A pride of seventeen Asiatic lions was captured in Gir forest after being accused of eating people. These ‘man-eaters’ will be given a trial by by testing samples of their excreta for remains of human hair or tissue.
AP Singh, Chief Conservator of the Gir forest, said that the lions are royal animals and do not eat human beings. He also added that these rumours should be avoided and this incident was just an accident.
So far, three of the lions – one adult male and two sub-adult females – have been proclaimed guilty of being man-eaters and will spend their lives in captivity.
There has been a steady increase in the lion population. Naval Aparnathi, Assistant Conservator of the forest, said that if even half the lionesses at Gir give birth this year, there will be an increase of 150-200 lions. This increase in population has created a space crunch for lions. These factors have sparked the human-lion conflicts at Gir, leading to the deaths of humans and the captivity of lions.
(With inputs from ANI)
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