A lion was found dead in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district late Tuesday evening, with forest department officers stating that efforts were underway to determine the cause of the big cat’s death.
The lion, estimated to be between five and ten years old, was discovered dead near the Gadhada Pir Dargah, about 70 feet from the seacoast in the Gadhada village under the Mahuva range of the Shetrunji wildlife division on Tuesday evening, according to Dushyant Vasavada, chief conservator of forests (CCF) of Junagadh wildlife circle.
According to Vasavada, the matter came to light when a forest guard from the Gujarda beat patrolling the Mota Khutvada-1 round in Mahuva range was informed that a lion carcass was lying near the shrine. “He informed RFO, Mahuva, and the body was taken to Babarkot Animal Care Centre for a post-mortem,” the official added.
The Junagadh wildlife circle includes the Shetrunji wildlife division.
“The carcass was found in a small creek along the coast. The post-mortem revealed internal injuries to the animal even though there were no signs of any outer injury. Viscera samples of the lion have been sent for forensic analysis to ascertain the cause of its death,” said Nisha Raj, deputy conservator of forests (DCF) of the Shetrunji wildlife division.
Raj went on to say that the case did not appear to be one of male lions fighting for territorial dominance.
Gir lions are the world’s only wild lion population outside of Africa. They roam freely in the Gir forest and other protected areas in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region, including Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli, and Bhavnagar districts.
The Gujarat government estimates that there will be 674 lions in the state by 2020, with many of them settling in revenue areas along the seacoast of Gir Somnath, Amreli, and Bhavnagar districts.