Lion's electrocution death exposes hollowness of official figures

Lion's electrocution death exposes hollowness of official figures
PARAG DAVE

RAJKOT, JUNE 30: Even as the forest department gives itself a pat on the back for the higher lion-count, there has been one more casualty. On Wednesday night, Gir forest officials found a dead lion which had been electrocuted by a live-wire of 440 volts in a field on the periphery of the jungle. The lion burned to death because of the high-voltage shock it received. The owner of the field was arrested today.

This is not a stray case. Incidence of electrocution or poisoning of lions has increased in the Gir forest in the last couple of years and this is the third victim in six months, as per official records. A pair of lions had been electrocuted in Una taluka, six months ago. Wildlife observers say this is only the official figure and there is a possibility of many more deaths.

The latest incident in Bhuchil village of Talala taluka has once again brought into focus the issue of conflict between lions and human beings. The Gir Lion National Park, a protected forest area of 258.71 km, is not just a sanctuary. A large number of maldharis reside in the Gir forest area with their cattle. The state highway passes through the protected forest. There are also quite a few villages situated on the periphery of the protected area which is the cause of constant confrontation between humans and animals.

Deputy Conservator of Forest Junagadh Mahesh Singh says `maldharis' and villagers are using two ways to kill lions in the Gir forest. They either electrocute the lions by keeping a live-wire in their fields or they feed them poisonous bait, he said.

Anish Pandya, a wildlife lover, who has been campaigning against the killing of lions, says initially villagers used to put up a thorn fence around their fields to keep the lions away. But now farmers have started electrifying fences. Power-supply is kept on throughout the night with the aim of killing the lions, he adds. Pandya points out that the animals do not know the boundary of the jungle and get killed just for straying out.

Sources in the Forest Department say the lions stray out because they have difficulty in getting enough food and water in the jungle due to the drought. The chances of their death increase in such a situation, they add.

Mahesh Singh says the village where the lion died has no record of the cattle having been killed of attacks on humans. Singh said the Forest Department is implementing various schemes for the betterment of the maldharis and villagers in and around the protected forest area, but still the killing of lions in the forest goes on.

Forest Minister Kanjibhai Patel said that the state government was aware of the problem and seriously thinking of shifting some lions to the Bardo Dungar area where a permanent habitat of lions was being prepared. This was likely to solve the problem of confinement of Gir lions, he added. Till then, the lions will continue to pay the price for straying out of the jungle.