Gujarat: Central team in Gir to examine lion deaths

Himanshu Kaushik | TNN | Updated: May 30, 2020, 07:40 IST
AHMEDABAD: A three-member team with experts from the Wildlife Institute of India, the ministry of environment, forests and climate change and the Indian Veterinary Institute will be visiting Gujarat to assess the recent deaths of lions in eastern part of Gir sanctuary.
Sources in the ministry said it had taken notice of the frequent reports of lion deathsin the area and had directed Gopinath, the joint director, wildlife, an expert from the WII and another from the IVI to visit Gir and check the ground situation.

In last three months, 30-odd lions died in the Gir east region. In last two months, five lions died in Jasadhar range and 18 in the Khamba-Tulshishyam range. Officials, said nothing was unusual and said the cub deaths were due to fighting, and adult deaths were from babesia, a tick-borne disease.The unusually large number of deaths seemed to follow a pattern similar to the CDV outbreak in 2018, which killed 27 lions in a similar time frame. Wildlife experts say that all the present symptoms, coughing, fever, salivation followed by death in four to five days, point to the re-emergence of CDV. While many lions may be infected with babesia, the tick-borne pathogen alone cannot claim so many lives unless they are also infected with CDV, experts said.
Officials in Delhi said that the team has been asked to check all postmortem and investigation reports.
The forest department had caged some 30 lions which were later released in the wild. Sources said WII expert Y V Jhala was asked to accompany the team but backed out and another researcher has been deputed to be the part of the team.
Rajiv Gupta, additional chief secretary, environment and forests, said this was a routine visit and was not related to any deaths in the area. We have taken all precautions. The deaths reported are only due to babesia. There is no CDV outbreak in the state,” he said.
“The last time lions were captured like this was in 2018 during the CDV outbreak. Those animals have not been returned to the wild,” said a wildlife expert. Also expert pointed out that the 2008-batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Anshuman Sharma was transferred as DCF, Gir (East) division. He had been specially deputed in 2018 to manage the CDV outbreak.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/central-team-in-gir-to-examine-lion-deaths/articleshow/76099036.cms

In Sayajibaug zoo, lockdown has given privacy for tigers to mate

Due to the Covid-19 lockdown, construction work on the new enclosures inside the zoo has been suspended since March end along with the suspension of visitors. Absence of visitors and workers has given the much needed privacy to the animals, especially the big cats that do not usually mate in full public view.
Written by Aditi Raja | Vadodra | Published: May 29, 2020 6:13:15 am

Tigers Dharti and Paresh that have been brought to the Sayajibaug zoo. (Photo by Bhupendra Rana)

In a water pool inside the open-to-sky area of the tiger enclosure of the iconic Sayajibaug zoo, Dharti the tigress playfully rolled over her back as her partner Paresh circled around her, purred and jumped into the pool, rubbing his face to hers — a rare sight in captivity and especially for the zoo, which has been trying to have its female tigers conceive since the last few years.

Due to the Covid-19 lockdown, construction work on the new enclosures inside the zoo has been suspended since March end along with the suspension of visitors. Absence of visitors and workers has given the much needed privacy to the animals, especially the big cats that do not usually mate in full public view.

The two tigers –Paresh and Dharti –both born in 2006, have not had any offspring so far. While Paresh was brought to Sayajibaug in 2010 from Junagadh zoo, Dharti was born in the Vadodara zoo.

The Sayajibaug zoo has been trying to produce a tiger litter since 2017, when it first sent one female tiger, Pruthvi, to the Surat zoo to have her mate with the male tiger there after approval from the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA). Pruthvi died of injuries sustained during the interaction with the male tiger, who turned aggressive. Pruthvi was Dharti’s sister and Vadodara’s third tiger. The zoo authorities cautiously brought together Paresh and Dharti about a week ago, once aggression was ruled out.

Zoo curator Pratyush Patankar said, “The two did not show any signs of aggression, which is most important to avoid any tragedies. We already lost Pruthvi in Surat so we were guarded. But Paresh and Dharti seemed compatible. We are hoping that this lockdown will ensure that we have offsprings from them soon. Dharti is the only surviving tigress of her clan now. Her other sister, Bhoomi also died in Rajkot zoo due to snake bite in August 2018 .”

Since the tigers are prone to being aggressive during courtship, the authorities are set to keep a close watch on the process. The zoo is also set to execute an exchange programme for its pair of Asiatic lions to produce a pure breed. Patankar said that the formalities to send the 12-year-old lion to the Rajkot zoo has been completed but has been on hold due to the lockdown.

“Our lion, Kunwar and lioness Gayle haven’t yet reciprocated each other although they have been in the zoo since 2011. They were even brought together from Junagadh zoo together but we never had the opportunity to bring them together due to the lack of space in the enclosures. We were hoping that our revamping would have been complete by April but the Covid-19 outbreak has delayed it further. So, we will bring another lion from Rajkot zoo in exchange to mate with our lioness whenever we are able to proceed with it,” said Patankar.

Vadodara’s zoo is especially keen on having a litter from Kunwar the lion due to its wild lineage. “Kunwar was originally a wild cub, because his mother, who was rescued (in Junagadh) from the wild was already pregnant at that time, according to records. So, we are extremely keen on having him produce at least one set of litter with any other Asiatic lioness. Usually, lions in captivity only mate with other captive lionesses through generations and therefore the cubs do not have any direct wild lineage. The Rajkot zoo is adept at mating lions and we have chosen to have the exchange programme with them,” Patankar said. He added that the aim was to also increase numbers within the zoo. He said, “We need to have more cubs. I have been looking around for suitable tigers in order to have a new gene pool. When such a programme is undertaken involving endangered or Schedule- I animals, it has to be done with the consent of the CZA.”
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/in-sayajibaug-zoo-lockdown-has-given-privacy-for-tigers-to-mate-6432352/