Gir lions turning into scavengers? – Burning Issues

Table of Contents

A Wildlife Institute of India (WII) study has red-flagged a major concern over diminishing hunting skills in younger lions due to cubs being increasingly fed with dumped carcasses in tourism zones.

The four-member WII team, which experimented with a new mathematical model they developed, to estimate the population of Gir’s lions, observed that cubs regularly fed with dumped carcasses grew up as scavengers.

Lions are the second-largest cats in the world, after tigers. Known as the “king of beasts” or “king of the jungle,” these regal felines once roamed Africa, Asia and Europe, but now only live in parts of Africa and India.
Experts have long recognized two subspecies of lion, Panthera leo leo (the African lion) and Panthera leo persica (the Asiatic lion). However, recent studies suggest that lions from West and Central Africa are more closely related to Asian lions than they are to lions from the eastern and southern parts of Africa
Asiatic lions (also called Asian or Indian lions) are slightly smaller than African lions. They are 6.6 to 9.2 feet (2 to 2.8 m) long from head to tail and weigh between 242 to 418 pounds (110 to 190 kg), according to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF).
Lions are social cats and live in groups called prides. Asiatic and African lion prides are very different, though.
Asiatic male lions normally won’t live with the females of their pride unless they’re mating or have a large kill, according to the Zoological Society of London.
Asiatic lions hunt large animals, including buffaloes, goats, nilgai (a large Asian antelope), chital and sambar (two types of deer). Lions can kill animals that weigh up to 1,000 pounds, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo, but they will also hunt smaller animals like mice and birds when opportunities arise.

Observations

Cubs regularly fed with dumped carcasses grew up as scavengers
Younger lions lacked the predatory skills required to hunt when they dispersed from the tourism zone, often trying to kill livestock – the easier prey – and coming in conflict with humans.
The study was conducted within 725sqkms of the western part of the Gir Protected Area covering the entire tourism zone – 1.2 million tourists visit annually – and about 30% of the national park. Other aspects such as prey density and factors that could influence lion density was also assessed.

To improve assessments, the WII team used vibrissae (whisker) patterns and permanent body marks to identify individual lions via a computer program – as opposed to the traditionally ‘total counts’ method employed for the last 40 to 50 years to estimate lion population.
Lion density was higher in flat valley habitats closer to human habitations as against rugged or elevated areas. Reason: In order to minimise predator movements near the hamlets and villages along the close periphery of the Gir PA, park rangers collected livestock carcasses and moved them to specific locations within the tourism zone – or baiting sites – to attract lions and maximise sightings for tourists.
As a result, lion density increased near baiting sites and decreased with increasing distance to the tourism zone. “Such animals that lack skills to hunt often come in conflict with humans…and can also become a danger to human lives,” the study states.
A dedicated “Asiatic Lion Conservation Project” has been launched by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change(MoEFCC).
MoEFCC has approved the project for three financial years from 2018 to 2021.
The Asiatic Lion. endemic to Gir landscape of Gujarat is one of the 21 critically endangered species identified by the Ministry for taking up recovery programmes.
The project envisages scientific management with the involvement of communities in coordination with multi-sectoral agencies for disease control and veterinary care for overall conservation of Asiatic lion.