Indian Wildlife Officials Arrest 18 Lions In Hunt For Man Eater

Indian wildlife officials have “arrested” 18 lions as they seek to determine which of the lions is a man eater that its alleged to have killed three people. Forestry officials in Gujarat, which is a state in India where the county’s last remaining Asiatic lions live will conduct tests on the lion’s excrement and paw prints in order to identify the killer lion. Once the lion has been identified it will be moved to a zoo where it will spend the rest of its life. The other lions will be released back to the Gir Sanctuary officials say.

Responding to attacks

So far there have been six attacks near the sanctuary and in response, JA Khan Gujarat’s top forest official said the only response was to arrest the lions over the last couple of months. The animals are all being housed in separate cages whilst experts carry out their tests. Mr. Khan says they believe they have identified the lion in question but before they draw any conclusions they are waiting on the results on a further nine lions.

Tests being conducted

Ruchi Dave a wildlife experts said the lions are being tested by studying their faecal matter and pug marks. Officials are also checking out the behaviour of the animals because man eaters tend to become aggressive when they see human beings. Revtubha Raizada who is also an expert on lions said the offending lion would have to remain in captivity for the rest of its life because it is simply not safe for a man eater to be released back into the wild.

Conservation efforts have been too successful

The Asiatic lion population has been thriving in the Gir forest leading some experts to claim that the success of the protected population is the reason behind some of the unusual behaviour the animals have been displaying. Govind Patel who was formerly the top wildlife official in Gujarat said that the Gir Forest could only sustainably accommodate 270 lions, this has resulted in some prides locating outside the sanctuary grounds.

Lions ordered to be relocated

The Supreme Court of India has recently ordered that some of the lions in Gujarat must be relocated to other states to avoid the possibility that that entire population could be wiped out as a result of some disaster. Gujarat is reluctant to obey the order and has so far not complied.