<div>Three Asiatic lions from the Gir National Sanctuary near here have been “sentenced” to live in captivity for life, after they were found to be man-eaters.<br /><br />The authorities have decided to put the “key accused” male lion “behind bars for life”. <br /><br />Two other sub-adult female lions will be kept at the Gujarat forest department’s rescue centre, or observation home, till they breathe their last.<br /><br />“The male lion will be sent to Sakkarbaug Zoo on the outskirts of Junagadh city and two lionesses will be locked up in one of the forest department’s rescue centres,” Junagadh division chief conservator of forest, wildlife circle, A P Singh, told the media on Wednesday. “We shall send our report to the Centre with findings and suggestions,” he said.<br /><br />The forest department officials had laid a trap and captured 17 lions in the past one month, after three people – a 14-year-old boy, a woman aged around 50, and a 61-year-old man – were reportedly mauled to death by the felines in the region during April and May near the Gir sanctuary in Amreli district.<br /><br />Of the 17, three were identified as man-eaters. The police took the paw prints of the suspect lions and ordered a laboratory test of their excreta to pinpoint the real culprits.<br /><br />“After analysing their pug marks and faeces during a 25-day captivity, one adult male and two sub-adult female lions were found to have turned man-eaters, as human remains were found in the excreta of the three lions,” Singh said. “The male lion attacked, killed and ate humans, while two other sub-adults appear to have eaten leftover body parts.”<br /><br />According to the 14th lion survey, carried out in May last year to collate the exact population of lions in the Gir sanctuary, the number of big cats in the region had risen 27% from 411 in 2010 to 523. Of these, 109 are males, 201 females and 213 cubs.<br /><br />Survey data<br /><br />The survey for the lions was conducted over 20,000 sq km, covering the districts of Junagadh, Gir-Somnath, Devbhumi Dwarka, Bhavnagar and Amreli in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.<br /><br />According to the survey figures, Junagadh has the maximum number of lions at 268, with Amreli district having 174 lions roaming in its boundary, recording the highest increase in their numbers. The incidents of man-lion conflict in the region have generally been rare. However, with the area where lions roam rising dramatically, it is only in recent times that the conflicts have been making headlines.<br /><br />“The other 14 lions of the pride, including several cubs, will be released in the (Gir) sanctuary. As a precaution, they will be released in deeper pockets of the sanctuary, far away from where they were captured,” the forest official said.<br /></div>
<div>Three Asiatic lions from the Gir National Sanctuary near here have been “sentenced” to live in captivity for life, after they were found to be man-eaters.<br /><br />The authorities have decided to put the “key accused” male lion “behind bars for life”. <br /><br />Two other sub-adult female lions will be kept at the Gujarat forest department’s rescue centre, or observation home, till they breathe their last.<br /><br />“The male lion will be sent to Sakkarbaug Zoo on the outskirts of Junagadh city and two lionesses will be locked up in one of the forest department’s rescue centres,” Junagadh division chief conservator of forest, wildlife circle, A P Singh, told the media on Wednesday. “We shall send our report to the Centre with findings and suggestions,” he said.<br /><br />The forest department officials had laid a trap and captured 17 lions in the past one month, after three people – a 14-year-old boy, a woman aged around 50, and a 61-year-old man – were reportedly mauled to death by the felines in the region during April and May near the Gir sanctuary in Amreli district.<br /><br />Of the 17, three were identified as man-eaters. The police took the paw prints of the suspect lions and ordered a laboratory test of their excreta to pinpoint the real culprits.<br /><br />“After analysing their pug marks and faeces during a 25-day captivity, one adult male and two sub-adult female lions were found to have turned man-eaters, as human remains were found in the excreta of the three lions,” Singh said. “The male lion attacked, killed and ate humans, while two other sub-adults appear to have eaten leftover body parts.”<br /><br />According to the 14th lion survey, carried out in May last year to collate the exact population of lions in the Gir sanctuary, the number of big cats in the region had risen 27% from 411 in 2010 to 523. Of these, 109 are males, 201 females and 213 cubs.<br /><br />Survey data<br /><br />The survey for the lions was conducted over 20,000 sq km, covering the districts of Junagadh, Gir-Somnath, Devbhumi Dwarka, Bhavnagar and Amreli in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.<br /><br />According to the survey figures, Junagadh has the maximum number of lions at 268, with Amreli district having 174 lions roaming in its boundary, recording the highest increase in their numbers. The incidents of man-lion conflict in the region have generally been rare. However, with the area where lions roam rising dramatically, it is only in recent times that the conflicts have been making headlines.<br /><br />“The other 14 lions of the pride, including several cubs, will be released in the (Gir) sanctuary. As a precaution, they will be released in deeper pockets of the sanctuary, far away from where they were captured,” the forest official said.<br /></div>
