Saturday, November 02, 2013

Lions kill 4 cattle heads in Jasdan village

02-11-2013
Lions kill 4 cattle heads in Jasdan village
The Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Lions-kill-4-cattle-heads-in-Jasdan-village/articleshow/25079824.cms

Lions made four cattle heads their prey in Dolatpar village of Jasdan taluka in Rajkot on Thursday. Forest department officials said two lions wandering in villages of Gondal and Kotda-Sangani talukasand have now entered villages of Jasdan taluka.

Range forest officer in Jasdan M C Vaishnav said four cows from the herd of Lakhubhai Bharwad in Dolatpar village were killed by lions. "The lions continue to be around the village. We are tracking the pug marks of lions and are closely monitoring their movements," he added.

Earlier this week, the lions killed cattle in Bildi, Vinjuvadi and Sanala villages of Gondal taluka and Bhadva village in Kotda-Sangani taluka of Rajkot. Bhadva is about 25km away from Rajkot city. Dolatpar village is about 35km from Jasdan and 60km from Rajkot.

Rescue teams from Sasan-Gir have been tracking the lions for their safety. "The situation turns difficult as large number people rush to the spot on hearing about the lions' presence. We have to keep people away from lions as they do not understand the wildcat's behavior and try to go close to them," an official said.

Officials believe that the two male lions may have come from Chandgadh area in Amreli districtwandering in search of new territory.

Sources said over the last two decades lions have dispersed from Gir forest, which was a core area of Asiatic lions. Analysis of direct and indirect evidence like sightings, prey and pugmarks show that the kingdom of lions is spread over 1,050 villages in three districts of Saurashtra region.

"Lions have dispersed from Gir forest to other areas over a period of time in search of new habitat and resources. From 1997, lions began to stray in the eastern revenue areas of Amreli and Bhavnagar districts. At present, lions occupy an area over 16,000 square kilometre in Saurashtra spread over in three districts-Junagadh, Amreli and Bhavnagar," an official said.

No comments:

Previous Posts