Hi friends
Three Lions Poaching on 29th March 2007
On 3rd March three lionesses were poached. Once again serial killer strikes on 29th March MURDERING two adult males and one cub. Same style and Same area. It is assumed same gang is involved in both the cases. So total score is six!
Two more deaths on Saturday 31st March 2007
Again Yamraj (God of Death) claims lives of two more lions assumingly natural deaths. One adult male was found dead and cause of death is fight with another male. Also dead body of one cub was found and cause being starvation!. It may be cub had seperated from its mother and starved to death.
One more lion falls in open well and rescued on 1st April 2007. Congrets to Guj Forest Dept. to do atleast this particular job successfully; today and in past.
Good News for today. We all know open wells are death traps for lions. These has moved heart of Reliance who has offered to baricade these wells. Best wishes and God bless them.
Since Thursday all news papers are full of Asiatic Lion stories. I have posted few of them on this blog. I request you to leave your comments. This would enable others also to read your opinion.
Finally I have a request for all of you, whether you are - in Gujarat or other state or even if you are outside
Kishore Kotecha
Wildlife Conservation Trust of
April 1, 2007
Asiatic lion, cub found dead in Gir sanctuary
Times of
JUNAGADH (
"Prima facie the deaths appear to be due to natural causes. The big lion was found dead with several injury marks that appear to be the outcome of a fight with another beast. The cub may have died due to starvation," Bharat Pathak, a senior forest official and in-charge of the world famous sanctuary, said.
He said all the body parts of the two beasts were intact so it did not appear to be a case of poaching. "However, a forensic team has been called to ascertain the exact cause of death," the official said.
The Gir sanctuary, the only abode left of the majestic Asiatic lion in world, has been in news since last few days after six of the beasts were found poached and their body parts stolen from within the 1,400 sqkm protected area.
Rattled by the poachings, the government has increased security inside the sanctuary and has also stepped up vigilance of all those who enter and exit the sanctuary.
April 1, 2007
Rings of reliance
Times of
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Rings_of_reliance/articleshow/1839364.cms
AHMEDABAD: Reliance Industries Limited has offered to build parapet walls around open wells in and around the Gir forest which have virtually turned into death-traps for the Asiatic lion.
There are as many as 16,000 open wells — most of them dry and abandoned — in which many lions and cubs have perished in recent years.
While the forest department does not have funds to build walls around these wells and the local villagers are not really concerned about the safety of the big cats, RIL has come forward with a proposal that the government will find hard to resist.
RIL's president for corporate affairs Parimal Nathwani said the group, having its roots in Saurashtra — which is the only home of the Asiatic lions in the wild — is anguished by shocking instances of lions drowning into the wells.
"We are willing to adopt thousands of these wells and build parapet walls or erect iron grill fencing around these wells, but we would like this to be a community effort involving other corporate houses, businesses, social organisations and NGOs," he said.
Nathwani said each wall around a well would cost Rs 7,500 on an average and the total cost would not be more than Rs 12 crore.
Every year, according to estimates, about ten lions either die or get injured after falling into these wells.On a few occasions, some lion cubs have been rescued from wells, if their fall was spotted early.
A member of the National Board for Wildlife G A Patel said the open wells are a major problem and have to be either fenced or covered because they posed a major threat to the lions.
The conservator of forest Bharat Pathak says, "This is a costly affair, we have covered about 700 wells in Gir forest so far, but there are still many to be covered. In the area within six-km radius of the sanctuary, there are about 8,000 open wells and many more in the surrounding areas which the lions might stray into."
March 31, 2007
Carcasses of three Gir lions found, foresters step up vigil
MUTILATED carcasses of three lions and a hyena found in yet another poaching incident reported from Babaria range in Gir on Friday has sent alarm bells ringing in Gir, the only natural habitat of the highly endangered Asiatic lion. Coming close on the heels of March 1 incident when two lionesses and a cub were killed by poachers inside the protected area of the Gir sanctuary, officials of the State Forest Department are in a tizzy. Declaring an alert in the area, foresters are now trying to find out the amount of havoc wreaked by the poachers within the sanctuary. The two cases are quite similar. The carcasses were found lying on the ground just 8 km away from the area where the previous incident had occurred. It also lies in close proximity to the forest checkpost. Like the earlier case, apart from the claws and skulls, all the bones have been found missing from the carcasses. When contacted, Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Bharat Pathak confirmed the incident and said that the entire Forest machinery along with CID (Crime), police, Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) experts and a team of veterinary doctors have rushed to the spot. "Officials doing the round of the forest smelled something foul and decided to scout the area. That's when they found the remains of the animals. Now, combing is on in the entire area. However, no clue has surfaced yet." Meanwhile, an Asiatic lioness was found dead at Jasadhar range under Gir (East) Forest Division on Thursday. While the post-mortem did not reveal the cause of death, forest officials ruled out a case of poaching as the claws were found intact. According to DCF Gir (East) J
March 31, 2007
3 more lions killed in Gir Sanctuary
The Statesman
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=151610
GANDHINAGAR, March 31.— With the killing of three more lions in the Gir forests in Junagadh, yesterday, serious questions are now being raised about the security of lions in the “sanctuary” which is a protected area. The incident, the second in the month of March is considered to be the handiwork of poachers. On 1 March, the mutilated carcasses of two lionesses and a cub were found in similar circumstances.
Reports coming from Junagadh indicate that the poaching incident was reported from the Babaria range in the Gir forest. It need not be stressed that the area is the last abode of the endangered Asiatic lion. Last year,
The similarities between the two sets of killings are difficult to overlook. In both cases, the skin and the claws of the animals were found missing, officials said. Some reports also suggested that the lions could have been poisoned.
March 31, 2007
Carcasses of three Gir lions found, foresters step up vigil
Ahmedabad Newline
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=229324
Junagadh/Rajkot, March 30: MUTILATED carcasses of three lions and a hyena found in yet another poaching incident reported from Babaria range in Gir on Friday has sent alarm bells ringing in Gir, the only natural habitat of the highly endangered Asiatic lion. Coming close on the heels of March 1 incident when two lionesses and a cub were killed by poachers inside the protected area of the Gir sanctuary, officials of the State Forest Department are in a tizzy. Declaring an alert in the area, foresters are now trying to find out the amount of havoc wreaked by the poachers within the sanctuary.
The two cases are quite similar. The carcasses were found lying on the ground just 8 km away from the area where the previous incident had occurred. It also lies in close proximity to the forest checkpost. Like the earlier case, apart from the claws and skulls, all the bones have been found missing from the carcasses. When contacted, Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Bharat Pathak confirmed the incident and said that the entire Forest machinery along with CID (Crime), police, Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) experts and a team of veterinary doctors have rushed to the spot. "Officials doing the round of the forest smelled something foul and decided to scout the area. That's when they found the remains of the animals. Now, combing is on in the entire area. However, no clue has surfaced yet."
Meanwhile, an Asiatic lioness was found dead at Jasadhar range under Gir (East) Forest Division on Thursday. While the post-mortem did not reveal the cause of death, forest officials ruled out a case of poaching as the claws were found intact. According to DCF Gir (East) J
March 30, 2007
Audacious poachers kill 3 more Gir lions
Times of
GANDHINAGAR/RAJKOT: Skinned remains of three Asiatic lions and a hyena were found in the Gir wildlife sanctuary on Thursday even as a team of police and forest officials was seeking leads on the earlier poaching of three lionesses on March 3.
This only suggests that the poachers have only become audacious and were roaming free in the only abode of the Asiatic lions in the world, despite claims of the forest department of intensifying security after the March 3 incident.
Sources from the team of CID sleuths and forensic experts probing the earlier poaching incident said, "We found these remains laid out to dry, after skinning and boning and were probably being guarded by locals in the village".
Conservator of
He said the beasts may have been killed nearly a week ago. Sources in CID (crime) which is probing the case said, "The viscera samples have been sent for forensic examination."
They also hinted at a well-organised gang of poachers having got active in the forest, with logistic support provided by the locals. This takes the total number of lions poached in Gir this month to six.
March 30, 2007
More lion skeletons found in Gir
DNA Daily By Jumana Shah/Papiya Patnaik
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1088020
AHMEDABAD: The Gir Wildlife Sanctuary seems all set to see the last of the endangered lions. In yet another shocking discovery on Friday, skeletal remains of three more lions were discovered from Popatiya hamlet in the Babhariya range. The nails of the majestic beasts are once again missing.
The incident occurred even as the CID was present in the area and security and infrastructure had been beefed up. “This incident clearly points the needle of suspicion towards a well-organised local gang with probable connections to international markets. Only locals can have access to this area after the cordoning by CID,” an informed source said.
The remains, believed to be the skull and limbs of two adult male lions and one sub-adult, were reportedly discovered by an investigating team.
March 30, 2007
Gir loses 3 more lions to poaching
Times of
GANDHINAGAR/RAJKOT: Skinned remains of three Asiatic lions and a hyena have been found in the Gir wildlife sanctuary even as a team of police and forest officials were investigating into the poaching of three lionesses early this month.
The carcass of a lioness was also found in the forest on Thursday. In this case, however, forest officials believe that the animal may have died of natural causes as nails, bones and body parts were found intact.
The remains of the three lions were found in the same manner as in the earlier incident on March 3.
A skull and two skeletal remains with shreds of flesh were discovered near Jhakhiya
The skins and claws of the lions were missing, which suggests that the poachers have only become more audacious and were roaming free in the only abode of the Asiatic lion in the world, despite claims of the forest department of intensifying security after the previous incident.
Poachers hunt lions for their claws and hide which sell at a premium in the international market.
Sources from the team of CID sleuths and forensic experts hunting for leads on the earlier poaching incident said, "We found these remains laid out to dry, after skinning and boning and were probably being guarded by locals in the village."
Conservator of forest (Gir, Wildlife) Bharat Pathak told TOI that a case has been registered against unidentified persons under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
The animals may have been killed "nearly a week ago", he said. Sources in the CID (crime) which was probing the previous case said the viscera samples had been sent for forensic tests.
They also hinted at a well organised poachers gang active in the forest using locals for logistic support. This takes the total number of lions poached in Gir, this month, to six.
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