Wildlife experts voiced anger Monday at the death of nine endangered lions in floods in western India, saying it showed that at least some of them should be relocated to preserve their numbers.
Devastating floods triggered by annual monsoon rains last week killed at least 55 people in the state of Gujarat, which is also home to about 500 Asiatic lions in their last remaining sanctuary globally.
Gujarat's chief wildlife officer S.C Pant said 100 forest officers were searching the banks of a flooded river that runs alongside the Gir sanctuary after eight lion carcasses were found, while another which was rescued later died.
"Already 27 lions have been tracked near villages near the river. They are in good condition," Pant told AFP.
But wildlife expert Ravi Chellam said the floods were evidence that the survival of the species was at risk because the lions were living in only one sanctuary.
"There is no way to predict the occurrence of catastrophes, which is why it is crucial to establish at least one more free-ranging population of lions before such risks manifest again," Chellam, who has studied the animals in Gir for years, told AFP.
The lions were caught in a legal and political battle in 2013 when the Supreme Court ruled that some of them should be relocated to a sanctuary in a neighbouring state.
Experts argued that restricting the lions to just one area put them at risk of inbreeding, disease and extinction.
But the Gujarat government has resisted any move from the state, where the lions are a source of pride, to neighbouring Madhya Pradesh state which says it has the expertise to manage them.
Pant rejected what he was said was an attempt to "exploit" the tragic deaths.
"An isolated incidence of flooding cannot be the reason for shifting the lions to other states," he said.
The cats are a sub-species of lion which are slightly smaller than their African cousins and have a fold of skin along their bellies.
Census figures released in May show the population has increased in recent years to 523.
AFP
Mon Jun 29 2015
An Indian police personnel examines the body of an Asiatic lion on the banks of a river in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat on June 27, 2015. - AFP Photo/STR
Kertas kabinet wujud sektor sukan dibentang dalam tempoh sebulan - Hannah
Hannah berkata dengan data yang lebih menyeluruh melibatkan sektor industri sukan nanti, pihaknya akan mampu merangsang pertumbuhan sukan di negara ini dengan lebih baik.
Tiga Syarikat Semikonduktor umum melabur di Pulau Pinang - Kon Yeow
Tiga syarikat semikonduktor dari China menyatakan komitmen untuk membuat pelaburan baharu di Pulau Pinang.
Pindaan garis panduan lawatan: Sekolah diharap susun semula program - Fadhlina
Semua sekolah diharap dapat menyusun semula program lawatan masing-masing berikutan pindaan Garis Panduan Lawatan Murid Sekolah pada tahun lepas bagi mengukuhkan pembelajaran di luar kelas, kata Menteri Pendidikan, Fadhlina Sidek.
Kebajikan pendidikan anak-anak dijaga sehingga tamat sekolah - KPM
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia akan memastikan kebajikan pendidikan anak-anak 10 pegawai dan anggota Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia yang terkorban dalam nahas helikopter di Lumut, Perak, terus dijaga sehingga mereka tamat persekolahan.
Chegubard ditahan polis berkaitan hantaran mengenai kasino di Forest City
Chegubard ditahan di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Dang Wangi di sini berkaitan hantaran mengenai pengoperasian kasino di Forest City pada Sabtu.
Zahid minta pihak dalam BN buka "buku baharu"
Ahmad Zahid menegaskan senario politik tanah air sudah berubah dan terdapat banyak video lama dari parti lawan yang meminta pengundi menyokong DAP.
Malaysia kongsi pengalaman dalam usaha berterusan mempertahan Palestin
Delegasi negara akan berkongsikan peranan Malaysia dalam usaha berterusan mempertahankan nasib Palestin dalam Persidangan Liga Parlimen Al-Quds kelima yang berlangsung di Istanbul, Turki pada Sabtu.
Universiti Malaya mohon maaf kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia
Jabatan Pengajian Antarabangsa dan Strategik, Universiti Malaya memohon maaf kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia berhubung kenytaaan tidak bertanggungjawab Profesor Dr Bruce Gilley pada 24 April lalu.
Genting Malaysia nafi terbabit perbincangan
Selepas Berjaya Corporation Bhd dan Kerajaan Negeri Johor, kini Genting Malaysia Bhd pula menafikan sebarang penglibatan dalam perbincangan mengenai pengoperasian kasino di Forest City, Johor.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Sabtu, 27 April 2024.