Asiatic Lion Information Centre

The Asiatic lion news archive - 2005

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

DATELINE: October 25, 2005
Wells, fences are Gir lion's new enemies

Himanshu Kaushik
Times News Network

DHARI (AMRELI DIST): Bhikharbhai Bhimabhai's field is located 10 km from the Jasadhar outpost of the Gir forest. Conspicuous in the middle of the harvested field is an open well. Often, lions stray past his field. But Bhikhabhai brushes off the regal saunter as 'routine', unfazed by the fact that his well could turn into a grave for the beast.

Since August this year, after the June census recorded 359 lions, at least nine lions have died, some under suspicious circumstances. Wells like these are traps for the unsuspecting Asiatic lions who fall into them and end up either maimed or dead. Last summer, nearly eight lions and leopards were rescued from such wells.

Bhikharbhai does not want to spend Rs 5,000 on building a parapet wall. Worse still, villages bordering the forest are using wire-fencing, sometimes electrified. There have been instances of these wild cats dying by electrocution. These fences are camouflaged by thick cacti to fool forest guards. A resident of Dalkhaniya village says, "Usually, the cacti fence is enough to deter the lion, but sometimes they try crashing into it.

So when we see a group of lions straying in the area, we pass electric current in those wires." For these villagers, the lion is a threat to their livestock. Dhulabhai Ramji, who has his field on the Jasadhar-Una road, says, "Last year, when there were incidents of lion falling into wells, I had covered mine with a fishing net."

However, the damaged net would hardly hold the heavy-bodied lion, in case it stumbled. A senior government officer says the law provides for penal action against those harming this protected species, but so far no cases had been registered. Saurashtra is an arid zone and people were compelled to dig wells, which they abandon after they ran dry.

Besides, in the area outside the forest, there are over 1,000 wells (15 feet wide and 15 feet deep). "In a field at least one can fix responsibility, but who is accountable for an unattended well," asks this officer. Deputy conservator of forest SP Sisodiya says, "As all these wells are in the revenue area, all that the collectorate has to do is cover them."

Conservator of forest Bharat Pathak says, "This is a costly affair. We have covered about 600 wells in west Gir and many still remain open. We have written to the state and Central governments to allocate funds for covering wells." Pathak says forest officials have taken up a campaign to educate the villagers about the danger of electrifying fences and this has had some impact.