More two Asiatic Lions died by falling into open well

2 more lion cubs found dead

Times of India – Net Edition By Himanshu Kaushik   Dated 18-3-2007

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/2_more_lion_cubs_found_dead/articleshow/1775481.cms

 

DHARI (GUJARAT): Two more lion cubs were found dead in an open well in Rabarika village on Saturday. This takes the total toll of cubs claimed by open wells, in the last three weeks, to four.

 

On February 24, two Asiatic lion cubs were chased into a well by a jeep. Forest officials had found tyre marks in the field, where the well was located in Dhari range.

 

The incident has added to the worries of the forest department, which is yet to get to the bottom of the poaching incident of March 3, where three lionesses were found dead without a trace of blood or bones on the scene of crime.

 

But authorities seem to be taking Saturday's loss quite casually. While they admit incidents like these are "bound to happen", they claim nothing can be done "as the forest department cannot regulate or use it's pressure in the Collector's jurisdiction and force people to cover their wells".

 

On Saturday, the department's officials received a call from farmer Chhaganbhai Patel, who said two lion cubs had fallen into the open well in his field in Rabarika village of Khambhataluka, 7 km outside the sanctuary.

 

Forest conservator Bharat Pathak said the two cubs might have fallen in the well some days back, but the incident was reported late because Patel did not visit his field regularly. Post-mortem of the cubs showed that they had drowned in the well.

 

Pathak found nothing suspicious and said the claws too were intact and there were no signs of poisoning.

 

Officials of Dhari range say the prides seemed to have shifted from west Gir to east Gir and were hence spotted in villages.

 

There have been incidents of lions straying out of the sanctuary, in search of water with the onset of summer, especially in Dhari range where most of the human-beast conflicts have taken place in the last few years.

 

Ramesh Patel of Dalkhaniya village here says, "Lions being spotted in the villages was very common".

 

 

Two more lions meet watery grave in Gir

Ahmedabad Newsline Net Edition    Dated 18-3-2007

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=227192

 

Junagadh, March 17: TWO more sub-adult lions met a watery grave when they fell into a blind well on Saturday in Rabarica village located in forest- revenue border in Gir (East) division. This is the second such incident in the past 20 days. On February 26, two cubs fell into a well without a parapet wall at Nani Dhari village in Dalkhania forest range. According to official sources, two sub adult lioness, aged about one and half years, fell into the parapetless well located in a farm owned by Babubhai Senjaliya.

 

When contacted in-charge deputy conservator of forest (Gir east) J S Solanki said that “post mortem report revealed that both female cubs died due to drowning”. Carcass and claws of both the cubs have been found intact and no mark or sign of any external injury have been found so far.”