The Asiatic lion news archive - 2005

Stories relating to the Asiatic lion and updates on the captive breeding programme from 2005.

DATELINE: July 3, 2005
Gir lion drowns in floods

Narendra Nag in New Delhi

The latest victims of the Gujarat floods are the last of the Asiatic lions in the world, all residents of the Gir region.
A dead lion washed up near Droneshwar dam in the state on Friday. Gujarat Chief Wildlife Warden Pradeep Khanna said a post-mortem confirmed the cause of its death as drowning.

This is a stern warning to bureaucrats and politicians, says wildlife activist Ananda Banerjee, adding that the entire lion population of Gir is in danger. (According to the last census, there were 359 lions).

“In India, all the lions are concentrated in Gir. A single epidemic can run through all of them and wipe them out. Steps need to be taken to ensure that the Asiatic lion doesn’t die out,” he pointed out.

Reacting to this, local conservationist and president of the Gir Nature Youth Club Amit Jethava said locals were dead against the “translocation of lions”. “Scientifically, we see no reason to do this.”

Banerjee said efforts to create a second viable population in Kuno, Madhya Pradesh, had failed because of resistance from Gujarat politicians and bureaucrats based mostly on false pride. “They want Gir to be the final resting place of the Asiatic lion,” he said.

Source: Hindustan Times