of being taken back to where they fled.

Trickey adds that not all children experience trauma in the same way.

Not how big of an event was, but rather what you made of it, which is a more significant risk factor and a predictor of PTSD. You worried, did you? Did you anticipate a death?

And different kinds of children will find frightening things. Some people will actually go through the worst things and appear to be unaffected, and they will do just fine. Some people will appear to be doing well before developing what we might refer to as latent vulnerability. And that’s when they experience difficulties later in life.

Ventevogel tells Al Jazeera that often younger children experience issues with withdrawal because they can’t express their feelings in words, such as when a child withdraws, stops playing with other children, or shows in play that something is wrong because the child acts inappropriately.

Although Ventevogel claims that it’s not diagnostic, it might indicate that something deeper exists.

Trickey relates how a boy he was working with described what he was going through by comparing his brain to a waste paper bin full of “scrunched-up pieces of paper” representing “all the bad things” he had been through during a trauma-focused therapy session.

They fall in front of my eyes as I walk to school, they say. They also fall into my dreams when I lie down and go to sleep,” the boy said. However, we remove them from the trash when I come over to see you and clean them. After that, we carefully read them through, carefully fold them, and then place them back in the recycling bin. However, the neat arrangement of the folded pieces means that I have more room to think about other things because they don’t fall out the top.

Results of Gujarat’s first lion population estimate since 2020 were released on May 21 by the forest department of the western Indian state of Gujarat. According to the census, India’s wild lion population – exclusively concentrated in Gujarat – has risen by 32 percent over the past five years to 891 lions.

Since the establishment of the Gir National Park and Sanctuary in 1965, India’s efforts to protect lions have long been focused on Gujarat’s Gir forest and its environs. Today, lions have dispersed and established separate satellite populations outside the Gir region and are found in 11 districts in Gujarat.

However, the census recorded more lions for the first time in Gir’s nine satellite populations (497) than the core population (394) across nine satellite populations. These include three new populations in neighbouring districts of Gir, including the Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, areas around Jetpur city, and areas around Babra and Jasdan towns — all in Gujarat.

In line with the state and central governments, which have also argued in favor of developing and managing Barda to house more lions, the census report has designated Gujarat’s Barda Wildlife Sanctuary as a “second home” for the big cat. Indeed, that is one of the primary goals of the 29, 277 million Indian rupee ($341m) Project Lion conservation programme announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in March.

Experts question whether India is doing enough to reduce human-animal conflict and ensure the animal’s long-term conservation. The rising number of lions, however, masks the challenges facing the species’ future. On June 25, a lion mauled a five-year-old boy to death in Gujarat’s Amreli district, after dragging the child away from a farm.

We break down the key findings from the census and discuss the crucial battles that lie ahead for India’s big cats.

The lions were counted in what way?

As per the Gujarat Forest Department, the lion population estimation was conducted over two 24-hour recording schedules from May 11-13. The state’s lion landscape was divided into 735 sampling regions, with each enumerated by an enumerator and two assistant enumerators. Lions were located and photographed with digital cameras, and cross-verified with adjacent sampling regions to avoid duplication, according to the report.

However, Yadvendradev Jhala, a specialist on big cat conservation and former employee of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), cautioned that “double counting” cannot be excluded, and that some lions may have been missed “due to the time constraint” imposed by the two-day exercise.

Ravi Chellam, a veteran wildlife biologist involved with lion conservation since 1985, questioned the logic of a methodology that required field staff to stay alert for 24 hours on two consecutive days. One can picture the field staff’s reduced level of concentration and fatigue, he said. “I find it difficult to believe that reliable and accurate data can be collected with such an approach”.

There are more reliable and robust scientific methods, such as combining lion photographs with whisker patterns, similar to those found in human fingerprints, to identify individual lions, according to both experts.

Still, Jhala said that the actual count is likely not very different from the census number.

What’s behind the sharp rise in lion numbers?

According to experts, the Gujarat state government’s policies and the lions’ adaptability have contributed to the population’s success.

According to Jhala, lions will continue to expand their population as long as there is food and cover available, and the animals aren’t attacked. He claimed that there is food for both feral cattle and livestock as well as dead carcasses for scavenging.

The Gujarat government’s “compensation for livestock loss is almost near market value and is revised regularly to reflect current market rates”, Jhala said. This has allowed humans and lions to coexist together ever more.

Meanwhile, the new census shows that the coastal Gujarat district of Bhavnagar and adjacent areas along the state’s coast – far from the dry deciduous habitats of Gir – are now home to 212 lions. According to Jhala, the invasive Prosopis juliflora species (a kind of mesquite) along the coast provide “refuge for lions throughout the day and they can come out at night to feed in agropastoral landscapes.”

Gujarat can host how many more lions?

Since 2010, Gujarat’s lion population has more than doubled, and their territorial range has increased by 75 percent, from 20, 000 to 35, 000 square kilometres (7, 700 to 13, 500 square miles). Only 250sq km of the area are exclusive to lions, and only 1800sq km of that area is protected.

According to the census, 45 percent of lions recorded were found in non-forested areas such as wastelands, agricultural lands and near human habitats.

They run the risk of getting electrocuted, falling into open wells, being hit by heavy vehicles and trains, and also contracting infections, according to Chellam. He pointed out that lions have been regularly documented in unusual locations such as the terraces of homes, in the basement parking lots of hotels, and on busy highways.

According to Chellam, “the region as a whole has far exceeded its carrying capacity.” He says it’s not sensible to have an “increasing lion population in what are essentially human habitations”.

Jhala concured. “The question is: How much are people willing to tolerate a large carnivore in their neighbourhood”?

What effect will Gujarat’s population experience as soaring lions?

According to a human-lion conflict study in the Conservation Biology journal published in November, there has been a 10 percent annual increase in the number of villages in Gujarat reporting livestock attacks and a 15 percent increase in livestock killed per year.

Data from 2012 to 2017 are used in the paper. Jhala, who a co-author of the study, anticipates growing human-lion conflict.

He claimed that living with a large carnivore is difficult. “You learn that you can’t let your kids roam around in the fields at night, that you need to clear the vegetation near your huts, that going out for defecation in the field during twilight hours is to be prevented, that you need walled corrals for your livestock”.

Chellam concurred. “While the increase in the number of lions is viewed by many, and especially the government, as a positive sign, the reality is that more and more lions are risking themselves as well as the lives of tens of thousands of people”, he said. There have been numerous instances of lions being harassed, and there is an increasing trend of lion attacks on people.

Is Barda a ‘ second home ‘ for the lion?

According to the census report, the Barda Wildlife Sanctuary’s range has an established lion population (17) for the first time since 1879. While the Gujarat government pitches Barda as a “second home” for lions, Chellam and Jhala say its small size and proximity to Gir mean that it fails the test of what qualifies as a geographically distinct habitat that can sustain a “second” lion population.

Because they are close to Gir, the satellite population in Barda qualifies as a range expansion for lions, but it cannot be regarded as a separate population.

“The whole point in translocating lions to establish a ‘ second ‘ free-ranging population is to ensure geographical isolation, to mitigate the risks of having the entire population of an endangered species at a single site”, Chellam explained.

Compared to Gir’s 1,400 square kilometers of core protected area, Barda is 100 kilometers away and only 200 square kilometers in size. “It]Barda] is a small area with a very low-density prey population. He continued, “It is ineligible to have a viable population of lions.”

“The risks are numerous and include cyclones, floods, forest fires, disease outbreaks, political decisions, droughts, poaching, violence and wars”.

Why aren’t lions being moved outside Gujarat?

Conservationists have been piqued by this query, which has even frustrated the Indian Supreme Court.

In April 2013, the country’s top court ordered the Gujarat state government to translocate a few Asiatic lions to Kuno National Park in the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh within six months to create a geographically separate, free-ranging lion population. The ideal setting for lions was Kuno, which has large tracts of forests and grasslands as its ideal prey.

Though the Gujarat government assured the top court that it would comply with the order, 12 years later, the order is still to be implemented, and neither the federal nor the state government has faced any consequences. It is “very disappointing to see the impunity that the Gujarati government and the Indian government have been operating in the relocation of lions to Kuno,” Chellam said.

According to Jhala, it is also a failure on the part of wildlife biologists and conservationists. Without the government, conservation is impossible. I think biologists have failed in convincing the government that Kuno is an ideal place to have a second home for lions”, Jhala said.

Cheetahs haven’t moved to Kuno, yet?

On September 17, 2022, eight Southeast African Cheetahs were flown in from Namibia to Kuno National Park as part of India’s efforts to reintroduce the cheetah to the country. In India, in 1952, the cheetahs had previously become extinct.

However, the introduction of cheetahs to Kuno set off a debate over whether that would impede plans to also move lions to the Madhya Pradesh reserve.

Lions and cheetahs could easily coexist in Kuno, according to Jhala, who spearheaded the 2022 plan to reintroduce the animals to India.

“In no way do cheetahs prevent lions from going there. They would perform better than cheetahs because lions love them because of the scenery and prey base in Kuno, he claimed.

Bringing in lions could also be helpful for cheetahs, Jhala added. With 22 leopards per 100 km2, Kono has one of the highest leopard densities in the world. Leopards pose more of a predatory threat to cheetahs, lions can help reduce leopard density as they prey on leopards, especially the young ones.

Chellam, however, questioned the cheetah reintroduction plan’s intentions because it was “more likely to continue stall and delay the transfer of lions to Kuno” as opposed to protect cheetahs.

Like Jhala, Chellam said that lions would do well in Kuno. “Lions are very resilient and hardy animals. If the translocation is planned and carried out carefully, there is no reason for the lions not to thrive in Kuno”.

What will the big cat do next?

“It]lions in Gujarat] is a wonderful conservation story”, Jhala said. However, there are many things that can be done as a species for the lion. Forget about Kuno, we should try and establish lion populations across its historical range, within and outside of India”. The last of Asia’s lions outside of India were shot and killed in Iran in the 1940s as part of the old range of lions that stretched from Persia to eastern India.

The current concentration of lions in just Gujarat, Chellam said, was a “ticking time bomb”.