Fate unknown
Shyam
Also known as Shyam of Gir · Ram’s Brother
c. 2001 – unknown
Born in Gir forest, Gujarat, India
Shyam was an Asiatic lion of the Gir forest in Gujarat, western India, the brother and lifelong partner of Ram, with whom he formed the most famous pair of lions in Gir. Photographers who visited Gir sought him out as one of the famous siblings.
The Asiatic lion survives in the wild only in and around the Gir forest of Gujarat, India, where fewer than twenty may have remained around the start of the 20th century and more than five hundred lived by 2015. Asiatic males have smaller manes than most African lions and a fold of skin along the belly.
When Ram died of old age in November 2016, a former forest officer told the BBC that, with Shyam getting on in years, it would be very difficult for him to protect their territory alone, and that younger males were likely to take it over soon. What became of Shyam afterwards has not been published.
Profile
Identity
- Name
- ShyamThe name he is best known by
- Nicknames
- Information not available
- Origin of the name
- Given by Gir forest staff
- Sex
- Male
- Distinguishing features
- Asiatic lion
- Weight
- Information not availableFor reference, adult male Asiatic lions usually weigh 160–190 kg
Birth & Family
- Born
- c. 2001Estimated; about the same age as Ram
- Birthplace
- Gir forest, Gujarat, India
- Birth pride
- Information not available
- Father
- Information not available
- Mother
- Information not available
- Siblings
- Ram (brother)
Reign
- Pride king
- Yes, with his brother Ram
- Prides ruled
- A pride in the Gir forest
- Pride size
- Information not available
- Reign
- Many years, until at least 2016
- Ruled with
- His brother Ram
- Coalition
- Ram and Shyam
- Home range
- Gir forest, Gujarat, India
- Territory size
- Information not available
Death
- Died
- Information not availableNot published
- Age at death
- Information not availableAbout 15 in 2016
- Cause of death
- Information not available
- Place of death
- Information not available
- Burial
- Information not available
Names & Meanings
Given by forest staff, paired with Ram; Ram aur Shyam is a Bollywood film.
Family & Lineage
Life Story
- c. 2001
Born in the Gir forest.
- 2000s – 2016
Ruled a territory in Gir with his brother Ram.
- December 2014
Photographed as one of the famous pair.
- November 2016
Ram died; Shyam was left alone, old, and expected to lose the territory.
- After 2016
His fate has not been published.
Legend & Truth
Little known after Ram
News coverage followed Ram’s death but not Shyam’s later life, so his end is unrecorded here.
Photographs
Film
Animation
Sources
- BBC News — Famous Indian lion Ram dies of old age in Gir forest (via WildFact)
- WildFact forum — Ram and Shyam
- WildFact forum — Shyam portrait
Where sources disagree, the most widely reported figure is shown, with other reports noted beneath it.