28 Lions Died in Gir in 2004-05

9 February, 2006

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28 Lions Died in Gir in 2004-05

09 Feb. 2006

The Gujarat government has admitted that 28 lions died between October 2004 and September 30, 2005.

Of these, two were poisoned.

The state’s additional principal chief conservator of forests Pradeep Khanna in a report to Union ministry of environment and forest, has blamed lack of incentives to field personnel, backlog of vacancies and lack of promotional avenues for these deaths.

Last year forest guards had caught three persons who later admitted having killed lions for their claws. Similarly, villagers admitted having poisoned two lions to avenge the killing of their livestock. Five lions, says the report, died by falling into rivers, dams or open wells, while 21 died of old age.

The report comes in the midst of a debate on whether the Gir grassland is shrinking. A proposal for shifting some of the lions to MP is under debate. Khanna notes that the protected areas of Gir Paniya, Mitiyala and the forest areas of Gir sanctuary and national park covered about1,882.38 sq kilometers. The last census conducted in June last year had recorded 359 Asiatic lions in Gir.

Experts have argued that dense vegetation in Gir, which was originally a grassland, was becoming hostile for the lion, forcing the beast to stray into human settlements.

But Khanna’s report is mainly about human resources. He writes, "There is need of additional frontline field staff for managing the high-density population of large carnivores, which is a 24 hour job. Such additional human resource would facilitate efficient working hours.’’