NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, SEP 7
A two-month-old lion cub was found dead in Gir forest in Amreli district, an official from the forest department said on Tuesday.
The field staff from a reserve forest area spotted the carcass of a cub in Sarasiya range of the Gir-East division on Monday evening, chief conservator of forests (Junagadh Wildlife Circle) D T Vasavada said.
“Since a lion was spotted with the mother lioness in the area, it was suspected that the cub was killed in infighting. A post-mortem report has confirmed that the cub was killed by the lion,” Vasavada said.
According to officials, a lion, a lioness and two cubs have been found dead in different parts of Gir forest and surrounding areas so far this month.
On September 2, a carcass of a 12-year-old lioness was recovered from Jamvala range of Gir-West division, and investigations revealed that the lioness died of old age, the official had said in a statement.
On the same day, a cub, aged around 6 months, drowned after falling into a farm well in a village under Tulsishyam range of Gir-East division, while a carcass of an adult lion was found from a farm in the same range, it was stated.
As per the last census, the Gir forest and surrounding areas are home to 674 lions.