The Last of the Asiatic Lions
First it was the tigers in Rajasthan, and now its the turn of what's left of the Asiatic lion, a subspecies of the once upon a time was found from Greece to Central India. The lions in India began to disappear way in the the early 1900s. Hunting was, of course, rampant. But the bulk of the population suffered due to a backlash of a severe drought that hit the western part of the country. So severe was the problem that the lions took to hunting humans and that brought them in direct fire. It is said that the census counts for 1910 was a few dozen lions, though that could be a complete underestimation.
The last refuge for the Asiatic lion is the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park that covers about 1000 sq.km. and the number of lions is estimated at about 300 individuals.
The first incident was a small report in the Times of India onthe 1st of April about the death of an adult lion and a cub. Though the deaths were put down as "natural causes", there is room for doubt. After all, I don't think the government would be too keen on extending the true cause for death. The next day another report told the public about an arrest of a poacher, and the news of the 3rd of April was the arrest of another 3.
Poaching of the lions began more than a month ago, but it came under the limelight only when the arrests were made. About 9 lions have died since early February this year. Considering the numbers of lions is so low, this could pronounce the doom for this subspecies, the only surviving population being in the little pocket of Gir.
The boundaries of Gir have no protection, and it has taken the death of a lot of wildlife in the area for the Gujarat government to wake up. Though arrests have been made and the extra forces deployed, it could be expected that it would take the unwarranted death of a few more lions and other wildlife for someone with the power to do something to wake up and smell the possible disappearance of another animal from this country.
Technorati tags:
Asiatic lion, 
critically endangered species, 
poaching
The last refuge for the Asiatic lion is the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park that covers about 1000 sq.km. and the number of lions is estimated at about 300 individuals.
The first incident was a small report in the Times of India onthe 1st of April about the death of an adult lion and a cub. Though the deaths were put down as "natural causes", there is room for doubt. After all, I don't think the government would be too keen on extending the true cause for death. The next day another report told the public about an arrest of a poacher, and the news of the 3rd of April was the arrest of another 3.
Poaching of the lions began more than a month ago, but it came under the limelight only when the arrests were made. About 9 lions have died since early February this year. Considering the numbers of lions is so low, this could pronounce the doom for this subspecies, the only surviving population being in the little pocket of Gir.
The boundaries of Gir have no protection, and it has taken the death of a lot of wildlife in the area for the Gujarat government to wake up. Though arrests have been made and the extra forces deployed, it could be expected that it would take the unwarranted death of a few more lions and other wildlife for someone with the power to do something to wake up and smell the possible disappearance of another animal from this country.
Technorati tags:
Asiatic lion, critically endangered species, poaching
posted by Sharmishta at 7:11 PM
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