Sasan Gir National Park is spread around an area of 1412 square kilometers. The forests and grasslands of Gir are known to be the last stronghold of Asiatic Lions and support a variety of plant and animal species. The region was protected in the early 1900s by the Nawab of the Princely state of Junagarh who used the forests as the hunting grounds. As a result the lion population plummeted to a mere 15 lions around the time when India won its Independence from the British raj.