Persuade Gujarat for second home to endangered lions: experts

New Delhi, Apr 15 (UNI) The recent deaths of highly endangered Asiatic lions in the Gir forest of Gujarat have once again attracted attention to the long-pending demand for diversifying their population, with wildlife experts calling for renewed efforts to make Gujarat agree for a second home for the majestic animals.

Gir, which has the last wild population of Asiatic lions, can prove to be their mass grave if any epidemic or natural and man-made disaster hits the National Park.

Noted wildlife experts PK Sen and Pushpraj Singh told UNI that it was necessary to develop a second population of the lions to avoid inbreeding and achieve genetic diversity to make the species more resistant to diseases and epidemics.

Mr Sen said NGOs must come forward to develop public pressure on the Gujarat Government to agree to the plan for shifting of a few lions to the proposed home in the Kuno Palampur Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

However, the plan got stuck because the Gujarat government was reluctant to part with the lions, as they gave a distinctive place to the state from tourism point of view, a fact which also generated public sentimenmts against the shifting.

They find pride in the fact that the species had disappeared from its entire original range in South West Asia, including adjoining parts of Europe where it once was found in good numbers, and their state was the only place where the beautiful and majestic animals roam.

Mr Sen and experts in the Central Zoo Authority point out that wild population of more than 300 Asiatic Lions was derived from over a dozen individuals and thus was highly inbred. According to various studies, continued inbreeding in captivity makes the lions susceptible to many diseases and to infertility.

There are also several other factors that pose threat to survival of Gir lions. Despite heavy protection, incidents of poaching have been happening, as the Gir forest is surounded by human habitation. Moreover, the 350-odd lions find the space crunch due to encroaching human habitation, and they migrate to unprotected framlands coming in conflict with man.

The Madhya Pradesh government has assisted in relocation and rehabilitation of about 24 small villages which chose to move to areas away from the core area of the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary on a voluntary basis.

Kuno has good forest and water resources but it needs to increase its prey base for the survival of the shifted lions.

Mr Sen says, the Gujarat government, which was obviously under public pressure not to part with the lions, and the people both should see reason and agree to shift the lions to a second home in Madhya Pradesh.

Mr Pushpraj Singh said Kuno was an ideal place for making a home for the Asiatic lions.

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