In a unusual development, authorities in Gujarat have captured 18 male endangered Asiatic lions of the Gir sanctuary in pursuit of a man eater among them which is suspected to have killed three men.
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JA Khan, Gujarat’s top forest official, said that over the past two months the lions had been “arrested” and were being detained in separate cages while tests were carried out.
Speaking to the BBC, Wildlife expert Ruchi Dave said the “tests” involved studying the pug marks and faecal matter of the lions. And authorities think they’re getting closer to closing the case.
Six assaults on people have already been reported recently near the refuge, the only habitat of the Asiatic lion.
Wildlife experts argue that the spike in the number of human deaths is due to the sanctuary’s inability to accommodate its growing lion population, which now numbers 523.
The culprit once found guilty, will then be sentenced to life imprisonment in a zoo and the innocent lions will be returned to the Gir National forest.
The decrease in forest area has led to an increase in man-animal conflict in recent years and species on both sides lose life as part of the conflict.
Around 400 Asiatic lions are left in the wild and this is the only population outside Africa.
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This development comes after the Supreme Court ordered the state to transfer some of its lion population to other states.
