Two more lions found dead in Gir

SOON THEY WILL BE HISTORY: The killings takes the death toll of Gir lions to 14, since February.

Featured Blog

Rajdeep Sardesai

Maharaj or Dada, Ganguly's legacy lives on

Featured Slideshows

New Delhi: Two more lions were found dead in the Gir sanctuary, Gujarat on Sunday. The incident takes the death toll of the endangered animals to 14, since February. On March 4, the carcass of two lionesses and a cub was found in Babariya range of the sanctuary with their claws and other body parts missing.

However this time, the lions were not killed for their skin or claws the forest officials told CNN-IBN. The carcasses were intact and unlike past incidents were not mutilated. The forest department officials said the lions could have died due to poisoning—possible by the local villagers, out of retaliation.

Police detained a man on Monday in connection with the lion poaching case where six endangered Asiatic Lions were found dead last month.

There is a poaching outbreak in Gir National Park and as per latest reports. It was 15 years ago that the Ministry of Environment and Forests had proposed to translocate a few lions of Gujarat to start a fresh population at Kuno, in Madhya Pradesh. But the people living in and around Gir are not ready to part with their lions.

Left now in scarce numbers, the endangered Asiatic lions are now on the verge of extinction thanks to a negligent and corrupt forest department in India.

There are only 300 asiatic lions left in India today. The Government will have to act soon - or else the epitaph of the Lion may well read - here lies the King of the Jungle, he beat the Tiger in the Race to Extinction.