- Mass 'arrests' were made after six people were savaged near Gir sanctuary
- Beasts are being detained while their paw prints and excrement are tested
- The guilty lion will be kept in a zoo for life while the others will be released
Forest officials have 'arrested' 18 lions in a bid to find a man-eater who has killed three people in India.
The
beasts are being detained while their paw prints and excrement are
tested, with the guilty lion facing a life behind bars - in a zoo.
The mass 'arrests' were made after six people were savaged near Gir sanctuary in Gujarat state.
Forest officials have 'arrested' 18 lions in a bid to find a man-eater who has killed three people in India (stock image)
Officials
believe that one dangerous lion is behind the attacks and they are
holding suspects in separate cages until they find the killer.
The innocent detainees will be released back into the 545 square mile sanctuary, which is the sole home of Asiatic lions.
Gujarat's
top forest official, JA Khan, said: 'We think we have pinpointed the
guilty lion, but we are still awaiting the results of nine more
animals.'
Speaking to the BBC, Wildlife expert Ruchi Dave said the 'tests' involved studying the pug marks and faecal matter of the lions.
The beasts are
being detained while their paw prints and excrement are tested, with the
guilty lion facing a life behind bars - in a zoo (stock image of a lion
at Gir park)
'The
officials are also studying the animals' behaviour. Man eating lions
usually get aggressive at the sight of a human being,' she said.
Other
experts fear that the attacks could be due to the thriving lion
population which is expanding beyond the bounds of the sanctuary.
Govind
Patel, the former chief wildlife warden of Gujarat, told the Indian
Express that Gir could accommodate only 270 lions, meaning that some are
settling outside.
The mass 'arrests' were made after six people were savaged near Gir sanctuary in Gujarat state (stock image)
Govind Patel, the former chief
wildlife warden of Gujarat, told the Indian Express that Gir (park
entrance pictured) could accommodate only 270 lions
No comments:
Post a Comment