New Delhi- Poachers have killed three endangered Asiatic lions in their only remaining sanctuary in India's western state of Gujarat, less than a month after killing three other big cats, media reports said Saturday. Forest officials in the Gir National Park found mutilated bodies of three lions on Thursday with their claws and bones missing, the NDTV network reported.
"In one month six lions have been killed. It is the work of poachers and criminals who have come from outside ... they have a market for the (lions) bones," PN Roychoudhury, a senior forest official told the NDTV.
Carcasses of two lionesses and a cub were found six kilometres away from the same area in the sanctuary on March 1, he said.
Lion parts such as bones and claws are highly prized in Chinese traditional medicine and fetch high prices on the black market.
According to the local media, poachers could obtain 448 dollars for a lions claw while a kilogramme of lion bones could fetch more than 4,800 dollars.
The poaching incidents inside Gir - which is the only habitat of an estimated 353 Asiatic lions - have alarmed the wildlife authorities as the park is considered one of the most protected sanctuaries in Asia.
Wildlife authorities and the local police have launched investigations into the incident and have sent the carcasses of the animals for forensic tests.
Roychoudhury said the forest department would strengthen the security system around Gir park and seek cooperation from villagers living around the sanctuary to obtain leads into the case.
