No breakthrough in Gir lions' killings probe

Ahmedabad, March 6 Forest officials in the Gir National Park Tuesday reported no major breakthrough in the killing of three endangered lions.

Poachers killed two lionesses and a cub inside the protected area of the Gir sanctuary and ripped their claws and bones off them last week, forest department officials said Monday in Gir, 350 km from here.

Following the discovery of the mutilated carcasses, several trains were searched for the lions' claws and 11 people were rounded up in the Gir forest area for unlawful entry into protected area.

The officials said this was the first time that a killing had happened within the protected area, though there have been instances of lions being poisoned or electrocuted in areas around the sanctuary.

Chief conservator of forest (wildlife) Bharat Pathak said: 'This seems to be the work of professional hunters, not locals.'

The carcasses were found on the Babaria-Una road, which passes through the Gir sanctuary and is open to visitors all day, on March 3 and the killings may have occurred on March 1, the officials said.

The forest department set up a special investigation team to probe the killings, and the chief wildlife warden of Gujarat has declared Rs.50,000 in reward for any information that could lead to the poachers.

The Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (also known as Sasan-Gir) is the sole home of the pure Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica). Measuring about 258 km for the fully protected area (the National Park) and 1,153 km for the sanctuary, it is considered one of the most protected areas in Asia due to its supported species.

The April 2005 census recorded the lion count in Gir at 359.

(c) Indo-Asian News Service

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