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The Asiatic lion news archive - 2007
DATELINE: March 10, 2007
Fingers point to the complicity of locals
Nature lovers and wildlife officers say last week’s killing of three Asiatic lions is the most barbarous of such acts in the history of the Gir reserve. This is not the first time that Gir, a reserve spread across 1,412 square km, has witnessed such a crime in living memory. In September 2005, three lion carcasses — including two burnt ones — were recovered. Even then, the latest act has managed to shock everyone out of complacence.
Ramesh Raval, former Wildlife Warden of Junagadh, says, “This is the most shocking incident of poaching that has been reported during my life. Gir authorities have been talking nonsense and shirking responsibilities. Whether done at night or day, such systematic killing could not have gone unnoticed. The forest office is nearby and hundreds of vehicles pass through the adjacent state highway.”
He explains further: “There were no signs of blood at the spot. The poachers have cut the skin very carefully to rip off the claws, bones and skull. This would have taken about four hours or so — it usually does. Inexperienced people cannot do this.”
PN Roy Choudhury, principal secretary at the environment and forests department of the Gujarat government, also suspects a play by experienced local hands. “A handful of outsiders with no knowledge of Gir or the movements of the big cats cannot do such a thing. Poachers may have enjoyed some sort of guidance, support or shelter from the locals. A lot of planning must have been involved in the killing — on the how, where and when,” he says.
Though Roy Choudhury assures that the guilty would “not be spared” and meted out “strict punishment”, he may not be able to force his will. According to the Union environment and forests ministry, half the posts for forest officers around the country are lying vacant, and the average age of those in office is more than 50 years.
“It is not a question of how many foresters, including officials, you have,” counters Roy Choudhury. “The important thing is how efficient these officers are, how well-equipped they are, and how good is their network in and outside the sanctuary.” Going by recent history, there is not much reason to be assured on these counts, too.
However, RL Meena, conservator of forests in the Kutch district of Gujarat, guards his own flock. The 48-year-old officer says: “Only experienced and committed men ought to hold these highly responsible positions. They must have a striking personality. People should be in awe of the forest officers. Only then will they think twice before shirking from their main duties and indulging in malpractice.”
Incidentally, it was Meena who had first unearthed a racket of lion poachers in Gir in the mid-1990s. Even then, he was transferred after serving two and a half years in the east division. But Bharat Pathak, the current conservator of forests at Junagadh, remains in charge since 6 August 2000 despite the two gruesome incidents that have been reported during his tenure.
“The three lions were killed only 500 metres from the Babariya range post, where a number of guards are supposed to be on duty round the clock,” says Amit B. Jethava, president of the Gir Nature Youth Club. “Such a thing cannot be possible without the support of some forest officials. Pathak, along with some supervisors, ought to be suspended immediately.”
“Lions also keep dying at regular intervals by falling into Gir’s wells with no parapets,” says Jethava. These open wells — and there are just too many in and outside Gir — are death traps for the cubs in particular. Jethava raises a serious question: “When the lions inside the sanctuary are not safe, what to say of the others that roam outside in unprotected areas?”
After all, at last count, there were only 359 of them alive.
Source: The Hindustan Times
http://www.hindustantimes.in/news/181_1948737,0004.htm
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