The Asiatic lion news archive - 2000

Stories relating to the Asiatic lion and updates on the captive breeding programme from 2000.

DATELINE : June 6th 2000
No buffalo baits during lion census

AHMEDABAD: On the eve of lion census in the Gir National Park and surrounding areas, the state government announced on Tuesday that it would not be using buffaloes as bait for the lion count.

A government spokesman said the decision had been taken following a public interest litigation filed in the high court and also opposition from Union minister for social welfare Maneka Gandhi, who has advocated the use of other methods for the census.

The use of baits had evoked an outcry from animal lovers, including the Union minister and Animal Welfare Board of India chairman Justice G.M. Lodha.

Nearly 2,000 personnel, including forest officials, NGOs and resource persons, have been entrusted with the task of carrying out the census, last carried out in 1995, when the lion population stood at 304. Forest department sources said they expected the count to touch 320 this year.

The first phase, known as the waterhole census, will last two days and will involve keeping a watch over 470 waterholes. After a day's rest, the ``bait census'' was to have been carried out over three days, wherein buffaloes were to be used to attract the lions to a pre- determined spot for a count.

About 200 male buffaloes were procured by the department at Rs 800 per head. However, officials have called off the operation following press reports and a public outcry that many of these baits would get killed.

Chief conservator of forests G.A. Patel had already clarified that the baits would only be ``shown'' to the lions and not allowed to be killed. While several other experts had called this method ``outdated'', Patel maintained that it was the most efficient, time-tested method known for carrying out such a census.

There is also some controversy over the forest department's move to keep the media out of the census area. Doubts have also been raised over the fact that experts from the Wild Life Institute of India will not take part in the census as invitations were extended to them very late.

Simultaneously, the population of panthers will be counted through the pug-mark technique, while ungulates (deer, sambhar, etc) have already been counted by a method called ``road transact'', a few days ago.

An army of piggies, men who specialise in tracking the pug- marks of animals, will be involved in the exercise.

Source : The Times News Service.