New Delhi - Seventeen endangered Asiatic lions have died in a sanctuary in India's western Gujarat state since January and the rest are to be relocated, India's Parliament was informed Monday. Eight of these lions were killed by poachers in the forest reserve in Gir, the species' only remaining sanctuary, PTI news agency quoted India's junior minister for Environment and Forests Namo Narain Meena as saying in Parliament.
The others died due to diseases, accidents or for natural reasons, Meena said. Over the years, several lions have died after falling into open wells in the reserve area. There are an estimated 15,000 wells without walls in the forest reserve.
The minister did not give any number of the total lion population in the 1,450-square kilometre Gir reserve, but according to official estimates there were an estimated 353 Asiatic lions in the park.
The rest of the lions at Gir would be shifted to the Kuno-Palpur sanctuary in central Madhya Pradesh state, Meena said.
He said the decision to move the lions was taken because of fears that "some adverse human actions or a natural calamity may wipe out their whole population."
Meena said a group of experts had identified Kuno-Palpur as the best suited alternative habitat for the Gir lions.
A forest ranger and two guards had been suspended in connection with the poaching incident, the minister said.
Meena said the expert committee set up to look into the lions' deaths had, in its preliminary report, said there was a shortage of manpower at the Gir reserve, which, until recently, was considered to be one of the most protected sanctuaries in Asia.
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 lion's claw while a kilogramme of lion bones could fetch more than 4,800 dollars.
