Three Lions Found ‘Guilty’ of Murder, to Remain Locked Up For Life

A pride of 17 lions was caged outside Gir after three locals were mauled to death.

An Asiatic lion rests in Gir forest. (Photo: Reuters)

Three of the 17 Asiatic lions captured last month in Gujarat’s Gir Sanctuary for attacking three people were identified as “man-eaters” by officials on Wednesday.

A fully grown male lion will be kept in a zoo, while the other sub-adult females will be sent to a forest rescue centre permanently, an official said.

Also Read: Are India’s Lions Safe? 13 Caged in Gir, 40% Live Outside Forests

A pride of 17 lions was caged outside Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in Dhari taluka of Amreli district in May, after three locals were mauled to death – a 14-year-old boy, a woman aged around 50 and a 61-year-old man.

According to officials, the step was taken to prevent the possibility of further attacks, and to ascertain, through a scat (excreta) analysis, if the lions had consumed human flesh.

On Wednesday, an analysis that studied their pug marks and faeces has proven that one adult male and two sub-adult female lions turned “man-eaters” and are “guilty” of killing locals, said AP Singh, Chief Conservator of Forest for Junagadh division.

The other 14 lions of the pride, including several cubs, will be released gradually in the (Gir) sanctuary. As a precaution, they will be released in deeper pockets of the sanctuary, far away from where they were captured.

AP Singh

When Lions Turn Man-eaters

According to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Jamaal Ahmed Khan, the key reason for the lions turning man-eaters is their increasing dispersal beyond the traditional habitats with the increase in their population.

(With agency inputs.)