Lion found dead, officials talk of snake bite, ‘poison’ liquor

11-05-2012
Lion found dead, officials talk of snake bite, 'poison' liquor
Indian Express
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/lion-found-dead-officials-talk-of-snake-bite-poison-liquor/948098/

An Asiatic lion was found dead at Pipardi village in Savarkundla taluka of Amreli district on Thursday. Authorities suspect it could have died of snake bite or poisonous effect of local liquor that was being fermented in the area in the open.

While the forest department expressed the possibility of a snake bite in its preliminary report, it did not rule out poisonous effects of liquor.

Police have seized 102 barrels of liquor being fermented in the open in grassland area located on the periphery of Gir Wildlife Sanctuary where the body was found.

"Lion is around 3-4 years old. The body has turned blue. Preliminary postmortem done by the department on the spot found some marks on a leg, which could be snake-bite," said Deputy Conservator of Forest (Dhari range) Anshuman Sharma. "However, we have collected viscera to check the possibility of poisonous effects of liquor fermentation in the open," he added.